Mark 7:14-30

GOD’S WORD Translation

¹⁴ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and try to understand! ¹⁵ Nothing that goes into a person from the outside can make him unclean. It’s what comes out of a person that makes him unclean. ¹⁶ Let the person who has ears listen!” ^[a]

¹⁷ When he had left the people and gone home, his disciples asked him about this illustration.

¹⁸ Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand? Don’t you know that whatever goes into a person from the outside can’t make him unclean? ¹⁹ It doesn’t go into his thoughts but into his stomach and then into a toilet.” (By saying this, Jesus declared all foods acceptable.) ²⁰ He continued, “It’s what comes out of a person that makes him unclean. ²¹ Evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, ²² adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, cursing, arrogance, and foolishness come from within a person. ²³ All these evils come from within and make a person unclean.”

The Faith of a Greek Woman^(A)

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the territory of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was staying in a house there. However, it couldn’t be kept a secret.

²⁵ A woman whose little daughter had an evil spirit heard about Jesus. She went to him and bowed down. ²⁶ The woman happened to be Greek, born in Phoenicia in Syria. She asked him to force the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ Jesus said to her, “First, let the children eat all they want. It’s not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁸ She answered him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat some of the children’s scraps.”

²⁹ Jesus said to her, “Because you have said this, go! The demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ The woman went home and found the little child lying on her bed, and the demon was gone.