MARK 7:15 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. οὐδʼ
2. oude
3. -
4. -
5. 37610
6. D·······
7. not
8. not
9. -
10. -
11. 27780
1. οὐδέν
2. oudeis
3. nothing
4. -
5. 37620
6. R····NNS
7. nothing
8. nothing
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27781
1. ἐστίν
2. eimi
3. there is
4. -
5. 15100
6. VIPA3··S
7. ˱there˲ is
8. ˱there˲ is
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27782
1. ἔξω
2. exō
3. -
4. -
5. 18540
6. P·······
7. outside
8. outside
9. -
10. -
11. 27783
1. ἔξωθεν
2. exōthen
3. outside
4. -
5. 18550
6. P·······
7. outside
8. outside
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27784
1. τοῦ
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····GMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27785
1. ἀνθρώπου
2. anthrōpos
3. person
4. -
5. 4440
6. N····GMS
7. person
8. person
9. -
10. Y32; F27787; F27796; F27790
11. 27786
1. εἰσπορευόμενον
2. eisporeuō
3. entering in
4. enters
5. 15310
6. VPPM·NNS
7. entering_in
8. entering_in
9. -
10. Y32; R27786
11. 27787
1. ἐπʼ
2. epi
3. -
4. -
5. 19090
6. P·······
7. in
8. in
9. -
10. -
11. 27788
1. εἰς
2. eis
3. into
4. -
5. 15190
6. P·······
7. into
8. into
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27789
1. αὐτόν
2. autos
3. him
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3AMS
7. him
8. him
9. -
10. Y32; R27786
11. 27790
1. αὐτό
2. autos
3. -
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3ANS
7. it
8. it
9. -
10. -
11. 27791
1. ὅ
2. hos
3. which
4. -
5. 37390
6. R····NNS
7. which
8. which
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27792
1. δύναται
2. dunamai
3. is able
4. -
5. 14100
6. VIPM3··S
7. ˓is˒ able
8. ˓is˒ able
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27793
1. αὐτόν
2. autos
3. him
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3AMS
7. him
8. him
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27794
1. τό
2. ho
3. -
4. -
5. 35880
6. R····ANS
7. the ‹thing›
8. the ‹thing›
9. -
10. -
11. 27795
1. κοινῶσαι
2. koinoō
3. to defile
4. -
5. 28400
6. VNAA····
7. ˓to˒ defile
8. ˓to˒ defile
9. -
10. Y32; R27786
11. 27796
1. κοινοῦν
2. koinoō
3. -
4. -
5. 28400
6. VPPA·NNS
7. defiling
8. defiling
9. -
10. -
11. 27797
1. αὐτόν
2. autos
3. -
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3AMS
7. him
8. him
9. -
10. -
11. 27798
1. ἀλλά
2. alla
3. but
4. -
5. 2350
6. C·······
7. but
8. but
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27799
1. τά
2. ho
3. the things
4. -
5. 35880
6. R····NNP
7. the ‹things›
8. the ‹things›
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27800
1. ἐκ
2. ek
3. out of
4. -
5. 15370
6. P·······
7. out_of
8. out_of
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27801
1. τοῦ
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····GMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27802
1. ἀνθρώπου
2. anthrōpos
3. person
4. -
5. 4440
6. N····GMS
7. person
8. person
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27803
1. ἐκπορευόμενα
2. ekporeuō
3. going out
4. -
5. 16070
6. VPPM·NNP
7. going_out
8. going_out
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27804
1. ἀπʼ
2. apo
3. -
4. -
5. 5750
6. P·······
7. from
8. from
9. -
10. -
11. 27805
1. αὐτοῦ
2. autos
3. -
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3GMS
7. him
8. him
9. -
10. -
11. 27806
1. ἐκεῖνα
2. ekeinos
3. -
4. -
5. 15650
6. R····NNP
7. those
8. those
9. -
10. -
11. 27807
1. ἐστίν
2. eimi
3. is
4. -
5. 15100
6. VIPA3··S
7. is
8. is
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27808
1. τά
2. ho
3. the things
4. -
5. 35880
6. R····NNP
7. the ‹things›
8. the ‹things›
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27809
1. κοινοῦντα
2. koinoō
3. defiling
4. -
5. 28400
6. VPPA·NNP
7. defiling
8. defiling
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27810
1. τόν
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27811
1. ἄνθρωπον
2. anthrōpos
3. person
4. -
5. 4440
6. N····AMS
7. person
8. person
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27812

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 7:1–23: Jesus explained what makes a person unclean

This section (7:1–23) deals with the difference between ritual uncleanness and real moral uncleanness. Ritual uncleanness is external, but real uncleanness involves the inner being of a person. Mark introduced this topic by describing an incident in which the Pharisees and teachers of the law rebuked Jesus. They did this because his disciples ate without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish tradition (7:1–5).

