Mark 7
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
Pharisees Object To Eating With Unwashed Hands. Jesus Condemns Their Traditions
7 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes are gathered-together with Him, having come from Jerusalem. 2 And having seen some of His disciples, that they are eating their bread with defiled[a] hands, that is, unwashed[b]— 3 for the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands with a fist[c], holding-on-to the tradition of the elders. 4 And they do not eat [when they return][d] from the marketplace unless they cleanse[e] [themselves]. And there are many other traditions which they received to hold-on-to— the cleansing of cups and pitchers and copper-pots and couches[f]. 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes ask Him, “For what reason are Your disciples not walking according to the tradition of the elders, but are eating their bread with defiled hands?” 6 And the One said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly concerning you hypocrites, as it has been written [in Isa 29:13], that ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far distant from Me. 7 But they are worshiping Me in-vain[g], teaching as teachings[h] the commandments of humans’. 8 Having neglected the commandment of God, you are holding on to the tradition of humans!” 9 And He was saying to them, “You are nicely[i] setting-aside[j] the commandment of God in order that you may establish[k] your tradition! 10 For Moses said [in Ex 20:12], ‘Be honoring your father and your mother’, and [in Ex 21:17], ‘Let the one speaking-evil-of father or mother come-to-an-end[l] by a death’. 11 But you say if a person says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you might be benefitted from me is Corban (which means “Gift”)’, 12 you no longer permit him to do anything[m] for his father or mother— 13 nullifying[n] the word of God by your tradition which you handed-down. And you are doing many similar such things”. 14 And having summoned the crowd again, He was saying to them, “Everyone listen-to Me and understand— 15 there is nothing outside of the person proceeding into him which is able to defile him. But the things proceeding out of the person are the things defiling the person. 16 [o]
What Goes Into The Body Does Not Defile, But What Comes Out of The Heart
17 And when He entered into a house away-from the crowd, His disciples were questioning Him as to the parable. 18 And He says to them, “So are even you without-understanding? Do you not perceive that everything outside proceeding into the person is not able to defile[p] him 19 because it does not proceed into his heart, but into his stomach, and it proceeds out into the latrine?” (He was making all foods clean[q].) 20 And He was saying that “The thing proceeding out of the person— that defiles the person. 21 For from within, out of the heart of people, proceed the evil thoughts, sexual-immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, greeds, evils, deceit, sensuality, an evil eye[r], blasphemy, arrogance, foolishness. 23 All these evil things proceed-out from within, and defile the person”.
A Gentile Woman Begs For Crumbs From The Master’s Table
24 And having arisen, He went from there to the districts of Tyre. And having entered into a house, He was wanting[s] no one to know[t] it. And-yet He was not able to escape-notice. 25 But immediately, a woman having heard about Him— of whom her little daughter was having an unclean spirit— having come, fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Greek[u], a Syro-Phoenician[v] by nationality. And she was asking Him that He cast out the demon from her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “First allow the children to be filled-to-satisfaction. For it is not good to take the bread of the children and throw it to the little-dogs[w]”. 28 But the one responded and says to Him, “Master, even the little dogs under the table eat from the crumbs of the children!” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this statement, go— the demon has gone out of your daughter”. 30 And having gone to her house, she found the child having been put[x] on the bed, and the demon having gone out.
Jesus Heals a Deaf-Mute
31 And again having gone out of the districts of Tyre, He went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the midst of the districts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring to Him a deaf and speech-impaired one, and are begging Him that He lay His hand on him. 33 And having taken him away from the crowd privately, He put His fingers into his[y] ears. And having spit[z], He touched his[aa] tongue. 34 And having looked up to heaven, He sighed. And He says to him “Ephphatha”, which means “Be opened”. 35 And immediately his ears were opened and the binding[ab] of his tongue was released and he was speaking correctly. 36 And He gave-orders to them that they should be telling no one. But as much as He was giving orders to them, they even more abundantly were proclaiming it. 37 And they were being super-abundantly astounded, saying “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak”.
Footnotes
- Mark 7:2 Or, unclean; that is, not ritually purified from contact with unclean things or people, according to their traditions.
- Mark 7:2 Mark breaks off his sentence here and explains this to his readers, then begins again in v 5.
- Mark 7:3 There are different opinions about the exact procedure in view here. In any case it is a ceremonial washing for which the water is seen in Jn 2:6. Some manuscripts have a different word meaning ‘often’ or ‘thoroughly’.
- Mark 7:4 [when they return]...cleanse [themselves]. Or, [food]...cleanse [it].
- Mark 7:4 This refers to a ritual cleansing, as does the related word in the next verse.
- Mark 7:4 That is, the dining couches on which people of that day reclined to eat.
- Mark 7:7 Or, to no end, pointlessly, futilely.
- Mark 7:7 Or, doctrines.
- Mark 7:9 Or, splendidly, beautifully (used sarcastically).
- Mark 7:9 Or, rejecting.
- Mark 7:9 Or, make your tradition stand. Some manuscripts say ‘keep your tradition’.
- Mark 7:10 That is, die. On this phrase, see Mt 15:4.
