Mark 7
That
Which Defiles
7 The
Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around JESUS
2 and saw some of HIS disciples eating food with hands that were
defiled, 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.
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.)
5 So the Pharisees and teachers of
the law asked JESUS,
‘Why don’t YOUR disciples live according to the tradition of the
elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”
6 HE 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.
7 They worship ME in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’
8 You have let go of the commands of GOD and are holding
on to human traditions.’
9 And HE continued, ‘You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of GOD in order to
observe your own traditions!
10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and,
‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’
11 But
you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help
their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to GOD)—
12 then you no longer let them do anything for their
father or mother.
13 Thus you nullify THE WORD OF GOD by your tradition that
you have handed down. And you do many things like that.’
14 Again JESUS called the crowd to HIM and
said, ‘Listen
to ME, everyone, and understand this.
15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into
them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.’
17 After HE had left the crowd and
entered the house, HIS disciples asked HIM 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?
19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their
stomach, and then out of the body.’
(In
saying this, JESUS
declared all foods clean.)
20 He went on: ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles them.
21 For
it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual
immorality, theft, murder,
22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy,
slander, arrogance and folly.
23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.’
JESUS
Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith
24 JESUS left
that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre.
He
entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet HE could not keep HIS
presence secret.
25 In fact, as soon as she heard about
HIM, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came
and fell at HIS feet.
26 The 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.’
29 Then HE told her, ‘For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your
daughter.’
30 She went home and found her child
lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
JESUS
Heals a Deaf and Mute Man
31 Then JESUS left the vicinity of
Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the
region of the Decapolis.
32 There
some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and
they begged JESUS
to place HIS hand on him.
33 After HE took him aside, away from
the crowd, JESUS
put HIS fingers into the man’s ears. Then HE spit and touched the man’s
tongue.
34 He looked up to heaven and
with a deep sigh said to him, ‘Ephphatha!’ (which means ‘Be opened!’).
35 At this, the man’s ears were
opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
36 JESUS
commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more HE did so, the more they
kept talking about it.
37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. ‘HE has done everything well,’ they said. ‘HE even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.’"
