Mark 7

The Tradition of the Eldersⓘ

Pharisees challenge unwashed hands¹Then 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.^{a 4}And 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.^b

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.”

⁶✦Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:

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

Tradition versus God's commandment⁹He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain^e your own tradition. ¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’^f and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’^{g 11}But 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. ¹³Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

What Defiles a Manⓘ

What goes in does not defile¹⁴Once 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.”^h

Explaining what defiles¹⁷After 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.)ⁱ

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,^{j 22}greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”

The Faith of the Gentile Womanⓘ

A Gentile mother's faith²⁴Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre.^k 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 childrenʼs bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs^l under the table eat the childrenʼs 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.

The Deaf and Mute Manⓘ

Healing a deaf man³¹Then Jesus left the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.^{m 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.

³³So Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd, and put His fingers into the manʼs ears. Then He spit and touched the manʼs tongue. ³⁴And looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). ³⁵Immediatelyⁿ the manʼs ears were opened and his tongue was released, and he began to speak plainly.

³⁶Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more He ordered them, the more widely they proclaimed it. ³⁷The people were utterly astonished and said, “He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!”