- Mark 7:12 In other words, if you vow to give your estate as an offering to God when you die, you must no longer honor any request from your parents to benefit from it.
- Mark 7:13 Or, voiding, annulling, invalidating.
- Mark 7:16 Some manuscripts add here ‘If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear’.
- Mark 7:18 Or, make him unclean or impure. It is disobedience to God’s Law that defiles a person. Their traditions are not God’s laws.
- Mark 7:19 making... clean. Or, declaring... clean, treating... clean. These words may be Mark’s comment, as in 3:30; 7:3-4. If these are still the words of Jesus, punctuate this ‘latrine, cleansing all foods’ (the latrine proves they are clean because they pass through the body without affecting the heart); or, ‘latrine, purging all foods’ (simply completing the physical description).
- Mark 7:22 This refers to envy in Mt 20:15.
- Mark 7:24 Or, intending, wishing.
- Mark 7:24 Or, learn.
- Mark 7:26 That is, a Gentile.
- Mark 7:26 That is, from Phoenicia, a region of the Roman province of Syria, in which Tyre was one city.
- Mark 7:27 Or, lap-dogs, house-dogs. Jesus answers with a proverbial-type statement, then she responds with the same type of statement.
- Mark 7:30 having been put. And therefore, lying.
- Mark 7:33 Or, His. The significance of this action is not clear. Some think it was a kind of sign language by which Jesus was telling the man or the onlookers what He was going to heal.
- Mark 7:33 Mark does not tell us where Jesus spit.
- Mark 7:33 Or, His.
- Mark 7:35 That is, the binding which held the man’s tongue and impeded his speaking.
Mark 7
Living Bible
7 One day some Jewish religious leaders arrived from Jerusalem to investigate him, 2 and noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the usual Jewish rituals before eating. 3 (For the Jews, especially the Pharisees, will never eat until they have sprinkled their arms to the elbows,[a] as required by their ancient traditions. 4 So when they come home from the market, they must always sprinkle themselves in this way before touching any food. This is but one of many examples of laws and regulations they have clung to for centuries, and still follow, such as their ceremony of cleansing for pots, pans, and dishes.)
5 So the religious leaders asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old customs? For they eat without first performing the washing ceremony.”
6-7 Jesus replied, “You bunch of hypocrites! Isaiah the prophet described you very well when he said, ‘These people speak very prettily about the Lord but they have no love for him at all. Their worship is a farce, for they claim that God commands the people to obey their petty rules.’ How right Isaiah was! 8 For you ignore God’s specific orders and substitute your own traditions. 9 You are simply rejecting God’s laws and trampling them under your feet for the sake of tradition.
10 “For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother.’ And he said that anyone who speaks against his father or mother must die. 11 But you say it is perfectly all right for a man to disregard his needy parents, telling them, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you! For I have given to God what I could have given to you.’ 12-13 And so you break the law of God in order to protect your man-made tradition. And this is only one example. There are many, many others.”
14 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. 15-16 [b]Your souls aren’t harmed by what you eat, but by what you think and say!”
17 Then he went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had just made.
18 “Don’t you understand either?” he asked. “Can’t you see that what you eat won’t harm your soul? 19 For food doesn’t come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the digestive system.” (By saying this he showed that every kind of food is kosher.)
20 And then he added, “It is the thought-life that pollutes. 21 For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts of lust, theft, murder, adultery, 22 wanting what belongs to others, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, and all other folly. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what pollute you and make you unfit for God.”
24 Then he left Galilee and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon,[c] and tried to keep it a secret that he was there, but couldn’t. For as usual the news of his arrival spread fast.
25 Right away a woman came to him whose little girl was possessed by a demon. She had heard about Jesus and now she came and fell at his feet, 26 and pled with him to release her child from the demon’s control. (But she was Syrophoenician—a “despised Gentile”!)
27 Jesus told her, “First I should help my own family—the Jews.[d] It isn’t right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
28 She replied, “That’s true, sir, but even the puppies under the table are given some scraps from the children’s plates.”
29 “Good!” he said. “You have answered well—so well that I have healed your little girl. Go on home, for the demon has left her!”
30 And when she arrived home, her little girl was lying quietly in bed, and the demon was gone.
31 From Tyre he went to Sidon, then back to the Sea of Galilee by way of the Ten Towns. 32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and everyone begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man and heal him.
33 Jesus led him away from the crowd and put his fingers into the man’s ears, then spat and touched the man’s tongue with the spittle. 34 Then, looking up to heaven, he sighed and commanded, “Open!” 35 Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly!
36 Jesus told the crowd not to spread the news, but the more he forbade them, the more they made it known, 37 for they were overcome with utter amazement. Again and again they said, “Everything he does is wonderful; he even corrects deafness and stammering!”
Footnotes
- Mark 7:3 sprinkled their arms to the elbows, literally, “washed with the fist.”
- Mark 7:15 Many of the ancient manuscripts add v. 16: “If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.” Your souls aren’t harmed by what you eat, but by what you think and say, literally, “What proceeds out of the man defiles the man.”
- Mark 7:24 the region of Tyre and Sidon, about fifty miles away.
- Mark 7:27 First I should help my own family—the Jews, literally, “Let the children eat first.”
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.