Mark 7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 7
The Tradition of the Elders.[a] 1 Now when the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,(A) 2 they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands,[b] keeping the tradition of the elders. 4 And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles [and beds].) 5 So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders[c] but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” 6 He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:(B)
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
7 In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.’
8 You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” 9 He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever curses father or mother shall die.’(C) 11 Yet you say, ‘If a person says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’[d] (meaning, dedicated to God), 12 you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. 13 You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.” 14 (D)He summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. 15 Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” [16 ][e]
17 [f](E)When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. 18 He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, 19 [g](F)since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 “But what comes out of a person, that is what defiles. 21 (G)From within people, from their hearts, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. 23 All these evils come from within and they defile.”
The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith. 24 (H)From that place he went off to the district of Tyre.[h] He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. 25 Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter.(I) 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first.[i] For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” 28 She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” 29 Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
The Healing of a Deaf Man. 31 (J)Again he left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. 32 And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; 34 then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) 35 And [immediately] the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. 36 [j]He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. 37 They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and [the] mute speak.”(K)
Footnotes
- 7:1–23 See note on Mt 15:1–20. Against the Pharisees’ narrow, legalistic, and external practices of piety in matters of purification (Mk 7:2–5), external worship (Mk 7:6–7), and observance of commandments, Jesus sets in opposition the true moral intent of the divine law (Mk 7:8–13). But he goes beyond contrasting the law and Pharisaic interpretation of it. The parable of Mk 7:14–15 in effect sets aside the law itself in respect to clean and unclean food. He thereby opens the way for unity between Jew and Gentile in the kingdom of God, intimated by Jesus’ departure for pagan territory beyond Galilee. For similar contrast see Mk 2:1–3:6; 3:20–35; 6:1–6.
- 7:3 Carefully washing their hands: refers to ritual purification.
- 7:5 Tradition of the elders: the body of detailed, unwritten, human laws regarded by the scribes and Pharisees to have the same binding force as that of the Mosaic law; cf. Gal 1:14.
- 7:11 Qorban: a formula for a gift to God, dedicating the offering to the temple, so that the giver might continue to use it for himself but not give it to others, even needy parents.
- 7:16 Mk 7:16, “Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear,” is omitted because it is lacking in some of the best Greek manuscripts and was probably transferred here by scribes from Mk 4:9, 23.
- 7:17 Away from the crowd…the parable: in this context of privacy the term parable refers to something hidden, about to be revealed to the disciples; cf. Mk 4:10–11, 34. Jesus sets the Mosaic food laws in the context of the kingdom of God where they are abrogated, and he declares moral defilement the only cause of uncleanness.
- 7:19 (Thus he declared all foods clean): if this bold declaration goes back to Jesus, its force was not realized among Jewish Christians in the early church; cf. Acts 10:1–11:18.
- 7:24–37 The withdrawal of Jesus to the district of Tyre may have been for a respite (Mk 7:24), but he soon moved onward to Sidon and, by way of the Sea of Galilee, to the Decapolis. These districts provided a Gentile setting for the extension of his ministry of healing because the people there acknowledged his power (Mk 7:29, 37). The actions attributed to Jesus (Mk 7:33–35) were also used by healers of the time.
- 7:27–28 The figure of a household in which children at table are fed first and then their leftover food is given to the dogs under the table is used effectively to acknowledge the prior claim of the Jews to the ministry of Jesus; however, Jesus accedes to the Gentile woman’s plea for the cure of her afflicted daughter because of her faith.
- 7:36 The more they proclaimed it: the same verb proclaim attributed here to the crowd in relation to the miracles of Jesus is elsewhere used in Mark for the preaching of the gospel on the part of Jesus, of his disciples, and of the Christian community (Mk 1:14; 13:10; 14:9). Implied in the action of the crowd is a recognition of the salvific mission of Jesus; see note on Mt 11:5–6.
Markúsarguðspjall 7
Icelandic Bible
7 Nú safnast að honum farísear og nokkrir fræðimenn, komnir frá Jerúsalem.
2 Þeir sáu, að sumir lærisveina hans neyttu matar með vanhelgum, það er óþvegnum höndum.
3 En farísear, og reyndar Gyðingar allir, eta ekki nema þeir taki áður handlaugar, og fylgja þeir svo erfðavenju forfeðra sinna.
4 Og ekki neyta þeir matar, þegar þeir koma frá torgi, nema þeir hreinsi sig áður. Margt annað hafa þeir gengist undir að rækja, svo sem að hreinsa bikara, könnur og eirkatla.
5 Farísearnir og fræðimennirnir spyrja hann: "Hvers vegna fylgja lærisveinar þínir ekki erfðavenju forfeðranna, heldur neyta matar með vanhelgum höndum?"
6 Jesús svarar þeim: "Sannspár var Jesaja um yður hræsnara, þar sem ritað er: Þessi lýður heiðrar mig með vörunum, en hjarta þeirra er langt frá mér.
7 Til einskis dýrka þeir mig, er þeir kenna þá lærdóma, sem eru mannasetningar einar.
8 Þér hafnið boðum Guðs, en haldið erfikenning manna."
9 Enn sagði hann við þá: "Listavel gjörið þér að engu boð Guðs, svo þér getið rækt erfikenning yðar.
10 Móse sagði: ,Heiðra föður þinn og móður þína.` og ,Hver sem formælir föður eða móður, skal dauða deyja.`
11 En þér segið: Ef maður segir við föður sinn eða móður: ,Það, sem þér hefði getað orðið til styrktar frá mér, er korban,` það er musterisfé,
12 þá leyfið þér honum ekki framar að gjöra neitt fyrir föður sinn eða móður.
