THE TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS

7 Then Phariseeso and some of the scribesp who had come from Jerusalemq gathered around him. 2 They observed that some of his disciples were eating bread with uncleanr—that is, unwashed—hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, keeping the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace,s they do not eat unless they have washed.t And there are many other customs they have received and keep, like the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and dining couches.c,u) 5 So the Phariseesv and the scribesw asked him, “Why don’t your disciples liveD according to the tradition of the elders,x instead of eating bread with ceremonially uncleanE hands?”

6 He answered them, “Isaiahy prophesiedz correctly about you hypocrites,aa as it is written:ab

This people honorsac me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me.

7 They worship me in vain,

teachingad as doctrinesae human commands.F,af

8 Abandoning the command of God, you hold on to human tradition.”G 9 He also said to them, “You have a fine way of invalidating God’s command in order to set upH your tradition! 10 For Mosesag said: Honor your father and your mother;I,ah and Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.J,ai 11 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or mother: Whatever benefitaj you might have received from me is corban’ ” (that is, an offeringak devoted to God), 12 “you no longer let him do anything for his father or mother. 13 You nullify the word of Godal by your tradition that you have handedam down. And you do many other similar things.”

14 Summoningan the crowd again, he told them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand:ao 15 Nothing that goes into a person from outside can defile him but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” *

17 When he went into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 He said to them, “Are you also as lacking in understanding? Don’t you realize that nothing going into a person from the outside can defile him? 19 For it doesn’t go into his heart but into the stomachap and is eliminated” (thus he declared all foods cleanK,aq). 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities,ar thefts, murders,as 22 adulteries,at greed,au evil actions, deceit,av self-indulgence,aw envy,B slander,ax pride,ay and foolishness.az 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”

A GENTILE MOTHER’S FAITH

24 He got up and departed fromba there to the region of Tyre.C,bb He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, but he could not escape notice. 25 Instead, immediately after hearing about him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirita came and fell at his feet.b 26 The woman was a Gentile,D,c a Syrophoenician by birth, and she was asking him to cast the demond out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, because it isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”e

28 But she replied to him, “Lord,f even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

29 Then he told her, “Because of this reply, you may go. The demon has left your daughter.” 30 When she went back to her home, she found her child lying on the bed, and the demon was gone.

JESUS DOES EVERYTHING WELL

31 Again, leaving the region of Tyre,g he went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,h throughE the region of the Decapolis.i 32 They brought to him a deafj man who had difficulty speakingk and begged Jesus to lay his hand onl him. 33 So he took him away from the crowd in private. After putting his fingers in the man’s ears and spitting,m he touched his tongue. 34 Looking up to heaven,n he sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!”F (that is, “Be opened!”). 35 Immediately his ears were opened,o his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak clearly.p 36 He ordered them to tell no one,q but the more he ordered them, the more they proclaimed it.r

37 They were extremely astonished and said, “He has done everything well.s He even makes the deaft hear and the mute speak.”u

FEEDING FOUR THOUSAND

8 Inv those days there was again a large crowd, and they had nothing to eat. He calledw the disciplesx and said to them, 2 “I have compassiony on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way,z and some of them have come a long distance.”

4 His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this desolate place to feedaa these people?”

5 “How many loaves do you have?” he asked them.

“Seven,” they said. 6 He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. Taking the seven loaves, he gave thanks, brokeab them, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people. So they served them to the crowd. 7 They also had a few small fish, and after he had blessed them, he said these were to be served as well. 8 They ate and were satisfied. Then they collected seven large baskets of leftover pieces. 9 About four thousand were there. He dismissed them. 10 And he immediately got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

THE LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES AND HEROD

11 Theac Phariseesad came and began to argue with him, demanding of him a signae from heavenaf to testag him. 12 Sighing deeply in his spirit,ah he said, “Why does this generationai demand a sign? Truly I tell you,aj no sign will be given to this generation.” 13 Then he left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side.

14 The disciples had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Thenak he gave them strict orders: “Watch out! Beware of the leavenA,al of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.”am 16 They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 17 Aware of this, he said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact you have no bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Do you have hardened hearts?an 18 Do you have eyes and not see; do you have ears and not hear?B,ao And do you not remember?ap 19 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of leftovers did you collect?”

“Twelve,” they told him.

20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of pieces did you collect?”

“Seven,” they said.

21 And he said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”aq

HEALING A BLIND MAN

22 They came to Bethsaida.ar They brought a blindas man to him and begged him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spittingat on his eyes and laying his hands onau him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”

24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look like trees walking.”av

25 Again Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes. The man looked intently and his sight was restored and he saw everything clearly. 26 Then he senta him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”C,b

PETER’S CONFESSION OF THE MESSIAH

27 Jesusc went out with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

28 They answered him, “John the Baptist;d others, Elijah; still others, one of the prophets.”e

29 “But you,” he asked them, “who do you say that I am?”