Jesus did not respond to their rebuke directly. Instead, he gave an example of how these leaders ignored God’s law in order to follow their own traditions (7:6–13). Jesus then explained to the crowd that true uncleanness in God’s sight is not caused by external things. It is not caused by things such as food going into the body. True uncleanness is caused by sinful things that a person does or says. Those things come from a person’s inner being (7:14–23).

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it.

Here are some other possible headings for this section:

Ritual uncleanness is not what causes God to consider a person unclean

Jesus teaches about what defiles a person

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 15:1–20 and Luke 11:37–39.

Paragraph 7:14–16

In this paragraph, Jesus again spoke to the crowd. He explained to them that what defiles a person is not something external like food that goes into a person’s body. Rather, what defiles a person in God’s sight are the sinful things that come from inside him. Jesus implied that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were wrong to focus on external rituals such as hand-washing.

7:15

In this verse Jesus spoke to the crowd in the form of a parable (7:17b). According to 7:18a, the disciples did not understand what this parable meant.

When you translate this verse, you may need to make some of the meaning explicit in order to avoid a wrong meaning. Some of the English versions have done this. But be careful not to explain the entire meaning of the parable. Otherwise your readers will not understand why Jesus needed to explain the meaning to his disciples in 7:18b–22. Read this whole section carefully before deciding what information needs to be made explicit here in 7:15.

7:15a–b

Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him;

Nothing that comes from outside a person can cause him to be impure before God by entering into him.
Food that a person puts into his body cannot defile him.
People do not become unfit/defiled before God because of what they eat.

7:15a

Nothing that enters a man from the outside: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Nothing that enters a man from the outside is a general expression that refers indirectly here to any kind of food. Some versions make this clear. For example, the CEV says:

the food that you put into your mouth

enters…from the outside: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as enters…from the outside refers to eating.

a man: The Greek word that the BSB translates as a man is used in a general sense here to refer to anyone, whether male or female. So GW translates this as:

a person

7:15b

can defile him: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as can defile him means “can cause him to become unclean/defiled.” For example, the EASY says:

People do not become unclean because of things that go into their bodies from outside

This word is used in a figurative sense meaning “unfit before God.” Here it is not used in its literal sense of “dirty.” See how you translated “defiled” in 7:2a.

General Comment on 7:15a–b

In some languages, it may not be natural to speak of food entering a person or coming from the outside. It may be necessary to reorder the parts of this sentence or to make one or both of these ideas implicit. For example:

Nothing that goes into a person from the outside can make him unclean. (GW)

There is nothing people put into their bodies that makes them unclean. (NCV)

The food that you put into your mouth doesn’t make you unclean and unfit to worship God. (CEV)

You are not defiled by what you eat (NLT96)

7:15c

but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”

But it is what comes out of a person’s heart/mind that causes him to become impure.”
Instead, the bad things that a person causes to come out from his heart/mind are what defile him.”
They become unfit before God by what they do and say.”

but: The Greek word that the BSB here translates as but indicates a strong contrast.

Here are some other ways of expressing this contrast:

Rather (NIV)

no,… (REB)

Some languages show the contrast without using a word like but or rather. The ideas in the sentences show the contrast clearly. For example, the NCV says:

There is nothing people put into their bodies that makes them unclean. People are made unclean by the things that come out of them.

Express the contrast in these sentences in a way that is natural in your language.

the things that come out of a man: The phrase the things that come out of a man is a general expression. In 7:21–22 Jesus explained that he was talking about actions and words that express a person’s inner thoughts.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

With a general statement. For example, the NCV says:
People are made unclean by the things that come out of them.
With a more specific statement. For example:
Instead, the bad things that come out of a person’s heart/mind are what defile him.
you are defiled by what you say and do (NLT96)

Remember that Jesus was using a parable here and the disciples did not understand what it meant. So in translating this phrase, be careful not to make explicit all of the meaning from Jesus’ explanation in the next few verses.

defile him: See the note in 7:2a.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

οὐδέν & ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτὸν

nothing & outside the person entering_in into (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐδέν ἐστίν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτόν ὅ δύναται αὐτόν κοινῶσαι ἀλλά τά ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκπορευόμενα ἐστίν τά κοινοῦντα τόν ἄνθρωπον)

