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Jesus speaks to Pharisees and to some teachers of God's Law

7 A group of Pharisees and some teachers of God's Law came from Jerusalem to talk with Jesus. 2 They had been watching Jesus' disciples. Some of the disciples did not wash their hands before they ate a meal. That is to say, they did not wash them in the right way. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat food until they have washed their hands carefully. They do this because of what their leaders taught them. 4 When they come from the market place, they always wash themselves carefully. Unless they do this, they do not eat anything. Their leaders also gave them rules about how they should wash cups, pots and metal bowls.)

5 The Pharisees and the teachers of God's Law said to Jesus, ‘Your disciples do not obey the things that our leaders taught many years ago. Your disciples have not washed their hands in the right way. They are eating their food with unclean hands. That is not right.’

6 Jesus said to them, ‘You are hypocrites! What God's prophet Isaiah wrote about you long ago is true:

God says, “These people say good things about me,
but they do not really want to obey me.
7 They say that I am great.
But what they say has no purpose.
They teach their own rules, which I did not give to them.” ’ [ a ]

8 Jesus then said, ‘You have stopped obeying God. Instead you obey the ideas that men teach.’

9 He said to them, ‘You refuse to obey God's rules, because then you can keep your own ideas! 10 For example, Moses wrote, “You must love your father and your mother. You must obey them.” He also said, “You must kill anyone who curses his father or his mother.” [ b ] 11 But you teach that a person may say to his father or to his mother, “I would have given gifts to help you. But I cannot do that, because I have given them to God instead.” 12 If he says that, you let him do nothing to help his father or his mother. 13 This shows that you have not obeyed what God says is right. Instead, you have obeyed the ideas that you received from your leaders many years ago. And you do many other things like that.’

14 Jesus asked the crowd of people to come to him again. He said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, so that you can understand these things. 15 People do not become unclean because of things that go into their bodies from outside. They become unclean because of the things that come out from their minds. 16 [You have heard my words. So do what I say.’] [ c ]

Jesus explains to his disciples what he had taught

17 Jesus left the crowd of people and he went into a house. Then his disciples asked him to explain what he had taught.

18 Jesus said, ‘I am surprised that you too do not understand what I am saying. You should understand that food will not make people unclean. Food goes into people's bodies from outside. 19 But food does not go into people's minds. It goes into their stomachs and then it passes out of their bodies.’

When Jesus said this, he was teaching that all foods are clean.

20 Jesus then said, ‘People become unclean because of what comes out from them, not because of what goes in. 21 Evil thoughts come out from people's minds. As a result they do wrong things. They have sex in wrong ways. They rob people. They murder people. 22 They have sex with another man's wife. They are greedy. They are cruel to other people. They deceive people. They live like wild animals. They are jealous of other people. They say bad things about other people. They are proud and foolish.

23 All these wrong things begin inside people's minds and then they come out. That is what makes them unclean.’

Jesus travels out of Israel

24 Jesus left that place. He went away to the region around Tyre. He went into a house. He did not want anyone to know that he was there. But it was not possible to keep this a secret. 25 Immediately, a certain woman heard that he was there. This woman had a daughter who had a bad spirit in her. The woman came to Jesus and she went down on her knees by his feet. 26 She was not a Jew. Her family was from Phoenicia in the country of Syria. She asked Jesus to make the bad spirit go out of her daughter.

27 Jesus said to the woman, ‘First, the children must eat all that they want. It is not right to take food from the children and then throw it to the dogs.’

28 The woman replied, ‘Yes, sir. That is true. But small pieces of food drop while the children eat. And the dogs under the table eat those pieces.’

29 ‘That is a good answer,’ Jesus replied. ‘Now the bad spirit has left your daughter. You may go.’

30 The woman went to her home. She saw her child, who was lying on the bed. The bad spirit had left the girl.

Jesus makes a man well again

31 Then Jesus went away from Tyre. He travelled through the city of Sidon. Then he went towards Lake Galilee. He was in the region called ‘The ten cities’.

32 Some people brought a man to Jesus. This man could not hear anything and he could not speak clearly. The people asked Jesus to put his hand on the man.

33 Jesus led the man away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spat on his hands and touched the man's tongue. 34 Jesus looked up towards heaven. He cried with a low, sad sound. Then he said to the man, ‘Ephphatha!’ That means, ‘Become open!’ 35 When Jesus said this, the man started to hear. Also, his tongue was able to move properly so that he could speak clearly.

36 Jesus told the people that they must not tell anyone about this. But every time Jesus asked them not to say anything, they spoke even more about it. 37 The people were very surprised about everything that Jesus did. They said, ‘Jesus has done everything well. If people cannot hear, Jesus makes them able to hear. If people cannot speak, Jesus makes them able to speak.’

