Traditions and Commandments

7 ^(A)Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes ^(B)who had come from Jerusalem, ² they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^(C)defiled, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,^[a] holding to ^(D)the tradition of ^(E)the elders, ⁴ and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.^[b] And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as ^(F)the washing of ^(G)cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.^[c]) ⁵ And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^(H)the tradition of ^(I)the elders, ^(J)but eat with ^(K)defiled hands?” ⁶ And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^(L)hypocrites, as it is written,

⁸ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

⁹ And he said to them, “You have a fine way of ^(O)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ^(P)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^(Q)‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)^[d]— ¹² then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, ¹³ thus ^(R)making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁴ And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^(S)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: ^15 (T)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”^{[e] 17} And when he had entered ^(U)the house and left the people, ^(V)his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then ^(W)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart ^(X)but his stomach, and is expelled?”^[f] (^(Y)Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, ^(Z)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^(AA)murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, ^(AB)sensuality, ^(AC)envy, ^(AD)slander, ^(AE)pride, ^(AF)foolishness. ^23 (AG)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

²⁴ And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.^[g] And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. ²⁵ But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. ^26 (AH)Now the woman was a ^(AI)Gentile, ^(AJ)a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. ²⁷ And he said to her, “Let the children be ^(AK)fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and ^(AL)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁸ But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's ^(AM)crumbs.” ²⁹ And he said to her, “For this statement you may ^(AN)go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” ³⁰ And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

^31 (AO)Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to ^(AP)the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the ^(AQ)Decapolis. ³² And they brought to him ^(AR)a man who was deaf and ^(AS)had a speech impediment, and they begged him to ^(AT)lay his hand on him. ³³ And ^(AU)taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and ^(AV)after spitting touched his tongue. ³⁴ And ^(AW)looking up to heaven, ^(AX)he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” ^35 (AY)And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. ³⁶ And ^(AZ)Jesus^[h] charged them to tell no one. But ^(BA)the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. ³⁷ And they were ^(BB)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

8 ^(BC)In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, ^2 (BD)“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. ³ And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” ⁴ And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” ⁵ And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^(BE)“Seven.” ⁶ And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and ^(BF)having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. ⁷ And they had a few small fish. And ^(BG)having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. ⁸ And ^(BH)they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, ^(BI)seven baskets full. ⁹ And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. ¹⁰ And immediately he got into ^(BJ)the boat with his disciples and went to the district of ^(BK)Dalmanutha.^[i]

The Pharisees Demand a Sign

^11 (BL)The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, ^(BM)seeking from him ^(BN)a sign from heaven ^(BO)to test him. ¹² And ^(BP)he sighed deeply ^(BQ)in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” ¹³ And ^(BR)he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

¹⁴ Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; ^(BS)beware of ^(BT)the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of ^(BU)Herod.”^{[j] 16} And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. ¹⁷ And ^(BV)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? ^(BW)Do you not yet perceive ^(BX)or understand? ^(BY)Are your hearts hardened? ^18 (BZ)Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹ When I broke ^(CA)the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” ²⁰ “And ^(CB)the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” ²¹ And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

²² And they came ^(CC)to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him. ²³ And ^(CD)he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when ^(CE)he had ^(CF)spit on his eyes and ^(CG)laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴ And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” ²⁵ Then Jesus^[k] laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. ²⁶ And he sent him to his home, saying, ^(CH)“Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^27 (CI)And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸ And they told him, ^(CJ)“John the Baptist; and others say, ^(CK)Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” ²⁹ And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, ^(CL)“You are ^(CM)the Christ.” ^30 (CN)And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^31 (CO)And he began to teach them that ^(CP)the Son of Man must ^(CQ)suffer many things and ^(CR)be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and ^(CS)after three days rise again. ³² And he said this ^(CT)plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ³³ But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ^(CU)“Get behind me, Satan! For you ^(CV)are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

³⁴ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him ^(CW)deny himself and ^(CX)take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For ^(CY)whoever would save his life^[l] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake ^(CZ)and the gospel's will save it. ^36 (DA)For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For ^(DB)what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸ For ^(DC)whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this ^(DD)adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed ^(DE)when he comes in the glory of his Father with ^(DF)the holy angels.”

Laws for Burnt Offerings

1 ^(A)The Lord called Moses and spoke to him ^(B)from the tent of meeting, saying, ² “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ^(C)When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock.

³ “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer ^(D)a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord. ^4 (E)He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be ^(F)accepted for him ^(G)to make atonement for him. ⁵ Then he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood ^(H)and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting. ⁶ Then he shall flay the burnt offering and cut it into pieces, ⁷ and the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and ^(I)arrange wood on the fire. ⁸ And Aaron's sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the fat, on the wood that is on the fire on the altar; ⁹ but its entrails and its legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as ^(J)a burnt offering, a food offering^[a] with a ^(K)pleasing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁰ “If his gift for a burnt offering is from the flock, from the sheep or goats, he shall bring a male without blemish, ^11 (L)and he shall kill it on the north side of the altar before the Lord, and Aaron's sons the priests shall throw its blood against the sides of the altar. ¹² And he shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood that is on the fire on the altar, ¹³ but the entrails and the legs he shall wash with water. And the priest shall offer all of it and burn it on the altar; it is ^(M)a burnt offering, a food offering with ^(N)a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

¹⁴ “If his offering to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, then he shall bring his offering of ^(O)turtledoves or pigeons. ¹⁵ And the priest shall bring it to the altar and wring off its head and burn it on the altar. Its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. ¹⁶ He shall remove its crop with its contents^[b] and cast it ^(P)beside the altar on the east side, in the place for ashes. ¹⁷ He shall tear it open by its wings, but ^(Q)shall not sever it completely. And the priest shall burn it on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Laws for Grain Offerings

2 “When anyone brings a ^(R)grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. ^(S)He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it ² and bring it to Aaron's sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its ^(T)memorial portion on the altar, a food ^(U)offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. ³ But the ^(V)rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; ^(W)it is a most holy part of the Lord's food offerings.

⁴ “When you bring a grain offering baked in the oven as an offering, it shall be ^(X)unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers smeared with oil. ⁵ And if your offering is a grain offering ^(Y)baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil. ⁶ You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering. ⁷ And if your offering is a grain offering cooked in a pan, it shall be made of fine flour with oil. ⁸ And you shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord, and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar. ⁹ And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food ^(Z)offering with a ^(AA)pleasing aroma to the Lord. ¹⁰ But the ^(AB)rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; ^(AC)it is a most holy part of the Lord's food offerings.

¹¹ “No grain offering that you bring to the Lord shall be made with ^(AD)leaven, for you shall burn no leaven nor any honey as a food offering to the Lord. ^12 (AE)As an offering of firstfruits you may bring them to the Lord, but they shall not be offered on the altar for a pleasing aroma. ¹³ You ^(AF)shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the ^(AG)salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; ^(AH)with all your offerings you shall offer salt.

¹⁴ “If you offer a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you shall offer for the grain offering of your firstfruits fresh ^(AI)ears, roasted with fire, crushed new grain. ¹⁵ And ^(AJ)you shall put oil on it and lay frankincense on it; it is a grain offering. ¹⁶ And the priest shall burn as its ^(AK)memorial portion some of the crushed grain and some of the oil with all of its frankincense; it is a food offering to the Lord.

I Will Bless the Lord

Of David.

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.