Mark 7:1-9
Context7:1 Now 1 the Pharisees 2 and some of the experts in the law 3 who came from Jerusalem 4 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, 5 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. 6 ) 7 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 8 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 9 is far from me.
7:7 They worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.’ 10
7:8 Having no regard 11 for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition.” 12 7:9 He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up 13 your tradition.
1 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.
3 tn Or “and some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
4 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
5 tn Grk “except they wash the hands with a fist,” a ceremonial washing (though the actual method is uncertain).
6 tc Several important witnesses (Ì45vid א B L Δ 28* pc) lack “and dining couches” (καὶ κλινῶν, kai klinwn), while the majority of
7 sn Verses 3-4 represent parenthetical remarks by the author, giving background information.
8 tn Grk “eat bread.”
9 tn The term “heart” is a collective singular in the Greek text.
10 sn A quotation from Isa 29:13.
11 tn Grk “Having left the command.”
12 tc The majority of
13 tc The translation here follows the reading στήσητε (sthshte, “set up”) found in D W Θ Ë1 28 565 2542 it sys,p Cyp. The majority of