Mark 7–8

Human Traditions and God’s Commandments

7And the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered to him. ²And they saw that some of his disciples were eating their^a bread with unclean—that is, unwashed—hands. ³(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands ritually,^b thus^* holding fast to the traditions of the elders. ⁴And when they come^c from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions^* which they have received and^* hold fast to—for example,^d the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze kettles and dining couches.)^{e 5}And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their^f bread with unclean hands?” ⁶So he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

‘This people honors me with their^g lips,

but their heart is far, far away from me.

⁷And they worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’^h

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

⁹And he said to them, “You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keepⁱ your tradition. ¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’^j and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die^k.’^{l 11}But you say, ‘If a man says to his^m father or to hisⁿ mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received^o from me is corban”^p (that is, a gift to God), ¹²you no longer permit him to do anything for his^q father or his^r mother, ¹³thus^* making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, and you do many similar things such as this.”

Defilement from Within

¹⁴And summoning the crowd again, he said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him by^* going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person.”^{s 17}And when he entered into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸And he said to them, “So are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything that is outside that goes into a person is not able to defile him? ¹⁹For it does not enter into his heart but into his^t stomach, and goes out into the latrine”—thus^* declaring all foods clean. ²⁰And he said, “What comes out of a person, that defiles a person. ²¹For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, ²²adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, envy,^u abusive speech, pride, foolishness. ²³All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”

A Syrophoenician Woman’s Great Faith

²⁴And from there he set out and^* went to the region of Tyre. And when he^* entered into a house, he wanted no one to know, and yet he was not able to escape notice. ²⁵But immediately a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, when she^* heard about him, came and^* fell down at his feet, ²⁶Now the woman was a Greek—a Syrophoenician by nationality—and she was asking him that he would expel the demon from her daughter. ²⁷And he said to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it^* to the dogs!” ²⁸But she answered and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” ²⁹And he said to her, “Because of this statement, go! The demon has gone out of your daughter.” ³⁰And when she^* went to her home, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.

A Man Deaf and Unable to Speak Healed

³¹And again he went away from the region of Tyre and^* came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of the Decapolis. ³²And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they were imploring him that he would place his^v hand on him. ³³And he took him away from the crowd by himself and^* put his fingers into his ears, and after^* spitting, he touched his tongue. ³⁴And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”). ³⁵And^w his ears were opened and his difficulty in speaking was removed^x and he began to speak normally. ³⁶And he ordered them that they should say nothing, but as much as he ordered them not to, they proclaimed it^* even more instead. ³⁷And they were amazed beyond all measure, saying, “He has done all things well! He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!”

The Feeding of Four Thousand

8In those days there was^* again a large crowd, and they did not have^* anything they could eat. Summoning the disciples, he said to them, ²“I have compassion on the crowd, because they have remained with me three days already and do not have anything to eat. ³And if I send them away hungry to their homes they will give out on the way, and some of them have come from far away.” ⁴And his disciples answered him, “Where is anyone able to feed these people with bread here in the desert?” ⁵And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” So they said, “Seven.” ⁶And he commanded the crowd to recline for a meal on the ground, and taking the seven loaves, after he^* had given thanks he broke them^* and began giving^a them^* to his disciples so that they could set them^* before them.^* And they set them^* before the crowd. ⁷And they had a few small fish, and after^* giving thanks for them, he said to set these before them also. ⁸And they ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces that were left, seven baskets full. ⁹Now there were about four thousand. And he sent them away. ¹⁰And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and^* went to the district of Dalmanutha.

Pharisees Demand a Sign

¹¹And the Pharisees came and began to argue with him, demanding from him a sign from heaven in order to^* test him. ¹²And sighing deeply in his spirit, he said, “Why does this generation demand a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation!” ¹³And he left them, got into the boat^* again, and^* went to the other side.

Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

¹⁴And they had forgotten to take bread, and except for one loaf, they did not have any^* with them in the boat. ¹⁵And he ordered them, saying, “Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod!” ¹⁶And they began to discuss with one another that they had no bread. ¹⁷And knowing this,^* he said to them, “Why are you discussing that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Have your hearts been hardened? ¹⁸Although you^* have eyes, do you not see? And although you^* have ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” ²⁰“When I also^b broke^* the seven loaves^* for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you pick up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” ²¹And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

A Blind Man Healed at Bethsaida

²²And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man and implored him that he would touch him. ²³And he took hold of the blind man’s hand and^* led him outside the village, and after^* spitting in his eyes, he placed his hands on him and^* asked him, “Do you see anything?” ²⁴And looking up he said, “I see people, for I see them^* like trees walking around.” ²⁵Then he placed his^c hands on his eyes again, and he opened his eyes and was cured, and could see everything clearly. ²⁶And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even go into the village.”

Peter’s Confession at Caesarea Philippi

²⁷And Jesus and his disciples went out to the villages of Caesarea Philippi, and on the way he asked his disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” ²⁸And they told him, saying, “John the Baptist, and others Elijah, and others that you are one of the prophets.” ²⁹And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and^* said to him, “You are the Christ!” ³⁰And he warned them that they should tell no one about him.

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

³¹And he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Man to suffer many things and to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be killed, and after three days to rise. ³²And he was speaking openly about the subject, and Peter took him aside and^* began to rebuke him. ³³But turning around and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan, because you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of people!”

Taking Up One’s Cross to Follow Jesus

³⁴And summoning the crowd together with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to come^d after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life on account of me and of the gospel will save it. ³⁶For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? ³⁷For what can a person give in exchange for his life? ³⁸For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”