Mark 7

¹Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around [Jesus],

²and they saw some of His disciples eating [with] hands [that were] defiled — that is, unwashed.

³Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews {do} not eat until they wash [their] hands ceremonially.

⁴And [on returning] from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, [including] the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.

⁵So the Pharisees and scribes questioned [Jesus]: “Why {do} Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”

⁶Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:‘ These people honor Me with [their] lips, but their hearts are far from Me.

⁷They worship Me in vain; they teach [as] doctrine [the] precepts of men.’

⁸You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.”

⁹He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your [own] tradition.

¹⁰For Moses said,‘ Honor your father and your mother ’ and ‘ Anyone who curses [his] father or mother must be put to death.’

¹¹But you say that if a man says to [his] father or mother,‘ Whatever you would have received from me [is] Corban ’ (that is, a gift devoted [to God] ),

¹²he [is] no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother.

¹³[Thus] you nullify the word of God by [the] tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such [matters].

¹⁴Once again [Jesus] called the crowd [to Him] [and] said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand:

¹⁵Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile [him].”</span>

¹⁷After [Jesus] had left the crowd [and gone] into [the] house, His disciples inquired about the parable.

¹⁸“Are you still so dull? He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him,

¹⁹because it does not enter his heart, but [it goes] into the stomach and then is eliminated.” ([Thus] all foods are clean.)

²⁰He continued: “What comes out of a man, that [is what] defiles [him].

²¹For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

²²greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, [and] foolishness.

²³All these evils come from within, and [these are what] defile a man.

²⁴[Jesus] left that place [and] went to the region of Tyre. Not wanting anyone to know [He was there], He entered [a] house, but was unable to escape their notice.

²⁵Instead, a woman whose little daughter had [an] unclean spirit soon heard about Jesus, [and] she came [and] fell at His feet.

²⁶Now she was a Greek woman of Syrophoenician origin, and she kept asking [Jesus] to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷“First let the children have their fill, He said. “For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss [it] to the dogs.

²⁸“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹Then [Jesus] told her, “Because of this answer, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.

³⁰And she went home [and] found [her] child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.

³¹Then [Jesus] left the region of Tyre [and] went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee [and] into the region of [the] Decapolis.

³²[Some people] brought to Him a man who was deaf and hardly able to speak, and they begged [Jesus] to place [His] hand on him.

³³[So] [Jesus] took him aside privately, away from the crowd, [and] put His fingers into [the man’s] ears. Then He spit [and] touched [the man’s] tongue.

³⁴And looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha! (which means, “Be opened!”</span>).

³⁵Immediately [the man’s] ears were opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak plainly.

³⁶[Jesus] ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more He ordered them, the more widely they proclaimed [it].

³⁷[The people] were utterly astonished [and] said, “He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!”