13 Þannig látið þér erfikenning yðar, sem þér fylgið fram, ógilda orð Guðs. Og margt annað gjörið þér þessu líkt."
14 Aftur kallaði hann til sín mannfjöldann og sagði: "Heyrið mig allir, og skiljið.
15 Ekkert er það utan mannsins, er saurgi hann, þótt inn í hann fari. Hitt saurgar manninn, sem út frá honum fer." [
16 Ef einhver hefur eyru að heyra, hann heyri!]
17 Þegar hann var kominn inn frá fólkinu, spurðu lærisveinar hans hann um líkinguna.
18 Og hann segir við þá: "Eruð þér einnig svo skilningslausir? Skiljið þér eigi, að ekkert, sem fer inn í manninn utan frá, getur saurgað hann?
19 Því að ekki fer það inn í hjarta hans, heldur maga og út síðan í safnþróna." Þannig lýsti hann alla fæðu hreina.
20 Og hann sagði: "Það sem fer út frá manninum, það saurgar manninn.
21 Því að innan frá, úr hjarta mannsins, koma hinar illu hugsanir, saurlifnaður, þjófnaður, manndráp,
22 hórdómur, ágirnd, illmennska, sviksemi, taumleysi, öfund, lastmælgi, hroki, heimska.
23 Allt þetta illa kemur innan að og saurgar manninn."
24 Hann tók sig upp þaðan og hélt til byggða Týrusar. Þar fór hann inn í hús og vildi engan láta vita. En eigi fékk hann dulist.
25 Kona ein frétti þegar af honum og kom og féll honum til fóta, en dóttir hennar hafði óhreinan anda.
26 Konan var heiðin, ættuð úr Fönikíu sýrlensku. Hún bað hann að reka illa andann út af dóttur sinni.
27 Hann sagði við hana: "Lofaðu börnunum að seðjast fyrst, ekki sæmir að taka brauð barnanna og kasta því fyrir hundana."
28 Hún svaraði honum: "Satt er það, herra, þó eta hundarnir undir borðinu af molum barnanna."
29 Og hann sagði við hana: "Vegna þessara orða skaltu heim snúa, illi andinn er farinn úr dóttur þinni."
30 Hún fór heim, fann barnið liggjandi á rúminu, og illi andinn var farinn.
31 Síðan hélt hann úr Týrusarbyggðum, um Sídon og yfir Dekapólisbyggðir miðjar til Galíleuvatns.
32 Þá færa þeir til hans mann, daufan og málhaltan, og biðja hann að leggja hönd sína yfir hann.
33 Jesús leiddi hann afsíðis frá fólkinu, stakk fingrum sínum í eyru honum og vætti tungu hans með munnvatni sínu.
34 Þá leit hann upp til himins, andvarpaði og sagði við hann: "Effaþa," það er: Opnist þú.
35 Og eyru hans opnuðust, og haft tungu hans losnaði, og hann talaði skýrt.
36 Jesús bannaði þeim að segja þetta neinum, en svo mjög sem hann bannaði þeim, því frekar sögðu þeir frá því.
37 Menn undruðust næsta mjög og sögðu: "Allt gjörir hann vel, daufa lætur hann heyra og mállausa mæla."
Mark 7
New King James Version
Defilement Comes from Within(A)
7 Then (B)the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 Now [a]when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled, that is, with (C)unwashed hands, [b]they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands [c]in a special way, holding the (D)tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, like the washing of cups, pitchers, copper vessels, and couches.
5 (E)Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?”
6 He answered and said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you (F)hypocrites, as it is written:
(G)‘This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
7 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—[d]the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.”
9 He said to them, “All too well (H)you [e]reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. 10 For Moses said, (I)‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, (J)‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, (K)“Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban”—’ (that is, a gift to God), 12 then you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.”
14 (L)When He had called all the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear Me, everyone, and (M)understand: 15 There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that (N)defile a man. 16 (O)If[f] anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
17 (P)When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. 18 So He said to them, (Q)“Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, [g]thus purifying all foods?” 20 And He said, (R)“What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 (S)For from within, out of the heart of men, (T)proceed evil thoughts, (U)adulteries, (V)fornications, murders, 22 thefts, (W)covetousness, wickedness, (X)deceit, (Y)lewdness, an evil eye, (Z)blasphemy, (AA)pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
A Gentile Shows Her Faith(AB)
24 (AC)From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre [h]and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be (AD)hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and (AE)fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a [i]Greek, a [j]Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept [k]asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.
Jesus Heals a Deaf-Mute(AF)
31 (AG)Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee. 32 Then (AH)they brought to Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they begged Him to put His hand on him. 33 And He took him aside from the multitude, and put His fingers in his ears, and (AI)He spat and touched his tongue. 34 Then, (AJ)looking up to heaven, (AK)He sighed, and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”
35 (AL)Immediately his ears were opened, and the [l]impediment of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke plainly. 36 Then (AM)He commanded them that they should tell no one; but the more He commanded them, the more widely they proclaimed it. 37 And they were (AN)astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He (AO)makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Footnotes
- Mark 7:2 NU omits when
- Mark 7:2 NU omits they found fault
- Mark 7:3 Lit. with the fist
- Mark 7:8 NU omits the rest of v. 8.
- Mark 7:9 set aside
- Mark 7:16 NU omits v. 16.
- Mark 7:19 NU sets off the final phrase as Mark’s comment that Jesus has declared all foods clean.
- Mark 7:24 NU omits and Sidon
- Mark 7:26 Gentile
- Mark 7:26 A Syrian of Phoenicia
- Mark 7:26 begging
- Mark 7:35 Lit. bond
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
by Icelandic Bible Society
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