Here Jesus is referring to food and drink, which are outside the man and enter into him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Since the disciples ask about the meaning of this saying in [7:17](../07/17.md), include as little implied information as possible. Alternate translation: [no food or drink, entering into him] or [nothing outside the man, being eaten by him]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

τοῦ ἀνθρώπου & αὐτὸν & αὐτόν & τοῦ ἀνθρώπου & τὸν ἄνθρωπον

the person & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐδέν ἐστίν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτόν ὅ δύναται αὐτόν κοινῶσαι ἀλλά τά ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκπορευόμενα ἐστίν τά κοινοῦντα τόν ἄνθρωπον)

Although the terms man and him throughout the verse are masculine, Jesus is using the words in a generic sense that includes both men and women. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a phrase that makes this clear. Alternate translation: [the person … him or her … him or her … the person … the person]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

τοῦ ἀνθρώπου & τοῦ ἀνθρώπου & τὸν ἄνθρωπον

the person & the person & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐδέν ἐστίν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτόν ὅ δύναται αὐτόν κοινῶσαι ἀλλά τά ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκπορευόμενα ἐστίν τά κοινοῦντα τόν ἄνθρωπον)

The phrase the man throughout this verse represents people in general, not one particular person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [a person … a person … that person]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκπορευόμενά

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὐδέν ἐστίν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτόν ὅ δύναται αὐτόν κοινῶσαι ἀλλά τά ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκπορευόμενα ἐστίν τά κοινοῦντα τόν ἄνθρωπον)

Here Jesus is referring to words and deeds, which are what come out from people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Since the disciples ask about the meaning of this saying in [7:17](../07/17.md), include as little implied information as possible. Alternate translation: [the words and deeds that come out from the man] or [the things that the man says and does]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / go

ἐκπορευόμενά

In a context such as this, your language might say “go” instead of come. Alternate translation: [that go out]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

1. OET-LV words
2. OET-RV words
3. Strongs
4. Greek word
5. Greek lemma
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. there is
2. -
3. 15100
5. eimi
6. V-IPA3··S
7. ˱there˲ is
8. ˱there˲ is
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27782
1. nothing
2. -
3. 37620
5. oudeis
6. R-····NNS
7. nothing
8. nothing
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27781
1. outside
2. -
3. 18550
5. exōthen
6. P-·······
7. outside
8. outside
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27784
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····GMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27785
1. person
2. -
3. 4440
5. anthrōpos
6. N-····GMS
7. person
8. person
9. -
10. Y32; F27787; F27796; F27790
11. 27786
1. entering in
2. enters
3. 15310
5. eisporeuō
6. V-PPM·NNS
7. entering_in
8. entering_in
9. -
10. Y32; R27786
11. 27787
1. into
2. -
3. 15190
5. eis
6. P-·······
7. into
8. into
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27789
1. him
2. -
3. 8460
5. autos
6. R-···3AMS
7. him
8. him
9. -
10. Y32; R27786
11. 27790
1. which
2. -
3. 37390
5. hos
6. R-····NNS
7. which
8. which
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27792
1. is able
2. -
3. 14100
5. dunamai
6. V-IPM3··S
7. ˓is˒ able
8. ˓is˒ able
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27793
1. to defile
2. -
3. 28400
5. koinoō
6. V-NAA····
7. ˓to˒ defile
8. ˓to˒ defile
9. -
10. Y32; R27786
11. 27796
1. him
2. -
3. 8460
5. autos
6. R-···3AMS
7. him
8. him
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27794
1. but
2. -
3. 2350
5. alla
6. C-·······
7. but
8. but
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27799
1. the things
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. R-····NNP
7. the ‹things›
8. the ‹things›
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27800
1. going out
2. -
3. 16070
5. ekporeuō
6. V-PPM·NNP
7. going_out
8. going_out
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27804
1. out of
2. -
3. 15370
5. ek
6. P-·······
7. out_of
8. out_of
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27801
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····GMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27802
1. person
2. -
3. 4440
5. anthrōpos
6. N-····GMS
7. person
8. person
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27803
1. is
2. -
3. 15100
5. eimi
6. V-IPA3··S
7. is
8. is
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27808
1. the things
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. R-····NNP
7. the ‹things›
8. the ‹things›
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27809
1. defiling
2. -
3. 28400
5. koinoō
6. V-PPA·NNP
7. defiling
8. defiling
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27810
1. the
2. -
3. 35880
5. ho
6. E-····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27811
1. person
2. -
3. 4440
5. anthrōpos
6. N-····AMS
7. person
8. person
9. -
10. Y32
11. 27812

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear MARK 7:15

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)