Markus 7:9-19

7:9 He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up ¹  your tradition. 7:10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ ²  and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ³  7:11 But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ ⁴  (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 ⁵  the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”

7:14 Then ⁶  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]] ⁷ 

7:17 Now ⁸  when Jesus ⁹  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.” ¹⁰  (This means all foods are clean.) ¹¹ 

[7:9]  ¹ 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]  ² sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

[7:10]  ³ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

[7:11]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Grk “nullifying.” This participle shows the results of the Pharisees’ command.

[7:14]  ⁶ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[7:16]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[7:17]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:19]  ¹⁰ tn Or “into the latrine.”

[7:19]  ¹¹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.