Matius 15:1-20

Breaking Human Traditions

15:1 Then Pharisees ¹  and experts in the law ²  came from Jerusalem ³  to Jesus and said, ⁴  15:2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their ⁵  hands when they eat.” ⁶  15:3 He answered them, ⁷  “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? 15:4 For God said, ⁸  ‘Honor your father and mother’ ⁹  and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹⁰  15:5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” ¹¹  15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ¹²  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. 15:7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,

15:8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart ¹³  is far from me,

15:9 and they worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” ¹⁴ 

True Defilement

15:10 Then he called the crowd to him and said, ¹⁵  “Listen and understand. 15:11 What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what ¹⁶  comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.” 15:12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees ¹⁷  heard this saying they were offended?” 15:13 And he replied, ¹⁸  “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 15:14 Leave them! They are blind guides. ¹⁹  If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, ²⁰  both will fall into a pit.” 15:15 But Peter ²¹  said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 15:16 Jesus ²²  said, “Even after all this, are you still so foolish? 15:17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer? ²³  15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. 15:19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 15:20 These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person.” ²⁴ 

Markus 7:1-23

Breaking Human Traditions

7:1 Now ²⁵  the Pharisees ²⁶  and some of the experts in the law ²⁷  who came from Jerusalem ²⁸  gathered around him. 7:2 And they saw that some of Jesus’ disciples ate their bread with unclean hands, that is, unwashed. 7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, ²⁹  holding fast to the tradition of the elders. 7:4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches. ³⁰ ) ³¹  7:5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat ³²  with unwashed hands?” 7:6 He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:

‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart ³³  is far from me.

7:7 They worship me in vain,

teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’ ³⁴ 

7:8 Having no regard ³⁵  for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.” ³⁶  7:9 He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up ³⁷  your tradition. 7:10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ ³⁸  and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ³⁹  7:11 But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ ⁴⁰  (that is, a gift for God), 7:12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother. 7:13 Thus you nullify ⁴¹  the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”

7:14 Then ⁴²  he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand. 7:15 There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles him.”

7:16 [[EMPTY]] ⁴³ 

7:17 Now ⁴⁴  when Jesus ⁴⁵  had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. 7:18 He said to them, “Are you so foolish? Don’t you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him? 7:19 For it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and then goes out into the sewer.” ⁴⁶  (This means all foods are clean.) ⁴⁷  7:20 He said, “What comes out of a person defiles him. 7:21 For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 7:22 adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly. 7:23 All these evils come from within and defile a person.”

[15:1]  ¹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[15:1]  ² tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[15:1]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:1]  ⁴ tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb so that its telic (i.e., final or conclusive) force can be more easily detected: The Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus in order to speak with him.

[15:2]  ⁵ tc ‡ Although most witnesses read the genitive plural pronoun αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”), it may have been motivated by clarification (as it is in the translation above). Several other authorities do not have the pronoun, however (א B Δ 073 ˹ 579 700 892 1424 pc f g¹); the lack of an unintentional oversight as the reason for omission strengthens their combined testimony in this shorter reading. NA²⁷ has the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[15:2]  ⁶ tn Grk “when they eat bread.”

[15:3]  ⁷ tn Grk “But answering, he said to them.”

[15:4]  ⁸ tc Most mss (א*^,2 C L W 0106 33 Ï) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, Jo gar qeo" eneteilato legwn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א¹ B D Θ 073 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 pc lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).

[15:4]  ⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[15:4]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[15:5]  ¹¹ tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

[15:6]  ¹² tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

[15:6]  tn Grk “he will never honor his father.” Here Jesus is quoting the Pharisees, whose intent is to release the person who is giving his possessions to God from the family obligation of caring for his parents. The verb in this phrase is future tense, and it is negated with οὐ μή (ou mh), the strongest negation possible in Greek. A literal translation of the phrase does not capture the intended sense of the statement; it would actually make the Pharisees sound as if they agreed with Jesus. Instead, a more interpretive translation has been used to focus upon the release from family obligations that the Pharisees allowed in these circumstances.

[15:6]  sn Here Jesus refers to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner. According to contemporary Jewish tradition, the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 4).

[15:8]  ¹³ tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.

[15:9]  ¹⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 29:13.

[15:10]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “And calling the crowd, he said to them.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as attendant circumstance. The emphasis here is upon Jesus’ speaking to the crowd.

[15:11]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “but what.”

[15:12]  ¹⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[15:13]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “And answering, he said.”

[15:14]  ¹⁹ tc ‡ Most mss, some of which are significant, read “They are blind guides of the blind” (א¹ C L W Z Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat). The shorter reading is read by א*^,2 B D 0237 Epiph. There is a distinct possibility of omission due to homoioarcton in א*; this manuscript has a word order variation which puts the word τυφλοί (tufloi, “blind”) right before the word τυφλῶν (tuflwn, “of the blind”). This does not explain the shorter reading, however, in the other witnesses, of which B and D are quite weighty. Internal considerations suggest that the shorter reading is original: “of the blind” was likely added by scribes to balance this phrase with Jesus’ following statement about the blind leading the blind, which clearly has two groups in view. A decision is difficult, but internal considerations here along with the strength of the witnesses argue that the shorter reading is more likely original. NA²⁷ places τυφλῶν in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[15:14]  ²⁰ tn Grk “If blind leads blind.”

