(Mark 7:1–13)
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Then they come to Jesus from Jerusalem—scribes and Pharisees—saying,
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“Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they may eat bread.”
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And He answering said to them, “Why also do you transgress the command of God because of your tradition?
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For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother—let him die the death;
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but you say, Whoever may say to father or mother, An offering [is] whatever you may be profited by me—
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and he may not honor his father or his mother, and you set aside the command of God because of your tradition.
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Hypocrites, Isaiah prophesied well of you, saying,
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This people draws near to Me with their mouth, and with the lips it honors Me, but their heart is far off from Me;
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and in vain they worship Me, teaching teachings—commands of men.”
What Defiles a Man
(Mark 7:14–23)
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And having called near the multitude, He said to them, “Hear and understand:
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[it is] not that which is coming into the mouth [that] defiles the man, but that which is coming forth from the mouth, this defiles the man.”
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Then His disciples having come near, said to Him, “Have You known that the Pharisees, having heard the word, were stumbled?”
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And He answering said, “Every plant that My heavenly Father did not plant will be rooted up;
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leave them alone, they are guides—blind of blind; and if blind may guide blind, both will fall into a ditch.”
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And Peter answering said to Him, “Explain to us this allegory.”
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And Jesus said, “Are you also yet without understanding?
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Do you not understand that all that is going into the mouth passes into the belly, and is cast forth into the drain?
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But the things coming forth from the mouth come forth from the heart, and these defile the man;
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for out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, whoredoms, thefts, false witnessings, slanders:
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these are the things defiling the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
The Faith of the Canaanite Woman
(Mark 7:24–30)
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And Jesus having come forth from there, withdrew to the parts of Tyre and Sidon,
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and behold, a woman, a Canaanite, having come forth from those borders, called to Him, saying, “Deal kindly with me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is miserably demonized.”
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And He did not answer her a word; and His disciples having come to Him, were asking Him, saying, “Let her away, because she cries after us”;
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and He answering said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
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And having come, she was worshiping Him, saying, “Lord, help me”;
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and He answering said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread, and to cast to the little dogs.”
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And she said, “Yes, Lord, for even the little dogs eat of the crumbs that are falling from their lords’ table”;
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then answering, Jesus said to her, “O woman, great [is] your faith, let it be to you as you will”; and her daughter was healed from that hour.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
(2 Kings 4:42–44; Mark 8:1–10)
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And having departed from there, Jesus came near to the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up to the mountain, He was sitting there,
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and there came to Him great multitudes, having with them lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they cast them at the feet of Jesus, and He healed them,
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so that the multitudes wondered, seeing mute ones speaking, maimed whole, lame walking, and blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
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And Jesus having called near His disciples, said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because now three days they continue with Me, and they do not have what they may eat; and to let them away fasting I will not, lest they faint in the way.”
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And His disciples say to Him, “From where to us in a wilderness [will we get] so many loaves, as to fill so great a multitude?”
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And Jesus says to them, “How many loaves do you have?” And they said, “Seven, and a few little fishes.”
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And He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the ground,
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and having taken the seven loaves and the fishes, having given thanks, He broke, and gave to His disciples, and the disciples [gave] to the multitude.
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And they all ate, and were filled, and they took up what was over of the broken pieces seven baskets full,
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and those eating were four thousand men, apart from women and children.
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And having let away the multitudes, He went into the boat, and came to the borders of Magdala.
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