Traditions and Commandments

1 ^pNow when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes ^qwho had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^rdefiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,¹ holding to ^sthe tradition of ^tthe elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.² And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as ^uthe washing of ^vcups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.³) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to ^sthe tradition of ^tthe elders, ^wbut eat with ^rdefiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you ^xhypocrites, as it is written,

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 ^arejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ^b‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^c‘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)⁴— 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus ^dmaking 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, ^e“Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 ^fThere 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.”⁵ 17 And when he had entered ^gthe house and left the people, ^hhis disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then ⁱare 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 ^jbut his stomach, and is expelled?”⁶ (^kThus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, ^l“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, ^mmurder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, ⁿsensuality, ^oenvy, ^pslander, ^qpride, ^rfoolishness. 23 ^sAll 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 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 ^tNow the woman was a ^uGentile, ^va 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 ^wfed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and ^xthrow it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s ^ycrumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may ^zgo 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 ^aThen he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to ^bthe Sea of Galilee, in the region of the ^cDecapolis. 32 And they brought to him ^da man who was deaf and ^dhad a speech impediment, and they begged him to ^elay his hand on him. 33 And ^ftaking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and ^fafter spitting touched his tongue. 34 And ^glooking up to heaven, ^hhe sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 ^dAnd his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And ⁱJesus⁸ charged them to tell no one. But ^jthe more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were ^kastonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever