The Tradition of the Elders (Mark 7:1–13)
1 UDB Then some Pharisees and men who taught the Jewish laws came from Jerusalem to talk to Jesus. They said, BSB BSB: Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,
2 UDB "We see that your disciples disobey the traditions of our ancestors! They do not perform the proper ritual of washing their hands before they eat!" BSB BSB: “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”
3 UDB Jesus answered them, "And I see that you refuse to obey God's commands just so that you can follow what your ancestors taught you! BSB BSB: Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
4 UDB God gave these two commands: 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'People who speak evil about their father or mother must be executed.' BSB BSB: For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
5 UDB "But you tell the people, 'You can say to your father or mother, "What I was going to give to you to help provide for you, I have now promised to give to God."' BSB BSB: 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 UDB When you do that, you think that you do not need to give anything to your parents. In that way you ignore what God commanded, just so that you can follow what your ancestors taught you! BSB BSB: he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.
7 UDB You only pretend to be good! Isaiah also told the truth about you when he spoke God's thoughts about your ancestors. BSB BSB: You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:
9 UDB It is useless for them to worship me, because they teach what people thought up as their authoritative teachings.'" BSB BSB: They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”
What Defiles a Man (Mark 7:14–23)
10 UDB Then Jesus again called the crowd to come nearer to him. He said to them, "Listen to what I am about to tell you and try to understand it. BSB BSB: Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
11 UDB Nothing that a person puts into his mouth to eat makes him contaminated. Instead, it is what people say—the words that come from their mouths—that makes a person degraded." BSB BSB: A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
12 UDB Later the disciples went to Jesus and said, "Do you know that the Pharisees heard what you said and became angry at you?" BSB BSB: Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 UDB Then Jesus told them this parable. "My Father in heaven will get rid of all those who teach things that are against what he says, just like a farmer gets rid of plants that he did not plant by pulling them up by their roots. BSB BSB: But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.
14 UDB Do not pay any attention to the Pharisees. They do not help people to understand what God commands, just like blind guides do not help blind people to see where they should walk. Instead, they all fall into the same hole." BSB BSB: Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
15 UDB Peter said to Jesus, "Explain to us the parable about what a person eats." BSB BSB: Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”
16 UDB Jesus replied to them, "You should certainly understand what I teach, and I am disappointed that you do not. BSB BSB: “Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.
17 UDB You ought to understand that whatever food people eat enters their stomachs, and later what remains passes out of their bodies. BSB BSB: “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?
18 UDB Instead, the evil words that the mouth speaks are what makes God reject a person because they come from the evil things that the person thinks in his innermost being. BSB BSB: But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
19 UDB This is because it is people's innermost beings that cause them to think things that are evil, to murder people, to commit adultery, to commit other sexual sins, to steal things, to testify falsely, and to speak evil about others. BSB BSB: For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
20 UDB It is these actions that cause God to consider people to be unacceptable to him. But to eat with unwashed hands does not cause God to reject people." BSB BSB: 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)
22 UDB A woman came to Jesus. She was from the group of people called Canaanites, who live in that region. She came to Jesus and kept shouting to him, "Lord, you are the descendant of King David, have pity on me! My daughter is suffering very much because a demon controls her." BSB BSB: 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.”
25 UDB But the woman came closer to Jesus and knelt down in front of him. She pled, "Lord, help me!" BSB BSB: The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 UDB Then he told her, "It is not good for someone to take food that has been prepared for his children and throw it to the little dogs in the house." BSB BSB: But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 UDB But the woman replied, "Lord, what you say is correct, but even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall to the floor when their masters sit at their own tables and eat!" BSB BSB: “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
The Feeding of the Four Thousand (2 Kings 4:42–44; Mark 8:1–10)
29 UDB Then Jesus and his disciples went away from that area, back to the Sea of Galilee. Then Jesus climbed the hill near there and sat down to teach the people. BSB BSB: Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.
30 UDB Large crowds kept coming to him for the next two days and brought lame, crippled, and blind people, those who were unable to talk, and many others who had various sicknesses. They laid them in front of Jesus so that he would heal them. And he healed them. BSB BSB: 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 UDB The crowd saw him heal people who could not talk, crippled people, lame people, and blind people, and they were amazed. They said, "Praise God who rules over us in Israel!" BSB BSB: 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 UDB Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "This crowd of people has been with me for three days and have nothing left to eat. I feel sorry for them. I do not want to send them away while they are still hungry, because if I did that, they might faint on the way home." BSB BSB: 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 UDB The disciples said to him, "In this place where nobody lives, we cannot possibly obtain enough food to feed such a large crowd!" BSB BSB: The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”
34 UDB Jesus asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They answered him, "Seven small loaves and a few small cooked fish." BSB BSB: “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
35 UDB Then Jesus told the people to sit on the ground. BSB BSB: And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.
36 UDB He took the seven loaves and the cooked fish. After he had thanked God for them, he broke them into pieces and he kept giving them to the disciples. Then the disciples kept distributing them to the crowd. BSB BSB: 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 UDB Because Jesus made the food multiply miraculously, all those people ate and had plenty to satisfy them. Then the disciples collected the pieces of food that were left over, and they filled seven large baskets with them. BSB BSB: They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
38 UDB There were four thousand men who ate, but no one counted the women and the children who also ate. BSB BSB: A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children.
39 UDB After Jesus sent the crowd away, he and the disciples got in a boat and sailed around the lake to the region of Magadan. BSB BSB: After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.