Chapter 7

Followers of Tradition

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

2 and 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;

4 and 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.)

5 The 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?”

6 And 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.”

9 He 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’;

11 but 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),’

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

13 thus 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

14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:

15 there 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.”]

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

18 And 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,

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

20 And 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,

22 deeds 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

24 aJesus 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.

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

26 Now the woman was a 1Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

27 And 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.”

28 But she answered and * said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”

29 And He said to her, “Because of this 1answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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