Mark7

¹The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered to Him after they came from Jerusalem,

²and saw that some of His disciples were eating their bread with unholy hands, that is, unwashed.

³(For the Pharisees and all the other Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thereby holding firmly to the tradition of the elders;

⁴and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they completely cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received as traditions to firmly hold, such as the washing of cups, pitchers, and copper pots.)

⁵And the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk in accordance with the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unholy hands?”

⁶But He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.

⁷And in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

⁸Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”

⁹He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.

¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother, is certainly to be put to death’;

¹¹but you say, ‘If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is, given to God),’

¹²you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother;

¹³thereby invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

¹⁴After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:

¹⁵there 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.”

¹⁶

¹⁷And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him about the parable.

¹⁸And 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,

¹⁹because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared all foods clean.)

²⁰And He was saying, “That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person.

²¹For from within, out of the hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery,

²²deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.

²³All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”

²⁴Now Jesus got up and went from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know about it; and yet He could not escape notice.

²⁵But after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet.

²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician descent. And she repeatedly asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁸But she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹And He said to her, “Because of this answer, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

³⁰And after going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

³¹Again He left the region of Tyre and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.

³²And they brought to Him one who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they begged Him to lay His hand on him.

³³And Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers in his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;

³⁴and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”

³⁵And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.

³⁶And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.

³⁷And 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.”