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Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came to Him from Jerusalem.

And when they saw some of His disciples eat with common hands (that is to say, unwashed), they complained.

(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they have washed their hands, holding to the traditions of the elders.

And when they come from the market, they do not eat until they have washed. And there are many other things there which they have taken upon themselves to observe - such as the washing of cups and pots and of metal vessels and of meal mats).

Then the Pharisees and Scribes asked Jesus, “Why do not Your disciples walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?”

Then He answered and said to them, “Surely Isaiah has prophesied well of you, hypocrites. As it is written, ‘This people honors Me with lips, but their heart is far away from Me.

‘But they worship Me in vain, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.’

For you lay the Commandments of God aside, and observe the tradition of men, such as the washing of pots, and of cups. And there are many other such things that you do.”

And He said to them, “You reject the commandment of God, that you may observe your own tradition.

10 “For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your Mother. And whoever shall speak evil of father or mother, let him die the death.’

11 “But you say, ‘If a man says to father or mother, ‘Corban’; that is, ‘By the gift that is offered by me, you may have profit, and he shall be free.’

12 “So you don’t require him to do anything for his father or his mother.

13 “Making the word of God of no authority, by your tradition which you have ordained. And you do many such things.”

14 Then He called the whole multitude to Him, and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand!

15 “There is nothing outside of a man that can defile him when it enters into him. But the things which proceed out of him are those which defile the man.

16 “If any have ears to hear, let him hear.”

17 And when He came into a house, away from the people, his disciples asked Him about the parable.

18 And He said to them, “What? Are you without understanding also? Do you not know that whatever thing enters a man from outside cannot defile him,

19 “because it did not enter into his heart, but into the belly. And it goes out into the draught, which is the purging of all food?”

20 Then He said, “That which comes out of man, that defiles man.

21 “For from within, even out of the heart of man, proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 “thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, uncleanness, a wicked eye, backbiting, pride, foolishness.

23 “All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

24 And from there, He rose and went into Tyre and Sidon, and entered into a house. And He would have preferred that no one should have known. But He could not be hidden.

25 For a certain woman, whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of Him and came and fell at His feet

26 And the woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by nationality. And she begged Him to cast out the demon from her daughter.

27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children first be fed. For it is not good to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.

28 Then she answered, and said to Him, “True, Lord. Indeed, even the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then He said to her, “Because you have said this, go your way. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”

30 And when she had come home to her house, she found the demon departed, and her daughter lying on the bed.

31 And He left the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and came to the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

32 And they brought to Him one who was deaf and stammered in his speech and asked him to put His hand upon Him.

33 Then He took him aside from the crowd, and put His fingers on his ears, and spat, and touched his tongue.

34 And looking up to Heaven, He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha.” That is, “Be opened.”

35 And immediately his ears were opened. And his vocal chords were released. And he spoke plainly.

36 And He commanded them that they should tell no one. But as much as He forbade them, the more they proclaimed it.

37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well! He makes both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak!”

That Which Defiles(A)

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled,(B) that is, unwashed. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders.(C) When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.[a])(D)

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders(E) instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honor me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
    their teachings are merely human rules.’[b](F)

You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”(G)

And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe[c] your own traditions!(H) 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’[d](I) and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[e](J) 11 But you say(K) that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God(L) by your tradition(M) that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [16] [f]

17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him(N) about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods(O) clean.)(P)

20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed,(Q) malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith(R)

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.[g](S) He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit(T) came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man(U)

31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre(V) and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee(W) and into the region of the Decapolis.[h](X) 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk,(Y) and they begged Jesus to place his hand on(Z) him.

33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit(AA) and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven(AB) and with a deep sigh(AC) said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.(AD)

36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone.(AE) But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:4 Some early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and dining couches
  2. Mark 7:7 Isaiah 29:13
  3. Mark 7:9 Some manuscripts set up
  4. Mark 7:10 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
  5. Mark 7:10 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
  6. Mark 7:16 Some manuscripts include here the words of 4:23.
  7. Mark 7:24 Many early manuscripts Tyre and Sidon
  8. Mark 7:31 That is, the Ten Cities