Mark 7
7
1 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes, arriving from Jerusalem, gathered together before him.
2 And when they had seen certain ones from his disciples eating bread with common hands, that is, with unwashed hands, they disparaged them.
3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat without repeatedly washing their hands, holding to the tradition of the elders.
4 And when returning from the market, unless they wash, they do not eat. And there are many other things which have been handed down to them to observe: the washings of cups, and pitchers, and bronze containers, and beds.
5 And so the Pharisees and the scribes questioned him: "Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but they eat bread with common hands?"
6 But in response, he said to them: "So well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, just as it has been written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 And in vain do they worship me, teaching the doctrines and precepts of men.'
8 For abandoning the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men, to the washing of pitchers and cups. And you do many other things similar to these."
9 And he said to them: "You effectively nullify the precept of God, so that you may observe your own tradition.
10 For Moses said: 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever will have cursed father or mother, let him die a death.'
11 But you say, 'If a man will have said to his father or mother: Korban, (which is a gift) whatever is from me will be to your benefit,'
12 then you do not release him to do anything for his father or mother,
13 rescinding the word of God through your tradition, which you have handed down. And you do many other similar things in this way."
14 And again, calling the crowd to him, he said to them: "Listen to me, all of you, and understand.
15 There is nothing from outside a man which, by entering into him, is able to defile him. But the things which procede from a man, these are what pollute a man.
16 Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
17 And when he had entered into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable.
18 And he said to them: "So, are you also without prudence? Do you not understand that everything entering to a man from outside is not able to pollute him?
19 For it does not enter into his heart, but into the gut, and it exits into the sewer, purging all foods."
20 "But," he said "the things which go out from a man, these pollute a man.
21 For from within, from the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 thefts, avarice, wickedness, deceitfulness, homosexuality, an evil eye, blasphemy, self-exaltation, foolishness.
23 All these evils procede from within and pollute a man."
24 And rising up, he went from there to the area of Tyre and Sidon. And entering into a house, he intended no one to know about it, but he was not able to remain hidden.
25 For a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit, as soon as she heard about him, entered and fell prostrate at his feet.
26 For the woman was a Gentile, by birth a Syro-Phoenician. And she petitioned him, so that he would cast the demon from her daughter.
27 And he said to her: "First allow the sons to have their fill. For it is not good to take away the bread of the sons and throw it to the dogs."
28 But she responded by saying to him: "Certainly, Lord. Yet the young dogs also eat, under the table, from the crumbs of the children."
29 And he said to her, "Because of this saying, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter."
30 And when she had gone to her house, she found the girl lying on the bed; and the demon had gone away.
31 And again, departing from the borders of Tyre, he went by way of Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the area of the Ten Cities.
32 And they brought someone who was deaf and mute to him. And they begged him, so that he would lay his hand upon him.
33 And taking him away from the crowd, he put his fingers into his ears; and spitting, he touched his tongue.
34 And gazing up to heaven, he groaned and said to him: "Ephphatha," which is, "Be opened."
35 And immediately his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was released, and he spoke correctly.
36 And he instructed them not to tell anyone. But as much as he instructed them, so much more did they preach about it.
37 And so much more did they wonder, saying: "He has done all things well. He has caused both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."
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Mark 7
7
Obey God’s Law Not Men’s
1Some Pharisees and some teachers of the law came from Jerusalem. They gathered around Jesus. 2They saw that some of Jesus’ followers ate food with hands that were not clean. (“Not clean” means that they did not wash their hands in the way the Pharisees said people must. 3The Pharisees and all the Jews never eat before washing their hands in this special way. They do this to follow the teaching given to them by their great people who lived before them. 4And when the Jews buy something in the market, they never eat it until they wash it in a special way. They also follow other rules of their great people who lived before them. They follow rules about the washing of cups, pitchers, and pots.# Some Greek copies continue, “and dining couches.”)
5The Pharisees and the teachers of the law said to Jesus, “Your followers don’t follow the rules given to us by our great people who lived before us. Your followers eat their food with hands that are not clean. Why do they do this?”
6Jesus answered, “You are all hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he spoke about you. Isaiah wrote,
‘These people show honor to me with words.
But their hearts are far from me.
7Their worship of me is worthless.
The things they teach are nothing
but human rules they have memorized.’ Isaiah 29:13
8You have stopped following the commands of God. Now you only follow the teachings of men.”# Some Greek copies continue, “You wash pitchers and jugs and do many other such things.”
9Then Jesus said to them: “You think you are clever! You ignore the commands of God so that you can follow your own teachings! 10Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother.’# Quotation from Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16. Then Moses also said, ‘Anyone who says cruel things to his father or mother must be put to death.’# Quotation from Exodus 21:17. 11But you teach that a person can say to his father or mother, ‘I have something I could use to help you. But I will not use it for you. I will give it to God.’ 12You are telling that person that he does not have to do anything for his father or mother. 13So you are teaching that it is not important to do what God said. You think that it is more important to follow your own rules, which you teach people. And you do many things like that.”
14Jesus called the people to him again. He said, “Every person should listen to me and understand what I am saying. 15There is nothing a person puts into his body that makes him unclean. A person is made unclean by the things that come out of him. 16[Let those with ears use them and listen!]”# Some Greek copies do not contain the bracketed text.
17When Jesus left the people and went inside, his followers asked him about this story. 18Jesus said, “Do you still have trouble understanding? Surely you know that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him unclean. 19Food does not go into a person’s mind. Food goes into his stomach. Then that food goes out of his body.” (When Jesus said this, he meant that there is no food that is unclean for people to eat.)
20And Jesus said, “The things that come out of a man are the things that make him unclean. 21All these evil things begin inside a person, in the mind: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, 22selfishness, doing bad things to other people, lying, doing sinful things, jealousy, saying bad things about people, pride, and foolish living. 23All these evil things come from within a person. These things make a person unclean.”
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman
24Jesus left that place and went to the area around Tyre.# Some Greek copies continue, “and Sidon.” He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. But Jesus could not stay hidden. 25A woman heard that he was there. Her little daughter had an evil spirit in her. So the woman quickly came to Jesus and fell at his feet. 26She was not Jewish. She was Greek, born in Phoenicia, in Syria. She begged Jesus to force the demon out of her daughter.
27Jesus told the woman: “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.”
28She answered, “That is true, Lord. But the dogs under the table can eat the pieces of food that the children don’t eat.”
29Then Jesus said, “That is a very good answer. You may go. The demon has left your daughter.”
30The woman went home and found her daughter lying in bed. The demon was gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man
31Then Jesus left the area around Tyre. He went through Sidon to Lake Galilee, to the area of the Ten Towns.# In Greek, called “Decapolis.” It was an area east of Lake Galilee that once had ten main towns. 32While he was there, some people brought a man to him. This man was deaf and could not talk. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him.
33Jesus led the man away from the crowd, to be alone with him. Jesus put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then Jesus spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34Jesus looked up to heaven and took a deep breath. He said to the man, “Ephphatha!” (This means, “Be opened.”) 35When Jesus did this, the man was able to hear. He was also able to use his tongue, and he spoke clearly.
36Jesus commanded the people not to tell anyone about what happened. But the more he commanded them, the more they told about it. 37They were really amazed. They said, “Jesus does everything well. He makes the deaf hear! And those who can’t talk—Jesus makes them able to speak.”
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.