Tradition and Vain Worship
(Mark 7:1-13)
1Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
What Defiles a Man
(Mark 7:14-23)
10And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: 11Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? 13But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. 14Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable. 16And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? 17Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? 18But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. 19For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman
(Mark 7:24-30)
21Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
(Mark 8:1-10)
29And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. 30And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them: 31Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
32Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. 33And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude? 34And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes. 35And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. 36And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full. 38And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
39And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.
King James Bible
Text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.
The Tradition of the Elders
(Mark 7:1–13)
1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3 He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,” 6 he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8 ‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 And in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrine rules made by men.’”
What Defiles a Man
(Mark 7:14–23)
10 He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand. 11 That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
12 Then the disciples came, and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying?” 13 But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand?
17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly, and then out of the body? 18 But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman
(Mark 7:24–30)
21 Jesus went out from there, and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders, and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely demonized!” 23 But he answered her not a word. His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.” 24 But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.” 26 But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
(2 Kings 4:42–44; Mark 8:1–10)
29 Jesus departed there, and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up into the mountain, and sat there. 30 Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them, 31 so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, injured whole, lame walking, and blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.” 33 The disciples said to him, “Where should we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?” 34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.” 35 He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; 36 and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. 37 They all ate, and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over. 38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.
39 Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.
The Tradition of the Elders
(Mark 7:1–13)
1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ a and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’ b 5 But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’ 6 he need not honor his father or mother with it. c Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from Me.
9 They worship Me in vain;
they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ d”
What Defiles a Man
(Mark 7:14–23)
10 Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
12 Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots. 14 Disregard them! They are blind guides. e If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 “Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked. 17 “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. 20 These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman
(Mark 7:24–30)
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”
23 But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs f eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
(2 Kings 4:42–44; Mark 8:1–10)
29 Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down. 30 Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them. 31 The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”
33 The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35 And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
37 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 A total of four thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children.
39 After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
Footnotes:
4 a Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16
4 b Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9
6 c NE and TR (see also Mark 7:12); literally he need not honor his father or mother ; SBL, NA, WH, and BYZ do not include or mother .
9 d Isaiah 29:13 (see also LXX)
14 e Or blind guides of the blind
27 f Or puppies
Tradition and Vain Worship
(Mark 7:1-13)
1Then come unto Jesus do they from Jerusalem -- scribes and Pharisees -- saying, 2'Wherefore do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they do not wash their hands when they may eat bread.' 3And he answering said to them, 'Wherefore also do ye transgress the command of God because of your tradition? 4for God did command, saying, Honour thy father and mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother -- let him die the death; 5but ye say, Whoever may say to father or mother, An offering is whatever thou mayest be profited by me; -- 6and he may not honour his father or his mother, and ye did set aside the command of God because of your tradition. 7'Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8This people doth draw nigh to Me with their mouth, and with the lips it doth honour Me, but their heart is far off from Me;
9and in vain do they worship Me, teaching teachings -- commands of men.'
What Defiles a Man
(Mark 7:14-23)
10And having called near the multitude, he said to them, 'Hear and understand: 11not that which is coming into the mouth doth defile the man, but that which is coming forth from the mouth, this defileth the man.'
12Then his disciples having come near, said to him, 'Hast thou known that the Pharisees, having heard the word, were stumbled?' 13And he answering said, 'Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant shall be rooted up; 14let them alone, guides they are -- blind of blind; and if blind may guide blind, both into a ditch shall fall.'
15And Peter answering said to him, 'Explain to us this simile.' 16And Jesus said, 'Are ye also yet without understanding? 17do ye not understand that all that is going into the mouth doth pass into the belly, and into the drain is cast forth? 18but the things coming forth from the mouth from the heart do come forth, and these defile the man; 19for out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, whoredoms, thefts, false witnessings, evil speakings: 20these are the things defiling the man; but to eat with unwashen hands doth not defile the man.'
