Mark 7:1–23

¹Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, ²and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled— that is, unwashed.

³Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially.^{a 4}And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions for them to observe, including the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining.^b

⁵So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”

⁶Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘These people honor Me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from Me.

⁷They worship Me in vain;

they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’^c

⁸You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men.^d”

⁹He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain^e your own tradition. ¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’^f and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’^{g 11}But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God), ¹²he is no longer permitted to do anything for his father or mother. ¹³Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”

¹⁴Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand: ¹⁵Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”^h

¹⁷After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable.

¹⁸“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, ¹⁹because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)ⁱ

²⁰He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. ²¹For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,^{j 22}greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”