The Traditions of the Elders
1 ThePhariseesand some of the scribeswho had come from Jerusalemgathered around Him.
2 They observed that some of His disciples were eating their bread with unclean— that is, unwashed — hands.
3 (For the Pharisees, in fact all the Jews, will not eat unless they wash their hands ritually, keeping the tradition of the elders.
4 When they come from the marketplace,they do not eat unless they have washed.And there are many other customs they have received and keep, like the washing of cups, jugs, copper utensils, and dining couches.)
5 Then the Phariseesand the scribesasked Him, “Why don’t Your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders,instead of eating bread with ritually uncleanhands? ”
6 He answered them,“Isaiahprophesiedcorrectly about you hypocrites,as it is written:
These people honorMe with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.
7 They worship Me in vain,
teachingas doctrinesthe commandsof men.
8 Disregarding the command of God, you keep the tradition of men.”
9 He also said to them,“You completely invalidate God’s command in order to maintainyour tradition!
10 For Mosessaid:
Honor your father and your mother;and
Whoever speaks evil of father or mother
must be put to death.
11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or mother: Whatever benefityou might have received from me is Corban’ ”(that is, a giftcommitted to the temple),
12 “you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother.
13 You revoke God’s wordby your tradition that you have handeddown. And you do many other similar things.”
14 Summoningthe crowd again, He told them,“Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:
15 Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.
16 If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen! ”
17 When He went into the house away from the crowd, the disciples asked Him about the parable.
18 And He said to them,“Are you also as lacking in understanding? Don’t you realize that nothing going into a man from the outside can defile him?
19 For it doesn’t go into his heart but into the stomachand is eliminated.”(As a result, He made all foods clean.)
20 Then He said,“What comes out of a person — that defiles him.
21 For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities,thefts, murders,
22 adulteries,greed,evil actions, deceit,promiscuity,stinginess,blasphemy,pride,and foolishness.
23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”
A Gentile Mother’s Faith
24 He got up and departed fromthere to the region of Tyreand Sidon.He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, but He could not escape notice.
25 Instead, immediately after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spiritcame and fell at His feet.
26 Now the woman was Greek,a Syrophoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to drive the demonout of her daughter.
27 He said to her,“Allow the children to be satisfied first, because it isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”
28 But she replied to Him, “Lord,even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then He told her,“Because of this reply, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.”
30 When she went back to her home, she found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.
Jesus Does Everything Well
31 Again, leaving the region of Tyre,He went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,throughthe region of the Decapolis.
32 They brought to Him a deafman who also had a speech difficulty,and begged Jesus to lay His hand onhim.
33 So He took him away from the crowd privately. After putting His fingers in the man’s ears and spitting,He touched his tongue.
34 Then, looking up to heaven,He sighed deeply and said to him,“Ephphatha!”(that is,“Be opened! ”).
35 Immediately his ears were opened,his speech difficulty was removed,and he began to speak clearly.
36 Then He ordered them to tell no one,but the more He would order them, the more they would proclaimit.
37 They were extremely astonished and said, “He has done everything well!He even makes deafpeople hear, and people unable to speak,talk! ”
—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/MRK/7-838f887a5938819cb8093edb2ab8294c.mp3?version_id=72—