Mark, 7

1. The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round him,

1. Now when the Pharisees gathered together to him, with some of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem,

2. and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them.

2. they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands defiled, that is, unwashed.

3. For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, keep the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow;

3. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they wash their hands, observing the tradition of the elders;

4. and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them to keep, concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes.

4. and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they purify themselves; and there are many other traditions which they observe, the washing of cups and pots and vessels of bronze.)

5. So the Pharisees and scribes asked him, 'Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?'

5. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with hands defiled?"

6. He answered, 'How rightly Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites in the passage of scripture: This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me.

6. And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, `This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;

7. Their reverence of me is worthless; the lessons they teach are nothing but human commandments.

7. in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'

8. You put aside the commandment of God to observe human traditions.'

8. You leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men."

9. And he said to them, 'How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition!

9. And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God, in order to keep your tradition!

10. For Moses said: Honour your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death.

10. For Moses said, `Honor your father and your mother'; and, `He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die';

11. But you say, "If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Korban (that is, dedicated to God),"

11. but you say, `If a man tells his father or his mother, What you would have gained from me is Corban' (that is, given to God) --

12. then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.

12. then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother,

13. In this way you make God's word ineffective for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.'

13. thus making void the word of God through your tradition which you hand on. And many such things you do."

14. He called the people to him again and said, 'Listen to me, all of you, and understand.

14. And he called the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand:

15. Nothing that goes into someone from outside can make that person unclean; it is the things that come out of someone that make that person unclean.

15. there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him."

16. Anyone who has ears for listening should listen!'

16.

17. When he had gone into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable.

17. And when he had entered the house, and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable.

18. He said to them, 'Even you -- don't you understand? Can't you see that nothing that goes into someone from outside can make that person unclean,

18. And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot defile him,

19. because it goes not into the heart but into the stomach and passes into the sewer?

19. since it enters, not his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)

20. And he went on, 'It is what comes out of someone that makes that person unclean.

20. And he said, "What comes out of a man is what defiles a man.

21. For it is from within, from the heart, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder,

21. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery,

22. adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly.

22. coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.

23. All these evil things come from within and make a person unclean.'

23. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."

24. He left that place and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there; but he could not pass unrecognised.

24. And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house, and would not have any one know it; yet he could not be hid.

25. At once a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him and came and fell at his feet.

25. But immediately a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell down at his feet.

26. Now this woman was a gentile, by birth a Syro-Phoenician, and she begged him to drive the devil out of her daughter.

26. Now the woman was a Greek, a Syrophoeni'cian by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

27. And he said to her, 'The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little dogs.'

27. And he said to her, "Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

28. But she spoke up, 'Ah yes, sir,' she replied, 'but little dogs under the table eat the scraps from the children.'

28. But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

29. And he said to her, 'For saying this you may go home happy; the devil has gone out of your daughter.'

29. And he said to her, "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter."

30. So she went off home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.

30. And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone.

31. Returning from the territory of Tyre, he went by way of Sidon towards the Lake of Galilee, right through the Decapolis territory.

31. Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decap'olis.

32. And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him.

32. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they besought him to lay his hand upon him.

33. He took him aside to be by themselves, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man's ears and touched his tongue with spittle.

33. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue;

34. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, 'Ephphatha,' that is, 'Be opened.'

34. and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Eph'phatha," that is, "Be opened."

35. And his ears were opened, and at once the impediment of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly.

35. And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

36. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they proclaimed it.

36. And he charged them to tell no one; but the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.

37. Their admiration was unbounded, and they said, 'Everything he does is good, he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.'

37. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak."