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Mark 7
English Standard Version
Mark 7
English Standard Version
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,
(M)“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as (N)doctrines the commandments of men.’
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.”
Footnotes
- Mark 7:3 Greek unless they wash the hands with a fist, probably indicating a kind of ceremonial washing
- Mark 7:4 Greek unless they baptize; some manuscripts unless they purify themselves
- Mark 7:4 Some manuscripts omit and dining couches
- Mark 7:11 Or an offering
- Mark 7:15 Some manuscripts add verse 16: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear
- Mark 7:19 Greek goes out into the latrine
- Mark 7:24 Some manuscripts omit and Sidon
- Mark 7:36 Greek he
Markos 7
Orthodox Jewish Bible
Markos 7
Orthodox Jewish Bible
7 And, when they had come down from Yerushalayim, the Perushim and some of the Sofrim come together around Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach,
2 And they had observed that some of his talmidim were eating their lechem with yadayim temeiot, that is, hands ritually unclean.
3 [For the Perushim, and indeed this was the Jewish minhag, do not eat without doing netilat yadayim (ritual of the washing of the hands) and also observing the Masoret HaZekenim (the Torah Shebal peh, Oral Torah, see Ga 1:14).
4 And when they come from [the] marketplace, unless they do so, they do not eat. And there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the tevilah of cups and pitchers and copper pots.
5 And the Perushim and the Sofrim question Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, Why do your talmidim not follow the halakhah according to the Masoret HaZekenim, but eat their lechem with yadayim temeiot?
6 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Yeshayah rightly gave a dvar nevuah of you tzevuim, as it has been written, HAAM HAZEH BISFATAV KIBDUNI VLIBO RIKHAK MIMENI VATEHI YIRATAM OTI MITZVAT ANASHIM MELUMMADAH (This people with [their] lips honor me, but their heart is removed far away from me.
7 And in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the mitzvot of men.) [YESHAYAH 29:13]
8 Abandoning the mitzvat Hashem, you are holding to the Masoret HaBnei Adam.
9 And he was saying to them, You have a fine knack for setting aside the mitzvat Hashem in order that your own Masorot might stand undisturbed.
10 For Moshe [Rabbeinu] said, KABED ES AVICHA VES IMMECHA (Honor your father and your mother), and, The one reviling AVIV VIMMO MOT YUMAT (father or mother let him be put to death. [SHEMOT 20:12, DEVARIM 5:16, SHEMOT 21:17, VAYIKRA 20:9]
11 But you say, If a man says to his Abba or to his Em, whatever by me you might have benefited is Korban [that is, the taitsh (translation) of korban is an offering to Hashem],
12 Then no longer do you permit him to do anything for his Abba or his Em.
13 You nullify and make void the dvar Hashem by means of your Masoret you received. And you do many similar things.
14 And having summoned again the multitude, he was saying to them, Give ear to me and have binah (understanding).
15 There is nothing outside of a ben Adam (human being) entering into him which is able to make him tameh, but it is the things coming out from the ben Adam that make him tameh.
16 He who has oznayim to hear, let him hear.
17 And when he left the multitude and entered a bais, his talmidim were asking him [about] the mashal.
18 And he says to them, Are you so lacking in binah also? Do you not have binah that it is not what is outside and entering into the ben Adam that is able to make him tameh (unclean)?
19 Because it does not enter into his lev, but into his stomach and goes out into the latrine, making all the okhel tohar [T.N. See Ro 14:14-23].
20 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying, It is the thing proceeding out of the ben Adam that makes him tameh.
21 For from within the lev of the ben Adam comes evil cravings and machshavot: then zenunim (fornications), gneyvot (thefts), retzichot (murders),
22 Niufim (adulteries), chamdanut (greediness), rishah (wickedness), nechalim (scheming deceitfulness), zimmah (lewdness, sensuality), an ayin horo or roah ayin (an envious evil eye), lashon hora, gaavah (pride), and ivvelet (foolishness).
23 All these evil things proceed from within and make the ben Adam tameh.
24 And from there he got up and departed to the district of Tzor and Tzidon. And having entered into a bais he wanted no one to know, [yet] he was not able to escape notice.
25 But, after hearing about him, ofen ort, an isha, whose yaldah was having a ruach temeiah, came and fell down at his feet.
26 Now the woman was a Yevanit (Greek), by birth a Syrophoenician, and she was asking him to cast the shed out of her bat (daughter).
27 And he was saying to her, Rishonah allow the banim to be satisfied, for it is not tov to take the lechem of the yeladim and throw it to kelevim (dogs).
28 But she replied, saying, Ken, Adoni, but even the kelevim under the shulchan eat from the crumbs of the yeladim.
29 And he said to her, Because of this answer, go your way, the shed has gone out from the bat of you.
30 And having departed to her bais, she found the yaldah lying on the bed, the shed having gone out.
31 When he returned from the region of Tzor, and then went through Tzidon to Lake Kinneret within the region of the Decapolis,
32 They bring to him [a man who was] cheresh illem (deaf and mute) and they entreated him to lay hands on him.
33 And he took him aside from the multitude by himself and put his fingers into his ears, and spat, and with that touched the tongue of the mute man;
34 And, looking up to Shomayim with a deep sigh, he says to him, Ephphatha, (which means, Be opened!).
35 Ofen ort his ears were opened, and the impediment of his lashon (tongue) was loosed and he was speaking properly.
36 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was directing them not to tell anyone. But as much as he ordered them, they were proclaiming [it] all the more.
37 And they were all astonished beyond all measure, saying, He has done all things tov meod (very well), and he makes even the chereshim (deaf people) to hear and the illemim (mute) to speak. [YESHAYAH 35:5,6]
Mark 7
New International Version
Mark 7
New International Version
That Which Defiles(A)
7 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled,(B) that is, unwashed. 3 (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) 4 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)
5 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?”
6 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.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’[b](F)
8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”(G)
9 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
- Mark 7:4 Some early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and dining couches
- Mark 7:7 Isaiah 29:13
- Mark 7:9 Some manuscripts set up
- Mark 7:10 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
- Mark 7:10 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
- Mark 7:16 Some manuscripts include here the words of 4:23.
- Mark 7:24 Many early manuscripts Tyre and Sidon
- Mark 7:31 That is, the Ten Cities
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
New International Version (NIV) 
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