Mark 7

That Which Defiles

7:1–23pp—Mt 15:1–20

7The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ²and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled,^g 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.^{h 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)ⁱ

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

⁶He 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.

⁷They worship me in vain;

their teachings are merely human rules.’^bk

⁸You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”^l

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

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

¹⁷After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him^s 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? ¹⁹For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods^t clean.)^u

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

Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

7:24–30pp—Mt 15:21–28

²⁴Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.^gw He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit^x came and fell at his feet. ²⁶The 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.”

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

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

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man

7:31–37pp—Mt 15:29–31

³¹Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre^y and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee^z and into the region of the Decapolis.^{ha 32}There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk,^b and they begged Jesus to place his hand on^c him.

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

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