Mark 7:21-37 ▼

21 because it's from within, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come, as well as sexual immorality, stealing, murder,

22 adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness.

23 All these things come from inside and make a person unclean.|

24 Jesus left that place and went to the territory of Tyre and Sidon. He went into a house, not wanting anyone to know he was there. However, it couldn't be kept a secret.

25 In fact, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him and came and fell down at his feet.

26 Now the woman happened to be a Greek, born in Phoenicia in Syria. She kept asking him to drive the demon out of her daughter.

27 But he kept telling her, |First let the children be filled. It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the puppies.|

28 But she answered him, |Yes, Lord. Yet even the puppies under the table eat some of the children's crumbs.|

29 Then he told her, |Because you have said this, go! The demon has left your daughter.|

30 So she went home and found her child lying in bed, and the demon was gone.

31 Then Jesus left the territory of Tyre and passed through Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the territory of the Decapolis.

32 Some people brought him a deaf man who also had a speech impediment. They begged him to lay his hand on him.

33 Jesus took him away from the crowd to be alone with him. Putting his fingers into the man's ears, he touched the man's tongue with saliva.

34 Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and told him, |Ephphatha,| that is, |Be opened!|

35 The man's hearing and speech were restored at once, and he began to talk normally.

36 Jesus ordered the people not to tell anyone, but the more he kept ordering them, the more they kept spreading the news.

37 Amazed beyond measure, they kept on saying, |He does everything well! He even makes deaf people hear and mute people talk!|