Mark 7 — TCENT

The Traditions of the Elders

7Verse 1Now the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem were gathered around⁺Jesus.^{Verse 2}When they saw some of his disciples eating bread with hands that were defiled (that is, unwashed), they criticized them.^{Verse 3}(For none of the Pharisees or Jews eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders.^{Verse 4}And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they have⁺washed. There are also many other traditions they observe, such as the washing of cups,⁺pots, copper vessels, and dining couches.)^{Verse 5}Now the Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, “Why do yoʋr disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with⁺unwashed hands?”^{Verse 6}He⁺answered them,“Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me.
^{Verse 7}They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’^{Verse 8+}For you have neglected the commandment of God and are holding to the tradition of⁺men, such as various washings of pots and cups. And you do many other similar things such as these.”^{Verse 9}Then he said to them,“You have a fine way of setting aside the commandment of God so that you may⁺keep your tradition!^{Verse 10}For Moses said, ‘Honor yoʋr father and yoʋr mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of his father or mother must surely die.’^{Verse 11}But you teach that it is acceptable for a man to say to his father or mother, ‘Whatever benefit yoʋ might have received from me is Corban’ ”(that is, a gift devoted to God).^{Verse 12}“In this way you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother,^{Verse 13}thus nullifying the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many similar things such as these.”^{Verse 14}Then Jesus called⁺over the entire crowd and said to them,“Listen to me, all of you, and understand:^{Verse 15}There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.^{Verse 16+}If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”^{Verse 17}After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into a house, his disciples asked him about the parable.^{Verse 18}He said to them,“So are you also without understanding? Do you⁺not understand that whatever goes into a person from the outside cannot defile him?^{Verse 19}For it does not go into his heart but into his stomach; then it goes out into the⁺latrine, thus purifying all foods.”^{Verse 20}He also said,“It is what comes out of a person that defiles a person.^{Verse 21}For from within, from the hearts of men, come evil thoughts,⁺adultery, fornication, murder,^{Verse 22}theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness.^{Verse 23}All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”

A Syrophoenician Woman's Faith

^{Verse 24}Then Jesus rose from there and went away to the region of Tyre⁺and Sidon. He went into⁺a house and did not want anyone to know it, yet he could not escape notice.^{Verse 25+}For a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him and came and fell at his feet.^{Verse 26}(This woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth.) She asked Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter.^{Verse 27}But Jesus said to her,“Let the children first be filled, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.”^{Verse 28}She answered him, “⁺Yes, Lord,⁺yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.”^{Verse 29}Then he said to her,“Because of this reply, yoʋ may go; the demon has come out of yoʋr daughter.”^{Verse 30}And when she went to her house, she found⁺the demon gone and her daughter lying in bed.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man

^{Verse 31}Then Jesus came back from the region of Tyre and⁺Sidon and went to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the Decapolis.^{Verse 32}Some people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on the man.^{Verse 33}So Jesus took him aside privately, away from the crowd. Then he put his fingers into the man's ears, spit, and touched the man's tongue.^{Verse 34}And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him,“Ephphatha”(that is,“Be opened”).^{Verse 35+}Immediately the man's ears were opened, the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking clearly.^{Verse 36}Then Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone. But as much as he ordered them not to do so, they proclaimed it all the more.^{Verse 37}And they were completely astonished, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”