Footnotes

  1. 7:7 See Isaiah 29:13
  2. 7:10 See Exodus 21:17
  3. 7:16 This verse is not in some old copies of the Bible.

God’s Law and Human Traditions ( A )

7 Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem and gathered around Jesus. 2 They saw that some of his followers ate food with hands that were not clean, meaning that they did not wash their hands in a special way. 3 The Pharisees and all the other Jews never eat before washing their hands in this special way. They do this to follow the traditions they have from their great leaders who lived long ago. 4 And when these Jews buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash it in a special way. They also follow other rules from their people who lived before them. They follow rules like the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots. [ a ]

5 The Pharisees and teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Your followers don’t follow the traditions we have from our great leaders who lived long ago. They eat their food with hands that are not clean. Why do they do this?”

6 Jesus answered, “You are all hypocrites. Isaiah was right when he wrote these words from God about you:

‘These people honor me with their words,
but I am not really important to them.
7 Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are only human rules.’ ( B )

8 You have stopped following God’s commands, preferring instead the man-made rules you got from others.”

9 Then he said, “You show great skill in avoiding the commands of God so that you can follow your own teachings! 10 Moses said, ‘You must respect your father and mother.’ [ b ] He also said, ‘Whoever says anything bad to their father or mother must be killed.’ [ c ] 11 But you teach that people can say to their father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you, but I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ 12 You are telling people that they do not have to do anything for their father or mother. 13 So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think it is more important to follow those traditions you have, which you pass on to others. And you do many things like that.”

14 Jesus called the people to him again. He said, “Everyone should listen to me and understand what I am saying. 15 There is nothing people can put in their mouth that will make them wrong. [ d ] People are made wrong by what comes from inside them.” 16 [ e ]

17 Then Jesus left the people and went into the house. The followers asked Jesus about what he had told the people. 18 He said, “Do you still have trouble understanding? Surely you know that nothing that enters the mouth from the outside can make people unacceptable to God. 19 Food does not go into a person’s mind. It goes into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body.” (When Jesus said this, he meant there is no food that is wrong for people to eat.)

20 And Jesus said, “The things that make people wrong are the things that come from the inside. 21 All these bad things begin inside a person, in the mind: bad thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, 22 adultery, greed, doing bad things to people, lying, doing things that are morally wrong, jealousy, insulting people, proud talking, and foolish living. 23 These evil things come from inside a person. And these are the things that make people unacceptable to God.”

Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman ( C )

24 Jesus went from there to the area around Tyre. He did not want the people in that area to know he was there, so he went into a house. But he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman heard that he was there. Her little daughter had an evil spirit inside her. So the woman came to Jesus and bowed down near his feet. 26 She was not a Jew. She was born in Phoenicia, an area in Syria. She begged Jesus to force the demon out of her daughter.

27 Jesus told the woman, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.”

28 She answered, “That is true, Lord. But the dogs under the table can eat the pieces of food that the children don’t eat.”

29 Then he told her, “That is a very good answer. You may go. The demon has left your daughter.”

30 The woman went home and found her daughter lying on the bed. The demon was gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

31 Then Jesus left the area around Tyre and went through Sidon. On his way to Lake Galilee he went through the area of the Ten Towns. 32 While he was there, some people brought a man to him who was deaf and could not talk clearly. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him.

33 Jesus led the man away from the people to be alone with him. He put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit on a finger and put it on the man’s tongue. 34 Jesus looked up to the sky and with a loud sigh he said, “Ephphatha!” (This means “Open!”) 35 As soon as Jesus did this, the man was able to hear. He was able to use his tongue, and he began to speak clearly.

36 Jesus told the people not to tell anyone about this. But the more he told them not to say anything, the more people they told. 37 They were all completely amazed. They said, “Look at what he has done. It’s all good. He makes deaf people able to hear and gives a new voice to people who could not talk.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:4 pots Some Greek copies add “and couches.”
  2. Mark 7:10 Quote from Ex. 20:12 ; Deut. 5:16 .
  3. Mark 7:10 Quote from Ex. 21:17 .
  4. Mark 7:15 wrong Literally, “unclean” or “not pure,” meaning unacceptable to God. Also in verse 20.
  5. Mark 7:16 Some Greek copies add verse 16: “You people who hear me, listen!”

7 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem.

2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.

3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders.

4 And when they come from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables.

5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

10 For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

11 But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.

12 And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother;

13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:

15 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.

16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

17 And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.

18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;

19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.

21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.

