Mark 7

Jesus Teaches about Inner Purity

1. One day some Pharisees and teachers of religious law arrived from Jerusalem to see Jesus.

2. They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating.

3. (The Jews, especially the Pharisees, do not eat until they have poured water over their cupped hands,[a] as required by their ancient traditions.

4. Similarly, they don’t eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands[b] in water. This is but one of many traditions they have clung to—such as their ceremonial washing of cups, pitchers, and kettles.[c])

5. So the Pharisees and teachers of religious law asked him, “Why don’t your disciples follow our age-old tradition? They eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony.”

6. Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, 6 ‘These people honor me with their lips, 6 but their hearts are far from me.

7. Their worship is a farce, 7 for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’[d]

8. For you ignore God’s law and substitute your own tradition.”

9. Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God’s law in order to hold on to your own tradition.

10. For instance, Moses gave you this law from God: ‘Honor your father and mother,’[e] and ‘Anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’[f]

11. But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’[g]

12. In this way, you let them disregard their needy parents.

13. And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others.”

14. Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand.

15. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.[h]”

Footnotes:
a. 7:3: Greek have washed with the fist.
b. 7:4a: Some manuscripts read sprinkle themselves.
c. 7:4b: Some manuscripts add and dining couches.
d. 7:7: Isa 29:13 (Greek version).
e. 7:10a: Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.
f. 7:10b: Exod 21:17 (Greek version); Lev 20:9 (Greek version).
g. 7:11: Greek ‘What I would have given to you is Corban’ (that is, a gift).
h. 7:15: Some manuscripts add verse 16, Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. Compare 4:9, 23.
i. 7:24: Some manuscripts add and Sidon.
j. 7:25: Greek unclean.
k. 7:27: Greek Let the children eat first.
l. 7:31: Greek Decapolis.