Mark 7
1 The Pharisees and some of the Bible scholars who came from Jerusalem gathered near him. 2 They saw that some of his students ate their bread with unconsecrateda hands, that is, unwashed. 3 (You see, the Pharisees and all the Judeans do not eat without washing their hands with a fist,b continuing to hold to what was passed down from the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat without submersingc themselves. There are many other things they have also accepted continuing to hold to: submersions of cups and pitchers and pots and dining couches.) 5 When the Pharisees and the Bible scholars saw it, they confronted him, “Why don’t your students walk according to what was passed down by the elders,d but instead they eat their bread with unconsecrated hands?”
6 He told them, “It is just as Isaiah prophesied about you pretenders, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart holds itself far from me. 7 They act reverentlye toward me pointlessly,f teaching teachings that are human directives.’g 8 While dismissing God’s direction, you hold to what was passed downh by humans.”
9 He also said to them, “You thoroughly disregard God’s direction so that you may establish something of your own to pass down.i 10 You see, Moses said, ‘Treat your father and mother as having value,’j and ‘Whoever speaks abusively against a father or mother should end in death.’k 11 Nevertheless, you say that if a person says to a father or mother, ‘Whatever would have been helpful from me is korban (which means a “gift” intended to be given to God),’l 12 then you no longer allow them to do anything for the father or mother, 13 overriding what God has said with the tradition that you pass down. And you do many things just like this.”
14 After calling to the crowd again, he said to them, “Everyone, listen to me and make the connections!m 15 There is nothing from outside a person that when it goes into them it is able to make them unconsecratedn; instead, the things that come out of the person are what make the person unconsecrated.
17 o When Jesus went into the house away from the crowd, his students began asking him about the parable.
18 “Are you unable to put it together, like them, too?” he said to them. “Do you not understand that nothing that goes into a person from outside is able to make them unconsecrated 19 since it does not go into their heart but into their stomach instead, and then it goes out into the latrine?” (All foods are clean!)
20 “What goes out from a person,” he said, “That is what makes the person unconsecrated.p 21 You see, from inside—from people’s hearts—go out harmful deliberations,q sexual exploitation,r theft, murder, 22 marital infidelity, greed, actions that cause others hardship, fraud,s lack of restraint, pursuing oppressive gain,t speaking disrespectfully, thinking of oneself as above others, and carelessness. 23 All these harmful things go out from the inside and make the person unconsecrated.”u
24 After he got up, he went away from there to the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know when he went inside a house there, but it wasn’t possible to keep it hidden. 25 In fact, a woman heard about him straightaway whose daughter had an unclean spirit-breath, and she came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek of Syrophoenician origin. She asked him to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27 He said to her, “Allow the children to be satisfied first since it is not kind to take the children’s food and throw it to the pet dogs.”v
28 “Lord,” she replied, “Even the pet dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
29 “Because of this conversation, go,” he said to her. “The demon has come out of your daughter.” 30 After leaving and going to her home, she found the child sprawled on the bed, and the demon had come out.
31 After Jesus came out again from the region of Tyre, he went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the middle of the region of Decapolis. 32 People carried to him someone who was deaf and had difficulty speaking, and they pleaded with him to place his hand on him. 33 After taking him aside by himself, away from the crowd, Jesus poked his fingers into the person’s ears, and after spitting, he held his fingers to the person’s tongue. 34 After looking up to the heavens, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha” (which means, “Be opened up”).
35 Straightaway, the person’s ears were opened, and his tongue loosened up, and he spoke clearly. 36 He instructed them clearly not to tell anyone, but as much as he was telling them clearly not to, they announced it even that much more. 37 People were beyond shocked, saying, “He has made everything well! He even makes people who are deaf hear and people who can’t speak speak!”
FOOTNOTES:
a Traditionally, ‘unclean’ or ‘impure’ or ‘defiled’ or even ‘profane.’ The word koine literally just means ‘common’ or ‘ordinary.’ It is used to contrast something that has been ritually cleansed in order to prepare it for a sacred purpose. Culturally, eating was considered a form of spiritual practice that required ritual cleansing.
b This refers to a ritual washing, but the method of washing or what role a fist played is unknown.
c It seems they would engage in a full ritual bath if they exposed themselves to the potential for ritual uncleanness by mingling with the public.
d Traditionally, ‘the tradition of the elders’
e Traditionally, ‘worship.’ This is a less common word than the one usually translated as ‘worship.’ The lexicon lists it as meaning to ‘honor’ or ‘revere’ or ‘show respect’ or ‘act piously.’
f This word has a few possible different but similar meanings. It can mean ‘without purpose’ as is reflected by ‘pointlessly,’ and it can mean ‘without results’ such as rendering it ‘fruitlessly.’ It can also mean something like ‘falsely’ or ‘deceptively’ or ‘mistakenly.’ Any of these meanings could be appropriate here. They do it in a way that has no purpose, only doing it because “that’s how we’ve always done things.” They do it in a way that does not produce the results that actually matter: love for one another, justice, compassion, etc. They do it in a way that is mistaken, thinking that because the elders commanded it, God wants it too.
g Quotation of Isaiah 29:13
h Traditionally, ‘the tradition of’
i Traditionally, ‘your own tradition’
j Quotation of Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16
k Quotation of Exodus 21:17 and Leviticus 20:9
l The words ‘intended to be given to God’ are added for clarity. Korban is from Hebrew and describes a practice of setting things aside to be given to God at a later date while still in the person’s possession.
m Traditionally, ‘understand.’ The word literally means to put something together.
n Or ‘common’ or ‘ritually unclean’ or ‘unprepared for sacred purpose.’ It is not an inherently ‘bad’ state but rather it is simply not ritually ready to engage in a sacred calling.
o Verse 16 seems to be a later addition and not original to the document. It is also redundant with verse 14. It reads, “Let anyone with ears to hear, listen.”
p Or ‘common’ or ‘ritually unclean’ or ‘unprepared for sacred purpose.’ It is not an inherently ‘bad’ state but rather it is simply not ritually ready to engage in a sacred calling.
q The act of speculating, considering, ruminating on something, seriously discussing, etc. It carries the idea of ruminating on something leading to acting on it.
r Traditionally, ‘sexual immorality.’ The benefit of using ‘immorality’ is that it’s vague. Unfortunately, it has been abused and weaponized to be able to include anything related to sex that makes people with power uncomfortable. There’s a good case to be made that in the mind of a 1st century Jew, it would point to the sexual instruction contained in Leviticus 17-20. The reasoning for this has to do with the connection of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:20-21, which included a prohibition of against “things defiled by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood.” It’s interesting with regard to Matthew 15:10-20 to note that three of the four prohibitions in Acts 15 include what people should not eat; the other is ‘sexual immorality.’ Another reason to lean toward ‘exploitation’ is that porneia shares a root with perneimi, which means ‘to sell.’ Porne is the word for a female sex worker, which in the cultural context would always have been someone exploited and failed by the patriarchal society.
s Or ‘scams’ or ‘cons’ or ‘trickery.’ Predatory lending practices would be a modern example. For-profit colleges defrauding students would be another example.
t Traditionally, ‘envy.’ Literally, ‘eyes of hardship.’ The eyes were used a symbol of desire for wherever they were focused, often within the context of wealth, status, and resources. A good example of this is Matthew 6.
u Or ‘unready for sacred calling’
v The word literally is ‘puppy’ or ‘dog.’ It’s a different form than the usual word for ‘dog’ in the Bible which refers to feral dogs. This one is specifically domesticated dogs.