Mark 7:14–37

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.

^31aAgain He went out from the region of ^bTyre, and came through Sidon to ^cthe Sea of Galilee, within the region of ^dDecapolis.

³²They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to ^alay His hand on him.

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

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

³⁵And his ears were opened, and the ¹impediment of his tongue ²was removed, and he began speaking plainly.

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

³⁷They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”