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman
(Mark 7:24-30)
21And Jesus having come forth thence, withdrew to the parts of Tyre and Sidon, 22and lo, a woman, a Canaanitess, from those borders having come forth, did call to him, saying, 'Deal kindly with me, Sir -- Son of David; my daughter is miserably demonized.' 23And he did not answer her a word; and his disciples having come to him, were asking him, saying -- 'Let her away, because she crieth after us;' 24and he answering said, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' 25And having come, she was bowing to him, saying, 'Sir, help me;' 26and he answering said, 'It is not good to take the children's bread, and to cast to the little dogs.' 27And she said, 'Yes, sir, for even the little dogs do eat of the crumbs that are falling from their lords' table;' 28then answering, Jesus said to her, 'O woman, great is thy faith, let it be to thee as thou wilt;' and her daughter was healed from that hour.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
(Mark 8:1-10)
29And Jesus having passed thence, came nigh unto the sea of Galilee, and having gone up to the mountain, he was sitting there, 30and there came to him great multitudes, having with them lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and they did cast them at the feet of Jesus, and he healed them, 31so that the multitudes did wonder, seeing dumb ones speaking, maimed whole, lame walking, and blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
32And Jesus having called near his disciples, said, 'I have compassion upon the multitude, because now three days they continue with me, and they have not what they may eat; and to let them away fasting I will not, lest they faint in the way.' 33And his disciples say to him, 'Whence to us, in a wilderness, so many loaves, as to fill so great a multitude?' 34And Jesus saith to them, 'How many loaves have ye?' and they said, 'Seven, and a few little fishes.' 35And he commanded the multitudes to sit down upon the ground, 36and having taken the seven loaves and the fishes, having given thanks, he did break, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 37And they did all eat, and were filled, and they took up what was over of the broken pieces seven baskets full, 38and those eating were four thousand men, apart from women and children.
39And having let away the multitudes, he went into the boat, and did come to the borders of Magdala.
The Favor of God Message paraphrase
Jesus Confronts Religious Leaders on Tradition
¹ Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
² “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
³ Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’*
⁵ But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’
⁶ they are not to honor their father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
⁷ You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
⁸ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
⁹ They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’”
Jesus Teaches About Inner Purity
¹⁰ Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand!
¹¹ What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”*
¹² Then the disciples came to Him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
¹³ He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.
¹⁴ Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
¹⁵ Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
¹⁶ “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them.
¹⁷ “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?
¹⁸ But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
²⁰ These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
The Faith of a Canaanite Woman
²¹ Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
²² A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
²³ Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came to Him and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
²⁴ He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
²⁵ The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
²⁶ He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the puppies.”
²⁷ “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the puppies eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”*
²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
²⁹ Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountainside and sat down.
³⁰ Great crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at His feet; and He healed them.
³¹ The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
³² Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
³³ His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”
³⁴ “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.
“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
³⁵ He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
³⁶ Then He took the seven loaves and the fish, and when He had given thanks, He broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.
³⁷ They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
³⁸ The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children.
³⁹ After Jesus had sent the crowd away, He got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan.
Footnotes:
15:4: Jesus refers to the fifth commandment and a traditional Jewish penalty for dishonoring parents, showing how their traditions conflicted with God’s command.
15:11: This statement challenges traditional Jewish purity laws, emphasizing inner purity over external rituals.
15:27: The woman’s response reflects humility and faith, acknowledging her low position in Jewish society but trusting in Jesus’ mercy to extend beyond Israel.
15:26: The term “dogs” referred to Gentiles in a diminutive, familiar sense, and Jesus uses this to test the woman’s faith, not to reject her.
15:19: Jesus lists internal sins like thoughts and words, showing how the heart’s condition determines a person’s true purity or defilement.
15:31: The crowd’s response to Jesus’ healings shows their recognition of divine intervention, as they “praised the God of Israel,” acknowledging Jesus’ power as coming from God.
15:38: Feeding the four thousand demonstrates Jesus’ abundant provision, mirroring the earlier feeding of the five thousand but showing His care for Gentile audiences as well.
