7:1  The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem,

7:2  and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed.

7:3  (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, {thus} observing the traditions of the elders;

7:4  and {when they come} from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.)

7:5  The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, "Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?"

7:6  And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: `THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

7:7  `BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'

7:8  "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men."

7:9  He was also saying to them, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.

7:10  "For Moses said, `HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER'; and, `HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH';

7:11  but you say, `If a man says to {his} father or {his} mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given {to God}),'

7:12  you no longer permit him to do anything for {his} father or {his} mother;

7:13  {thus} invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that."

7:14  After He called the crowd to Him again, He {began} saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:

7:15  there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.

7:16  ["If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.]"

7:17  When he had left the crowd {and} entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable.

7:18  And He *said to them, "Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,

7:19  because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated? ({Thus He} declared all foods clean.)"

7:20  And He was saying, "That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.

7:21  "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,

7:22  deeds of coveting {and} wickedness, {as well as} deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride {and} foolishness.

7:23  "All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man."

7:24  Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know {of it;} yet He could not escape notice.

7:25  But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet.

7:26  Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

7:27  And He was saying to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

7:28  But she answered and *said to Him, "Yes, Lord, {but} even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs."

7:29  And He said to her, "Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter."

7:30  And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

7:31  Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.

7:32  They *brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they *implored Him to lay His hand on him.

7:33  Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue {with the saliva;}

7:34  and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He *said to him, "Ephphatha! that is, "Be opened!""

7:35  And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he {began} speaking plainly.

7:36  And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.

7:37  They were utterly astonished, saying, "He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."