Mark 7:24-37

International Children’s Bible

Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman

²⁴ Jesus left that place and went to the area around Tyre.^[a] He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. But Jesus could not stay hidden. ²⁵ A woman heard that he was there. Her little daughter had an evil spirit in her. So the woman quickly came to Jesus and fell at his feet. ²⁶ She was not Jewish. She was Greek, born in Phoenicia, in Syria. She begged Jesus to force the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷ Jesus told the woman: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.”

²⁸ She answered, “That is true, Lord. But the dogs under the table can eat the pieces of food that the children don’t eat.”

²⁹ Then Jesus said, “That is a very good answer. You may go. The demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰ The woman went home and found her daughter lying in bed. The demon was gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

³¹ Then Jesus left the area around Tyre. He went through Sidon to Lake Galilee, to the area of the Ten Towns.^{[b] 32} While he was there, some people brought a man to him. This man was deaf and could not talk. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him.

³³ Jesus led the man away from the crowd, to be alone with him. Jesus put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then Jesus spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴ Jesus looked up to heaven and took a deep breath. He said to the man, “Ephphatha!” (This means, “Be opened.”) ³⁵ When Jesus did this, the man was able to hear. He was also able to use his tongue, and he spoke clearly.

³⁶ Jesus commanded the people not to tell anyone about what happened. But the more he commanded them, the more they told about it. ³⁷ They were really amazed. They said, “Jesus does everything well. He makes the deaf hear! And those who can’t talk—Jesus makes them able to speak.”