Mar 7 | NASB2020 | STEP | The Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered to Him after they came from Jerusalem ,

a Mark 7:1-23: Matt 15:1-20

ah Mark 7:24-30: Matt 15:21-28

ai Matt 11:21; Mark 7:31

ap Mark 7:31-37: Matt 15:29-31

aq Matt 11:21; Mark 7:24

ar Matt 4:18

as Matt 4:25; Mark 5:20

Mark 7

Followers of Tradition

1 ^aThe Pharisees and some of the scribes *gathered to Him after they came ^bfrom Jerusalem, 2 and saw that some of His disciples were eating their bread with ^{▼▼Lit common; i.e., ritually unclean
,} ^dunholy hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the other Jews do not eat unless they ^{▼▼Lit with a fist (following a prescribed ritual)}carefully wash their hands, thereby holding firmly to the ^ftradition of the elders; 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they ^{▼▼Lit baptize; i.e., immerse; two early mss purify}completely cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received as traditions to firmly hold, such as the ^{▼▼Lit baptisms}washing of ⁱcups, pitchers, and copper pots.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk in accordance with the ^jtradition of the elders, but eat their bread with ^{▼▼Lit common; i.e., ritually unclean
,} ^lunholy hands?” 6 But He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘ ^mThis people honors Me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from Me.
7 ‘ ⁿAnd in vain do they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the ^otradition of men.”

9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your ^ptradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘ ^qHonor your father and your mother’; and, ‘ ^rThe one who speaks evil of father or mother, is ^{▼▼Lit to die with death}certainly to be put to death’; 11 but you say, ‘If a person says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is ^tCorban (that is, ^{▼▼Lit a gift; i.e., an offering}given to God),’ 12 you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother; 13 thereby invalidating the word of God by your ^vtradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

The Heart of Man

14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: 15 there is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person ^{▼▼Late mss add, as v 16: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.}.”

16 ^{▼▼This verse is empty in this translation.}– 17 And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, ^yHis disciples asked Him about the parable. 18 And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding as well? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the person from outside cannot defile him, 19 because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and ^{▼▼Lit goes out into the latrine}is eliminated?” (Thereby He declared ^aaall foods ^abclean.) 20 And He was saying, “ ^acThat which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person. 21 For from within, out of the ^▼▼hearthearts of people, come the evil thoughts, acts of sexual immorality, thefts, murders, acts of adultery, 22 deeds of greed, wickedness, deceit, indecent behavior, ^{▼▼Lit an evil eye
,} ^afenvy, slander, ^{▼▼Or arrogance}pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile the person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman

24 ^ahNow Jesus got up and went from there to the region of ^aiTyre ^{▼▼Two early mss add and Sidon}. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know about it; and yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a ^{▼▼Lit Greek}Gentile, of Syrophoenician descent. And she repeatedly asked Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not ^{▼▼Or proper}good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the ^{▼▼I.e., pet dogs}dogs.” 28 But she answered and *said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this ^{▼▼Lit word}answer, go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And after going back to her home, she found the child ^{▼▼Lit thrown}lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

31 ^apAgain He left the region of ^aqTyre and came through Sidon to ^arthe Sea of Galilee, within the region of ^asDecapolis. 32 And they *brought to Him one who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they *begged Him to ^atlay His hand on him. 33 And Jesus ^autook him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers in his ears, and after ^avspitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; 34 and looking up to heaven with a deep ^awsigh, He *said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!” 35 And his ears were opened, and the ^{▼▼Lit bond}impediment of his tongue was ^{▼▼Lit undone}removed, and he began speaking plainly. 36 And ^azHe gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they ^bacontinued to proclaim it. 37 And they were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even those who are deaf hear, and those who are unable to talk, speak.”