Mark 7:1–30

Followers of Tradition

^1aThe Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come ^bfrom Jerusalem,

²and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with ^aimpure hands, that is, unwashed.

³(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they ¹carefully wash their hands, thus observing the ^atraditions of the elders;

⁴and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they ¹cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the ²washing of ^acups and pitchers and copper pots.)

⁵The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the ^atradition of the elders, but eat their bread with ^bimpure hands?”

⁶And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘^aThis people honors Me with their lips,

But their heart is far away from Me.

⁷‘^aBut in vain do they worship Me,

Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’

⁸“Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the ^atradition of men.”

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

¹⁰“For Moses said, ‘^aHonor your father and your mother’; and, ‘^bHe who speaks evil of father or mother, is to ¹be put to death’;

¹¹but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is ^aCorban (that is to say, ¹given to God),’

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

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

The Heart of Man

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 man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.

¹⁶“¹If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

¹⁷When he had left the crowd and entered ^athe house, ^bHis disciples questioned Him about the parable.

¹⁸And He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,

¹⁹because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and ¹is eliminated?” (Thus He declared ^aall foods ^bclean.)

²⁰And He was saying, “^aThat which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.

²¹“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, ¹fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,

²²deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, ^1aenvy, slander, ²pride and foolishness.

²³“All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”

The Syrophoenician Woman

^24aJesus got up and went away from there to the region of ^bTyre¹. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; ²yet He could not escape notice.

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

²⁶Now the woman was a ¹Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking 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 ¹good 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 ¹answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

³⁰And going back to her home, she found the child ¹lying on the bed, the demon having left.