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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Mark C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16
Mark 7 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V28 V29 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 V35 V36 V37
OET (OET-LV) And he_was_saying to_her:
Allow the children to_be_satisfied first, because/for it_is not good to_take the bread of_the children, and to_throw it to_the little_dogs.
OET (OET-RV) But he replied, “Let the Jewish children be treated first, because it’s not good to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
In the previous section, Jesus explained what made people unclean. In this section, he expelled an evil spirit from the daughter of a Gentile woman. Jews thought that they became ritually unclean if they associated with a Gentile. So Jesus showed by his actions that this Jewish tradition about Gentiles was no longer valid.
Mark did not mention the disciples in this story or the following story. But we know from the parallel passage in Matthew that the disciples went with Jesus to Tyre.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Here are some other possible headings for this section:
A Gentile woman had humble faith in Jesus
Jesus helped a woman who was not a Jew
A woman’s faith
There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 15:21–28.
In these verses Jesus replied to the Gentile woman with a parable. You can translate this figurative language in several ways:
Maintain the figurative language. For example, the NCV says:
It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.
Maintain the figurative language and make the meaning clear. For example:
First I should help my own family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs. (NLT96)
First allow me to give my own people, the Jews, what they need. Otherwise, it is like taking bread from children and throwing it to dogs.
Make the figure clear without using figurative language.
I should help the people of Israel first before the people of other nations.
If possible, you should keep the figurative language and follow one of the first two examples. In some languages it may be helpful to introduce Jesus’ words by indicating that he answered in a figurative way. For example:
Jesus answered with an illustration/parable
“First let the children have their fill,” He said.
He told her, “First, allow the children to eat all that they want to eat,
Jesus told her, “First allow me to feed the children, the people of my own nation as much as they want.
Jesus told her to let him first feed the children of his own family, the Jews as much as they wanted,
First: The Greek word that the BSB translates as First in this context means “first in time.” It indicates “The first thing to do is…”
let: The Greek word that the BSB translates as let means “allow.”The verb form is second person singular. It is worded as a request to the woman with the implied subject “you.” It indicates that she should allow the children (Jews) to be satisfied first before Jesus granted her own request. In some languages it may be more natural to phrase this request in another way. For example:
First, allow the children to eat…
Let us first feed the children. (GNT)
children: The word children is used here in a figurative way to refer to the people of Israel, the Jews. Jesus was a Jew. This word does not refer only to literal children.
have their fill: Another way to say have their fill is “eat until they are satisfied.”
He said: In Greek, the phrase that the BSB translates as He said comes at the beginning of 7:27a. The BSB has changed the order. You should place this phrase where it is most natural in your language.
“For it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
because it is not proper/appropriate to take the children’s bread/food and toss it to dogs.”
It is not good/proper that I should take their food away from them and throw it to the foreign/Gentile dogs.”
because it would not be proper to take the children’s bread and toss it to dogs.
For: The Greek word that the BSB translates as For introduces the reason that Jesus gave for not healing the woman’s daughter immediately. He at first refused because it is not right to give the children’s food to dogs.
Many versions do not translate the word For. For example, the GW says:
First, let the children eat all they want. It’s not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.
You should indicate this reason in a way that is natural in your language.
it is not right: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as not right literally means “not good,” or “not proper.” It does not mean that it is sinful or morally wrong.
children’s bread: The figurative expression that the BSB translates as children’s bread refers to things that will benefit the people of Israel. In this context it refers specifically to the help that Jesus gave to people by healing them.
bread: Bread was the main food of the people who lived in that area at the time of Jesus. Here the word bread is used in a figurative sense to refer to all food. If the people in your area do not commonly eat bread, it may be natural to follow the GW:
It’s not right to take the children’s food
and toss it to the dogs: The Greek word that the BSB translates as dogs is used figuratively to refer to people who were not Jewish. When Jewish people referred to someone as a dog, they were insulting him.
In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of 7:27a and 7:27b. For example:
27bIt is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs. 27aThat is the reason why I ask you to first let the children eat all they want.
