Mark 7

1 Then came together unto Him the Pharisees and certain of the scribes, who came from Jerusalem.
2 And when they saw some of His disciples eat bread with defiled (that is to say, unwashed) hands, they found fault.
3 For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat, unless they wash their hands oft, holding to the tradition of the elders.
4 And when they come from the market, they eat not unless they wash; and there are many other customs which they have received and hold to, as the washing of cups, pots, brazen vessels and of tables.
5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him, "Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"
6 He answered and said unto them, "Well hath Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written: `This people honoreth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.
7 Therefore, in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.'
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold to the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other like things ye do."
9 And He said unto them, "Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
10 For Moses said, `Honor thy father and thy mother,' and, `Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death.'
11 But ye say that if a man shall say to his father or mother, `It is Corban' (that is to say, a gift of whatsoever thou mightest have profited from me), he shall be freed;
12 and ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father or his mother,
13 thus making the Word of God of no effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered. And many like things do ye."
14 And when He had called all the people unto Him, He said unto them, "Hearken unto Me every one of you, and understand:
15 There is nothing from outside a man that, entering into him, can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."
17 And when He had entered into the house away from the people, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.
18 And He said unto them, "Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive that whatsoever thing from outside entereth into a man, it cannot defile him,
19 because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly and goeth out into the drain, thereby purging all meats?"
20 And He said, "That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23 all these evil things come from within and defile the man."
24 And from thence He arose and went into the region of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into a house, and would have no man know about it; but He could not be hid.
25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of Him, and came and fell at His feet.
26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by nation, and she besought Him that He would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
27 But Jesus said unto her, "Let the children first be filled, for it is not meet to take the children's bread and to cast it unto the dogs."
28 And she answered and said unto Him, "Yes, Lord, yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs."
29 And He said unto her, "For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter."
30 And when she had come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, He came unto the Sea of Galilee through the midst of the region of Decapolis.
32 And they brought unto Him one who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech, and they besought Him to put His hand upon him.
33 And He took him aside from the multitude and put His fingers into his ears, and He spat and touched his tongue.
34 And looking up to Heaven, He sighed and said unto him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."
35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed and he spoke plainly.
36 And He charged them that they should tell no man. But the more He charged them, the more widely they proclaimed it
37 and were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He hath done all things well; he maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak."

Mark 7 Commentaries

Third Millennium Bible (TMB), New Authorized Version, Copyright 1998 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc., Gary, SD 57237. All rights reserved.