Traditions and Commandments

1 ^yNow when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were ^zdefiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,¹ holding to the ^atradition of the 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 the ^bwashing of cups 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 the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, ^c“Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, 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 rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ^f‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ^g‘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 making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

14 ^hAnd he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 ⁱThere is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, ^jbut the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”⁵ 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, ^k“Then are 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 but his stomach, and is expelled?”⁶ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 ^lFor from within, out of the ^mheart of man, come evil thoughts, ⁿsexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

24 ^oAnd ^pfrom 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 Now the woman was a Gentile, a 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 fed ^qfirst, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and ^rthrow it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s ^scrumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go 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 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And ^ttaking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after ^uspitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he ^vsighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his ^wtongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus^{8 x}charged them to tell no one. ^yBut the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished ^zbeyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the ^adeaf hear and the mute speak.”

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

1 ^bIn those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, 2 “I have ^ccompassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. 3 And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.” 4 And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?” 5 And he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven.” 6 And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. 7 And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. 8 And they ^date and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. 9 And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. 10 And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.⁹

The Pharisees Demand a Sign

11 ^eThe Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. 12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ^f“Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to ^gthis generation.” 13 And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

14 ^hNow they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 And he cautioned them, saying, “Watch out; ⁱbeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”¹⁰ 16 And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. 17 And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? ^jDo you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts ^khardened? 18 ^lHaving eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, ^mhow many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” They said to him, “Twelve.” 20 “And the seven for the four thousand, ⁿhow many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?” And they said to him, “Seven.” 21 And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

22 And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a ^oblind man and begged him to touch him. 23 And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had ^pspit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” 25 Then Jesus¹¹ laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. 26 And he sent him to his home, saying, ^q“Do not even enter the village.”

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

27 ^rAnd Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 And they told him, ^s“John the Baptist; and others say, ^tElijah; and others, one of the ^uprophets.” 29 And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, ^v“You are the Christ.” 30 And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

31 ^wAnd he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be ^xrejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after ^ythree days rise again. 32 And he said this plainly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, ^z“Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

34 ^aAnd calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and ^btake up his cross and ^cfollow me. 35 ^dFor whoever would save his life¹² will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the ^egospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to ^fgain the whole world and forfeit his soul? 37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? 38 For whoever is ^gashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he ^hcomes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord

A Psalm.