Marcos 7

Traditions and Commandments

1 *For ver. 1-30, see Matt. 15:1-28Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes *ch. 3:22who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were *[Acts 10:14;Rom. 14:14(Gk.)]defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,*7:3 Greek unless they wash the hands with a fist, probably indicating a kind of ceremonial washing holding to *Gal. 1:14;Col. 2:8the tradition of *Heb. 11:2the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.*7:4 Greek unless they baptize; some manuscripts unless they purify themselves And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as *Heb. 9:10;[John 2:6] the washing of *Matt. 23:25;Luke 11:39cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.*7:4 Some manuscripts omit and dining couches) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not walk according to *[See ver. 3above] the tradition of *[See ver. 3above] the elders, *Luke 11:38but eat with *[See ver. 2above]defiled hands?" 6 And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you *Matt. 23:13hypocrites, as it is written,

*Cited from Isa. 29:13;[Ezek. 33:31]"‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

7 in vain do they worship me,

teaching as *Col. 2:22;Titus 1:14doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."

9 And he said to them, "You have a fine way of *Luke 7:30;Gal. 2:21(Gk.);Heb. 10:28(Gk.)rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!10 For Moses said, *Cited from Ex. 20:12‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, *Cited from Ex. 21:17‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban"’ (that is, given to God)*7:11 Or an offering—12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,13 thus *Gal. 3:17(Gk.);[Rom. 2:23]making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do."

What Defiles a Person

14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, *Matt. 13:51"Hear me, all of you, and understand:15 *See Acts 10:14,15There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."*7:15 Some manuscripts add verse 16: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear17 And when he had entered *ch. 9:28the house and left the people, *[Matt. 13:36;15:15]his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, "Then *ch. 8:17,18are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him,19 since it enters not his heart *[1 Cor. 6:13] but his stomach, and is expelled?"*7:19 Greek goes out into the latrine (*[Luke 11:41;Acts 10:15;11:9]Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, *Matt. 12:34;James 3:6"What comes out of a person is what defiles him.21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, *Matt. 5:22,28;See Ex. 20:13,14,17murder, adultery,22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, *2 Cor. 12:21;Gal. 5:19;Eph. 4:19;2 Pet. 2:7;Jude 4sensuality, *See Matt. 6:23(Gk.)envy, *Eph. 4:31;Col. 3:8;1 Tim. 6:4slander, *See Luke 1:51pride, *[Eph. 5:17]foolishness.23 *1 Cor. 6:9,10All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.*7:24 Some manuscripts omit and Sidon And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 *[John 12:20,21] Now the woman was a *[1 Cor. 12:13] Gentile, *[Acts 21:2,3]a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, "Let the children be *[Acts 3:26;Rom. 1:16] fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and *Matt. 7:6throw it to the dogs."28 But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s *[Luke 16:21]crumbs." 29 And he said to her, "For this statement you may *John 4:50go your way; the demon has left your daughter."30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

31 *For ver. 31-37, [Matt. 15:29-31] Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to *Matt. 4:18;John 6:1the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the *ch. 5:20;Matt. 4:25Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him *Isa. 35:5,6a man who was deaf and *Isa. 35:5,6had a speech impediment, and they begged him to *See ch. 5:23lay his hand on him. 33 And *ch. 8:23taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and *ch. 8:23after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And *See ch. 6:41looking up to heaven, *ch. 8:12;[John 11:33]he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."35 *[See ver. 32above]And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And *ch. 9:9;See Matt. 8:4Jesus*7:36 Greek he charged them to tell no one. But *ch. 1:45;Matt. 9:31the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were *ch. 10:26astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."