Peterf answered him, “You are the Messiah.”g 30 And he strictly warnedh them to tell no one about him.

HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION PREDICTED

31 Theni he began to teach them that it was necessary for the Son of Manj to suffer many things and be rejectedk by the elders,l chief priests, and scribes,m be killed, and risen after three days.o 32 He spoke openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But turning around and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan!p You are not thinking about God’s concernsA but human concerns.”

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS

34 Calling the crowd along with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself,q take up his cross,r and follow me.s 35 For whoever wants to savet his life will lose it,u but whoever losesv his lifew because of mex and the gospely will save it.z 36 For what does it benefitaa someone to gainab the whole worldac and yet losead his life?ae 37 What can anyone give in exchange for his life?af 38 For whoever is ashamedag of me and my wordsah in this adulterous and sinfulai generation,aj the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the gloryak of his Fatheral with the holyam angels.”an

9 Then he said to them, “Truly I tell you,ao there are some standing here who will not taste deathap until they see the kingdom of God come in power.”aq

THE TRANSFIGURATION

2 Afterar six daysas Jesus took Peter, James, and Johnat and led them up a high mountainau by themselves to be alone. He was transfiguredav in front of them, 3 and his clothesaw became dazzling—extremely whiteax as no launderer on earth could whitenay them. 4 Elijahaz appeared to them with Moses,ba and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi,bb it’s goodbc for us to be here. Let’s set up three shelters:bd one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”—6 because he did not know what to say,be since they were terrified.bf

7 A cloudbg appeared, overshadowingbh them, and a voicebi came from the cloud:bj “This is my belovedbk Son;bl listen to him!”bm

8 Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

9 Asbn they were coming down the mountain,bo he ordered them to tell no one what they had seenbp until the Son of Manbq had risenbr from the dead.bs 10 They kept this wordbt to themselves, questioning what “rising from the dead” meant.

11 Then they asked him, “Why do the scribesbu say that Elijah must come first?”bv

12 “Elijah does come first and restoresbw all things,”bx he replied. “Why then is it writtenby that the Son of Man must sufferbz many things and be treated with contempt?ca 13 But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they did whatever they pleased to him, just as it is writtencb about him.”

THE POWER OF FAITH OVER A DEMON

14 Whencc they came to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes disputingcd with them. 15 When the whole crowd saw him, they were amazed and ran to greet him. 16 He asked them, “What are you arguing with them about?”

17 Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher,ce I brought my son to you. He has a spiritcf that makes him unable to speak.cg 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they couldn’t.”

19 He replied to them, “You unbelievingch generation, how long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me.” 20 So they brought the boy to him. When the spirit saw him, it immediately threw the boy into convulsions. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. 21 “How long has this been happening to him?” Jesus asked his father.

“From childhood,” he said. 22 “And many times it has thrown him into fire or water to destroya him. But if you can do anything, have compassionb on us and help us.”

23 Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’?A Everything is possiblec for the one who believes.”d

24 Immediately the father of the boy cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was quickly gathering, he rebukede the uncleanf spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deafg spirit, I command you: Come out of him and never enter him again.”

26 Then it came out, shrieking and throwing himB into terrible convulsions.h The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus, taking him by the hand, raised him,i and he stood up.

28 After he had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

29 And he told them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer.”B,j

THE SECOND PREDICTION OF HIS DEATH

30 Thenk they left that place and made their way through Galilee, but he did not want anyone to know it.l 31 For he was teachingm his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Mann is going to be betrayedC into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after he is killed, he will riseo three days later.”p 32 But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask him.q

WHO IS THE GREATEST?

33 Theyr came to Capernaum.s When he was in the house,t he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?”u 34 But they were silent,v because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest.w 35 Sitting down, he called the Twelvex and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and servant of all.”y 36 He took a child,z had him stand among them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomesA one little child such as this in my nameaa welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but him who sentab me.”ac

IN HIS NAME

38 Johnad said to him, “Teacher,ae we saw someoneB driving out demonsaf in your name,ag and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”ah

39 “Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracleai in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us.aj 41 And whoever gives you a cup of water to drinkak in my name, because you belong to Christal—truly I tell you,am he will never lose his reward.an

WARNINGS FROM JESUS

42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall awayao—it would be better for him if a heavy millstoneap were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

43 “And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off.aq It is better for you to enter life maimedar than to have two hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire.* as 45 And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lameat than to have two feet and be thrown into hell.* 47 And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of Godau with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrownav into hell,aw 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.E 49 For everyone will be salted with fire.F,G,ax 50 Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it?ay Have saltaz among yourselves, and be at peaceba with one another.”