[15:15]  ²¹ tn Grk “And answering, Peter said to him.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

[15:16]  ²² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[15:17]  ²³ tn Or “into the latrine.”

[15:20]  ²⁴ tn Grk “but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”

[7:1]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[7:1]  ²⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

[7:1]  ²⁷ tn Or “and some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[7:1]  ²⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:3]  ²⁹ tn Grk “except they wash the hands with a fist,” a ceremonial washing (though the actual method is uncertain).

[7:4]  ³⁰ tc Several important witnesses (Ì^45vid א B L Δ 28* pc) lack “and dining couches” (καὶ κλινῶν, kai klinwn), while the majority of mss (A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt) have the reading. Although normally the shorter reading is to be preferred, especially when it is backed by excellent witnesses as in this case, there are some good reasons to consider καὶ κλινῶν as authentic: (1) Although the addition of κλινῶν could be seen as motivated by a general assimilation to the purity regulations in Lev 15 (as some have argued), there are three problems with such a supposition: (a) the word κλίνη (klinh) does not occur in the LXX of Lev 15; (b) nowhere in Lev 15 is the furniture washed or sprinkled; and (c) the context of Lev 15 is about sexual impurity, while the most recent evidence suggests that κλίνη in Mark 7:4, in keeping with the other terms used here, refers to a dining couch (cf. BDAG 549 s.v. κλίνη 2). Thus, it is difficult to see καὶ κλινῶν as a motivated reading. (2) κλίνη, though a relatively rare term in the NT, is in keeping with Markan usage (cf. Mark 4:21; 7:30). (3) The phrase could have been dropped accidentally, at least in some cases, via homoioteleuton. (4) The phrase may have been deliberately expunged by some scribes who thought the imagery of washing a dining couch quite odd. The longer reading, in this case, can thus be argued as the harder reading. On balance, even though a decision is difficult (especially because of the weighty external evidence for the shorter reading), it is preferable to retain καὶ κλινῶν in the text.

[7:4]  ³¹ sn Verses 3-4 represent parenthetical remarks by the author, giving background information.

[7:5]  ³² tn Grk “eat bread.”

[7:6]  ³³ tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.

[7:7]  ³⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 29:13.

[7:8]  ³⁵ tn Grk “Having left the command.”

[7:8]  ³⁶ tc The majority of mss, mostly Byzantine ([A] ˹³ 33 Ï), have at the end of v. 8 material that seems to have come from v. 4 and v. 13: “the washing of pots and cups, and you do many other similar things.” A slight variation on the wording occurs at the very beginning of v. 8 in mostly Western witnesses (D Θ 0131^vid 28 565 it). Such floating texts are usually signs of scribal emendations. The fact that the earliest and most reliable mss, as well as other important witnesses (Ì⁴⁵ א B L W Δ 0274 ˹ 2427 co), lacked this material also strongly suggests that the longer reading is secondary.

[7:9]  ³⁷ tc The translation here follows the reading στήσητε (sthshte, “set up”) found in D W Θ Ë¹ 28 565 2542 it sy^s,p Cyp. The majority of mss here read τηρήσητε (thrhsete; א A L ˹³ 33 Ï co) or τηρῆτε (thrhte; B 2427), both translated “keep.” It is hard to know which reading is best: On the one hand, τηρήσητε/τηρῆτε has much stronger external support, but στήσητε is a more difficult reading. What makes “keep” suspect is that it appears in two different forms, suggesting independent alterations of a difficult reading. Further, scribes may have been influenced by the preceding “commandment of God” to change the text toward “keep” (TCGNT 81), a common enough expression (cf. Matt 19:17; John 14:15; 1 Tim 6:1; 1 John 5:3; Rev 14:12). Thus, the more difficult reading is “set up.” Also, the more natural opposite of “reject” (ἀθεῖτε [aqeite], literally “you set aside”) is “set up.” However, the Western reading may have been influenced by Exod 6:4 or Heb 10:9, but this likelihood seems remote. Thus, “set up” is more likely to be the original wording of Mark here.

[7:10]  ³⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[7:10]  ³⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[7:11]  ⁴⁰ sn Corban is a Hebrew loanword (transliterated in the Greek text and in most modern English translations) referring to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner (L&N 53.22). According to contemporary Jewish tradition the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 10).

[7:13]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “nullifying.” This participle shows the results of the Pharisees’ command.

[7:14]  ⁴² tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:16]  ⁴³ tc Most later mss add 7:16 “Let anyone with ears to hear, listen.” This verse is included in A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt sy, but is lacking in important Alexandrian mss and a few others (א B L Δ* 0274 28 2427). It appears to be a scribal gloss (see 4:9 and 4:23), perhaps introduced as a reiteration of the thought in 7:14, and is almost certainly not an original part of the Greek text of Mark. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

[7:17]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[7:17]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:19]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “into the latrine.”

[7:19]  ⁴⁷ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.