14. Then Jesus called the crowd to him once more and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand.
15. There is nothing that goes into a person from the outside which can make him ritually unclean. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that makes him unclean.”
17. When he left the crowd and went into the house, his disciples asked him to explain this saying.
18. “You are no more intelligent than the others,” Jesus said to them. “Don't you understand? Nothing that goes into a person from the outside can really make him unclean,
19. because it does not go into his heart but into his stomach and then goes on out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared that all foods are fit to be eaten.)
20. And he went on to say, “It is what comes out of a person that makes him unclean.
21. For from the inside, from a person's heart, come the evil ideas which lead him to do immoral things, to rob, kill,
22. commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly —
23. all these evil things come from inside a person and make him unclean.”
24. Then Jesus left and went away to the territory near the city of Tyre. He went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not stay hidden.
25. A woman, whose daughter had an evil spirit in her, heard about Jesus and came to him at once and fell at his feet.
26. The woman was a Gentile, born in the region of Phoenicia in Syria. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27. But Jesus answered, “Let us first feed the children. It isn't right to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs.”
28. “Sir,” she answered, “even the dogs under the table eat the children's leftovers!”
29. So Jesus said to her, “Because of that answer, go back home, where you will find that the demon has gone out of your daughter!”
30. She went home and found her child lying on the bed; the demon had indeed gone out of her.
31. Jesus then left the neighbourhood of Tyre and went on through Sidon to Lake Galilee, going by way of the territory of the Ten Towns.
32. Some people brought him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged Jesus to place his hands on him.
33. So Jesus took him off alone, away from the crowd, put his fingers in the man's ears, spat, and touched the man's tongue.
34. Then Jesus looked up to heaven, gave a deep groan, and said to the man, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Open up!”