33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

Followers of Tradition

7 ( A ) The Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered to Him after they came ( B ) from Jerusalem, 2 and saw that some of His disciples were eating their bread with [ a ] ( C ) unholy hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the other Jews do not eat unless they [ b ] carefully wash their hands, thereby holding firmly to the ( D ) tradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they [ c ] completely cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received as traditions to firmly hold, such as the [ d ] washing of ( E ) cups, pitchers, and copper pots.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk in accordance with the ( F ) tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with ( G ) [ e ] unholy hands?” 6 But He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘ ( H ) This people honors Me with their lips ,
But their heart is far away from Me .
7 ( I ) And in vain do they worship Me ,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men .’

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

9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your ( K ) tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘ ( L ) Honor your father and your mother ’; and, ‘ ( M ) The one who speaks evil of father or mother, is [ f ] certainly to be put to death ’; 11 but you say, ‘If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is ( N ) Corban (that is, [ g ] given to God ),’ 12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your ( O ) tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

The Heart of Man

14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there 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 [ h ] .”

17 And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, ( P ) His disciples asked Him about the parable. 18 And 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, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and [ i ] is eliminated?” ( Thereby He declared ( Q ) all foods ( R ) clean.) 20 And He was saying, “ ( S ) That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person. 21 For from within, out of the [ j ] hearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, 22 deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, [ k ] ( T ) envy, slander, [ l ] pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman

24 ( U ) Now Jesus got up and went from there to the region of ( V ) Tyre [ m ] . And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know about it ; and yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a [ n ] Gentile, of Syrophoenician descent. And she repeatedly asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not [ o ] good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the [ p ] dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this [ q ] answer, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And after going back to her home, she found the child [ r ] lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

31 ( W ) Again He left the region of ( X ) Tyre and came through Sidon to ( Y ) the Sea of Galilee, within the region of ( Z ) Decapolis. 32 And they *brought to Him one who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they *begged Him to ( AA ) lay His hand on him. 33 And Jesus ( AB ) took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers in his ears, and after ( AC ) spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva ; 34 and looking up to heaven with a deep ( AD ) sigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the [ s ] impediment of his tongue was [ t ] removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And ( AE ) He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they ( AF ) continued to proclaim it . 37 And 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.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:2 Lit common ; i.e., ritually unclean
  2. Mark 7:3 Lit with a fist (following a prescribed ritual)
  3. Mark 7:4 Lit baptize ; i.e., immerse; two early mss purify
  4. Mark 7:4 Lit baptisms
  5. Mark 7:5 Lit common ; i.e., ritually unclean
  6. Mark 7:10 Lit to die with death
  7. Mark 7:11 Lit a gift ; i.e., an offering
  8. Mark 7:15 Late mss add, as v 16: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
  9. Mark 7:19 Lit goes out into the latrine
  10. Mark 7:21 heart
  11. Mark 7:22 Lit an evil eye
  12. Mark 7:22 Or arrogance
  13. Mark 7:24 Two early mss add and Sidon
  14. Mark 7:26 Lit Greek
  15. Mark 7:27 Or proper
  16. Mark 7:27 I.e., pet dogs
  17. Mark 7:29 Lit word
  18. Mark 7:30 Lit thrown
  19. Mark 7:35 Lit bond
  20. Mark 7:35 Lit undone

That Which Defiles ( A )

7 The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, ( B ) 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. ( C ) 4 When 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. [ a ] ) ( D )

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

6 He 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.
7 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’ [ b ] ( F )

8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” ( G )

9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe [ c ] your own traditions! ( H ) 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ [ d ] ( I ) and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ [ e ] ( J ) 11 But you say ( K ) that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God ( L ) by your tradition ( M ) that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” [16] [ f ]

17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him ( N ) about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ( O ) clean.) ( P )

20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, ( Q ) malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith ( R )

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. [ g ] ( S ) He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit ( T ) came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27 “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.”

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

29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man ( U )

31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre ( V ) and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee ( W ) and into the region of the Decapolis. [ h ] ( X ) 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, ( Y ) and they begged Jesus to place his hand on ( Z ) him.

33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit ( AA ) and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven ( AB ) and with a deep sigh ( AC ) said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!” ). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. ( AD )

36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. ( AE ) But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Footnotes

  1. Mark 7:4 Some early manuscripts pitchers, kettles and dining couches
  2. Mark 7:7 Isaiah 29:13
  3. Mark 7:9 Some manuscripts set up
  4. Mark 7:10 Exodus 20:12; Deut. 5:16
  5. Mark 7:10 Exodus 21:17; Lev. 20:9
  6. Mark 7:16 Some manuscripts include here the words of 4:23.
  7. Mark 7:24 Many early manuscripts Tyre and Sidon
  8. Mark 7:31 That is, the Ten Cities
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