Mark 7

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who'd come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus,

and saw some of his disciples eating with hands that were defiled — that is, unwashed.

(The Pharisees and all the Jews don't eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial wash, holding to the tradition of the elders.

When they come from the marketplace they don't eat unless they wash. And they keep plenty of other traditions, like the washing of cups, jugs and kettles.)

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don't your disciples live by the tradition of the elders, instead of eating with defiled hands?”

And he answered, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites. As it's written: ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are a long way from me.

They worship me for nothing. Their teachings are merely human rules.’

You've let go of the commands of God and you're holding on to human traditions.”

And he said to them, “You've got a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to keep your own traditions.

Because Moses said, ‘Honour your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’

But you say that if anyone tells their father or mother, ‘Whatever help you might have had from me is Corban’ — that is, devoted to God —

then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.

That way you cancel out the word of God by the tradition you've handed down. And you do plenty of things like that.”

Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand this.

Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. It's what comes out of a person that defiles them.”

If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.

After he'd left the crowd and gone into the house, his disciples asked him about this parable.

“Are you as dull as the rest?” he said. “Don't you see that nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile them?

Because 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.)

And he went on, “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.

Because it's from inside, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come — sexual immorality, theft, murder,

adultery, greed, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.

All these evils come from inside, and they defile a person.”

Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre. He went into a house and didn't want anyone to know it, but he couldn't keep it quiet.

In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit came and fell at his feet.

She was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “because it's not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.”

And he said to her, “For saying that, you can go. The demon has left your daughter.”

She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Then Jesus left the region of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.

There some people brought him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spat and touched the man's tongue.

He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha” — that is, “Be opened.”

And straight away the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus told them not to tell anyone. But the more he told them not to, the more they kept talking about it.

People were completely amazed. “He's done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”