Mark 7

The tradition of the elders

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ²and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, 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.

⁴When 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.) ⁵So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” ⁶He 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.a

⁷They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’b ⁸You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” ⁹And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!c

¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’d ¹¹But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹²then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.

¹³Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”e

What defiles a person

¹⁴Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ¹⁵Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”f ¹⁶After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable.

¹⁷“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? ¹⁸For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) ¹⁹He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.

²⁰For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder,g ²¹adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.h ²²All these evils come from inside and defile a person.” ²³Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.

The Syrophoenician woman

²⁴In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet.i ²⁵The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. ²⁶“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.” ²⁷“Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”j ²⁸Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”k ²⁹She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

³⁰Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.

The healing of the deaf man

³¹There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. ³²After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³³He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”).l

³⁴At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. ³⁵Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. ³⁶People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”