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
ἄφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τὰ τέκνα; οὐ γάρ ἐστιν καλόν λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων, καὶ τοῖς κυναρίοις βαλεῖν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἔλεγεν αὐτῇ Ἄφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τά τέκνα οὒ γάρ ἐστίν καλόν λαβεῖν τόν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καί τοῖς κυναρίοις βαλεῖν)
If it would be more natural in your language, you could reverse the order of these clauses, since the second clause gives the reason for the result that the first clause describes. Alternate translation: [It is not good to take the bread of the children and to throw it to the little dogs, so permit the children first to be fed]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / parables
ἄφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τὰ τέκνα; οὐ γάρ ἐστιν καλόν λαβεῖν τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων, καὶ τοῖς κυναρίοις βαλεῖν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἔλεγεν αὐτῇ Ἄφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τά τέκνα οὒ γάρ ἐστίν καλόν λαβεῖν τόν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καί τοῖς κυναρίοις βαλεῖν)
To answer the woman, Jesus offers a story or illustration. In the story, the children represent the Jewish people, the little dogs represent non-Jewish people, and the bread represents the help that Jesus gives to people. If it would be helpful in your language, you could indicate that this is a story with a specific message, or you could explain what the parable means. Alternate translation: [Listen to this illustration: Permit the children first to be fed, for it is not good to take the bread of the children and to throw it to the little dogs] or [Permit the children first to be fed, for it is not good to take the bread of the children and to throw it to the little dogs. That is why I am helping my fellow Jews before I help you]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / yousingular
ἄφες
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἔλεγεν αὐτῇ Ἄφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τά τέκνα οὒ γάρ ἐστίν καλόν λαβεῖν τόν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καί τοῖς κυναρίοις βαλεῖν)
Because Jesus is speaking to the woman, the command Permit is singular.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τὰ τέκνα
first ˓to_be˒_satisfied (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἔλεγεν αὐτῇ Ἄφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τά τέκνα οὒ γάρ ἐστίν καλόν λαβεῖν τόν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καί τοῖς κυναρίοις βαλεῖν)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, you could use an indefinite subject. Alternate translation: [the children first to receive food] or [someone to feed the children first]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / possession
τὸν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἔλεγεν αὐτῇ Ἄφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τά τέκνα οὒ γάρ ἐστίν καλόν λαβεῖν τόν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καί τοῖς κυναρίοις βαλεῖν)
Here, Jesus is using the possessive form to describe bread that was prepared for the children to eat. If this is not clear in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [the food prepared for the children] or [the food that the children were going to eat]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
τὸν ἄρτον
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἔλεγεν αὐτῇ Ἄφες πρῶτον χορτασθῆναι τά τέκνα οὒ γάρ ἐστίν καλόν λαβεῖν τόν ἄρτον τῶν τέκνων καί τοῖς κυναρίοις βαλεῖν)
Jesus is using bread to represent food. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your culture or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the meals]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τοῖς κυναρίοις βαλεῖν
˱to˲_the little_dogs ˓to˒_cast_‹it›
Here, Jesus implies that the bread is thrown to the little dogs so that they can eat it. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [to throw it to the little dogs for them to eat]
Note 8 topic: translate-unknown
τοῖς κυναρίοις
˱to˲_the little_dogs
Here, the phrase little dogs could describe: (1) domesticated animals that eat pests and can protect houses and families. You could use the name of a similar animal in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [to the domesticated animals] or [to the guard animals] (2) scavenging animals that were generally considered unclean and dirty. You could use the name of a similar animal in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: [to the scavenging animals] or [to the dirty animals]
7:24-30 The discussion of clean and unclean and of undefiled and defiled in 7:1-23 has prepared readers for the story of the Gentile woman’s faith. For Jews, Gentiles were defiled by definition, because they did not keep the regulations of the Torah (see Acts 10:1–11:18, especially 10:14-15; 11:2-3, 8-9).
OET (OET-LV) And he_was_saying to_her:
Allow the children to_be_satisfied first, because/for it_is not good to_take the bread of_the children, and to_throw it to_the little_dogs.
OET (OET-RV) But he replied, “Let the Jewish children be treated first, because it’s not good to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
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.