Mark 7
New American Standard Bible
Followers of Tradition
7 (A)The Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered to Him after they came (B)from Jerusalem, 2 and saw that some of His disciples were eating their bread with [a](C)unholy hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the other Jews do not eat unless they [b]carefully wash their hands, thereby holding firmly to the (D)tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they [c]completely cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received as traditions to firmly hold, such as the [d]washing of (E)cups, pitchers, and copper pots.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk in accordance with the (F)tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with [e](G)unholy hands?” 6 But He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘(H)This people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
7 (I)And in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the (J)tradition of men.”
9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your (K)tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘(L)Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘(M)The one who speaks evil of father or mother, is [f]certainly to be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is (N)Corban (that is, [g]given to God),’ 12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your (O)tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”
The Heart of Mankind
14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person[h].”
17 And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, (P)His disciples asked Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and [i]is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared (Q)all foods (R)clean.) 20 And He was saying, “(S)That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person. 21 For from within, out of the [j]hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, 22 deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, [k](T)envy, slander, [l]pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”
The Syrophoenician Woman
24 (U)Now Jesus got up and went from there to the region of (V)Tyre[m]. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know about it; and yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a [n]Gentile, of Syrophoenician descent. And she repeatedly asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not [o]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the [p]dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this [q]answer, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And after going back to her home, she found the child [r]lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
31 (W)Again He left the region of (X)Tyre and came through Sidon to (Y)the Sea of Galilee, within the region of (Z)Decapolis. 32 And they *brought to Him one who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they *begged Him to (AA)lay His hand on him. 33 And Jesus (AB)took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers in his ears, and after (AC)spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; 34 and looking up to heaven with a deep (AD)sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the [s]impediment of his tongue was [t]removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And (AE)He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they (AF)continued to proclaim it. 37 And they were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even those who are deaf hear, and those who are unable to talk, speak.”
Footnotes
- Mark 7:2 Lit common; i.e., ritually unclean
- Mark 7:3 Lit with a fist (following a prescribed ritual)
- Mark 7:4 Lit baptize; i.e., immerse; two early mss purify
- Mark 7:4 Lit baptisms
- Mark 7:5 Lit common; i.e., ritually unclean
- Mark 7:10 Lit to die with death
- Mark 7:11 Lit a gift; i.e., an offering
- Mark 7:15 Late mss add, as v 16: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
- Mark 7:19 Lit goes out into the latrine
- Mark 7:21 heart
- Mark 7:22 Lit an evil eye
- Mark 7:22 Or arrogance
- Mark 7:24 Two early mss add and Sidon
- Mark 7:26 Lit Greek
- Mark 7:27 Or proper
- Mark 7:27 I.e., pet dogs
- Mark 7:29 Lit word
- Mark 7:30 Lit thrown
- Mark 7:35 Lit bond
- Mark 7:35 Lit undone
Mark 7
New Century Version
Obey God’s Law
7 When some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem, they gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw that some of Jesus’ followers ate food with hands that were not clean, that is, they hadn’t washed them. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands in the way required by their unwritten laws. 4 And when they buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash themselves in a special way. They also follow many other unwritten laws, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.[a])
5 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Why don’t your followers obey the unwritten laws which have been handed down to us? Why do your followers eat their food with hands that are not clean?”
6 Jesus answered, “Isaiah was right when he spoke about you hypocrites. He wrote,
‘These people show honor to me with words,
but their hearts are far from me.
7 Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing but human rules.’ Isaiah 29:13
8 You have stopped following the commands of God, and you follow only human teachings.”[b]
9 Then Jesus said to them, “You cleverly ignore the commands of God so you can follow your own teachings. 10 Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[c] and ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’[d] 11 But you say a person can tell his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but it is Corban—a gift to God.’ 12 You no longer let that person use that money for his father or his mother. 13 By your own rules, which you teach people, you are rejecting what God said. And you do many things like that.”
14 After Jesus called the crowd to him again, he said, “Every person should listen to me and understand what I am saying. 15 There is nothing people put into their bodies that makes them unclean. People are made unclean by the things that come out of them. [ 16 Let those with ears use them and listen.]”[e]
17 When Jesus left the people and went into the house, his followers asked him about this story. 18 Jesus said, “Do you still not understand? Surely you know that nothing that enters someone from the outside can make that person unclean. 19 It does not go into the mind, but into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body.” (When Jesus said this, he meant that no longer was any food unclean for people to eat.)
20 And Jesus said, “The things that come out of people are the things that make them unclean. 21 All these evil things begin inside people, in the mind: evil thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, 22 greed, evil actions, lying, doing sinful things, jealousy, speaking evil of others, pride, and foolish living. 23 All these evil things come from inside and make people unclean.”
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman
24 Jesus left that place and went to the area around Tyre.[f] When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman whose daughter had an evil spirit in her heard that he was there. So she quickly came to Jesus and fell at his feet. 26 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 But she answered, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table can eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then Jesus said, “Because of your 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 and went through Sidon to Lake Galilee, to the area of the Ten Towns.[g] 32 While he was there, some people brought a man to him who was deaf and could not talk plainly. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him.
33 Jesus led the man away from the crowd, by himself. He put his fingers in the man’s ears and then spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to the man, “Ephphatha!” (This means, “Be opened.”) 35 Instantly the man was able to hear and to use his tongue so that 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 completely amazed and said, “Jesus does everything well. He makes the deaf hear! And those who can’t talk he makes able to speak.”
Footnotes
- 7:4 pots Some Greek copies continue, “and dining couches.”
- 7:8 teachings Some Greek copies continue, “You wash pitchers and jugs and do many other such things.”
- 7:10 ‘Honor . . . mother.’ Quotation from Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16.
- 7:10 ‘Anyone . . . death.’ Quotation from Exodus 21:17.
- 7:16 Let . . . listen. Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text.
- 7:24 Tyre Some Greek copies continue, “and Sidon.”
- 7:31 Ten Towns In Greek, called “Decapolis.” It was an area east of Lake Galilee that once had ten main towns.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
