Tradition and Vain Worship

(Mark 7:1-13)

1Then the scribes and Pharisees from Jerusalem come up to Jesus, saying, 2Why do thy disciples transgress what has been delivered by the ancients? for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. 3But he answering said to them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God on account of your traditional teaching? 4For God commanded saying, Honour father and mother; and, He that speaks ill of father or mother, let him die the death. 5But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or mother, It is a gift, whatsoever [it be] by which [received] from me thou wouldest be profited: 6and he shall in no wise honour his father or his mother; and ye have made void the commandment of God on account of your traditional teaching. 7Hypocrites! well has Esaias prophesied about you, saying,

8This people honour me with the lips, but their heart is far away from me;

9but in vain do they worship me, teaching [as] teachings commandments of men.

What Defiles a Man

(Mark 7:14-23)

10And having called to [him] the crowd, he said to them, Hear and understand: 11Not what enters into the mouth defiles the man; but what goes forth out of the mouth, this defiles the man.

12Then his disciples, coming up, said to him, Dost thou know that the Pharisees, having heard this word, have been offended? 13But he answering said, Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. 14Leave them alone; they are blind leaders of blind: but if blind lead blind, both will fall into a ditch.

15And Peter answering said to him, Expound to us this parable. 16But he said, Are ye also still without intelligence? 17Do ye not yet apprehend, that everything that enters into the mouth finds its way into the belly, and is cast forth into the draught? 18but the things which go forth out of the mouth come out of the heart, and those defile man. 19For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnessings, blasphemies; 20these are the things which defile man; but the eating with unwashen hands does not defile man.

The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

(Mark 7:24-30)

21And Jesus, going forth from thence, went away into the parts of Tyre and Sidon; 22and lo, a Canaanitish woman, coming out from those borders, cried [to him] saying, Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is miserably possessed by a demon. 23But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came to [him] and asked him, saying, Dismiss her, for she cries after us. 24But he answering said, I have not been sent save to the lost sheep of Israel's house. 25But she came and did him homage, saying, Lord, help me. 26But he answering said, It is not well to take the bread of the children and cast it to the dogs. 27But she said, Yea, Lord; for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from the table of their masters. 28Then Jesus answering said to her, O woman, thy faith [is] great. Be it to thee as thou desirest. And her daughter was healed from that hour.

The Feeding of the Four Thousand

(Mark 8:1-10)

29And Jesus, going away from thence, came towards the sea of Galilee, and he went up into the mountain and sat down there; 30and great crowds came to him, having with them lame, blind, dumb, crippled, and many others, and they cast them at his feet, and he healed them: 31so that the crowds wondered, seeing dumb speaking, crippled sound, lame walking, and blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

32But Jesus, having called his disciples to [him], said, I have compassion on the crowd, because they have stayed with me already three days and they have not anything they can eat, and I would not send them away fasting lest they should faint on the way. 33And his disciples say to him, Whence should we have so many loaves in [the] wilderness as to satisfy so great a crowd? 34And Jesus says to them, How many loaves have ye? But they said, Seven, and a few small fishes. 35And he commanded the crowds to lie down on the ground; 36and having taken the seven loaves and the fishes, having given thanks, he broke [them] and gave [them] to his disciples, and the disciples to the crowd. 37And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was over and above of the fragments seven baskets full; 38but they that ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

39And, having dismissed the crowds, he went on board ship and came to the borders of Magadan.