MARK 7:15 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Nothing that enters your mouth makes you guilty in God’s eyes. It’s what comes out of you that demonstrates your culpability.”

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT there is nothing from outside the man, entering into him, that is able to defile him; but the things that come out from the man are the things defiling the man.

UST Whatever people eat cannot make them unclean. Rather, it is what people do and say that makes them unclean.

BSB Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile [him].”[fn]

7:15 BYZ and TR include 16If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.

MSB Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile [him].

BLB There is nothing from outside the man entering into him which is able to defile him; but the things proceeding out of the man are the things defiling the man."

AICNT There is nothing outside a man that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a man [[those]][fn] are what defile him.

7:15 those: Some manuscripts include.

OEB There is nothing external to a person, which by going into them can defile them; but the things that come out of a person are the things that defile them.’

WEBBE There is nothing from outside of the man that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET 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.”

LSV there is nothing from outside the man entering into him that is able to defile him, but the things coming out from him, those are the things defiling the man.

FBV It's not what's on the outside and goes into you that makes you unclean. It's what comes out that makes you unclean.”

TCNT There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.

T4T 15-16 Nothing that people eat causes God to consider them to be unacceptable. On the contrary, it is that which comes from people’s ◄inner beings/hearts► that causes God to reject them.”

LEB There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him by[fn] going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person.”[fn]

7:15 *Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“going”) which is understood as means

7:15 Most later manuscripts add v. 16, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

BBE There is nothing outside the man which, going into him, is able to make him unclean: but the things which come out of the man are those which make the man unclean.

Moff nothing outside a man can defile him by entering him;
⇔ it is what comes from him that defiles him.

Wymth There is nothing outside a man which entering him can make him unclean; but it is the things which come out of a man that make him unclean."

ASV there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.

DRA There is nothing from without a man that entering into him, can defile him. But the things which come from a man, those are they that defile a man.

YLT there is nothing from without the man entering into him that is able to defile him, but the things coming out from him, those are the things defiling the man.

Drby There is nothing from outside a man entering into him which can defile him; but the things which go out from him, those it is which defile the man.

RV there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him: but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.

SLT There is nothing from without a man, entering into him, which can defile him: but things coming out from him, these are the things polluting the man.

Wbstr There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him, can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.

KJB-1769 There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.

KJB-1611 There is nothing from without a man that entring into him, can defile him: but the things which come out of of him, those are they that defile the man.
(There is nothing from without a man that entering into him, can defile him: but the things which come out of of him, those are they that defile the man.)

Bshps There is nothyng without a man, that can defyle hym, when it entreth into hym: But the thynges whiche proceade out of a man, those are they that defyle the man.
(There is nothing without a man, that can defile him, when it entereth/enters into him: But the things which proceed out of a man, those are they that defile the man.)

Gnva There is nothing without a man, that can defile him, when it entreth into him: but the things which proceede out of him, are they which defile the man.
(There is nothing without a man, that can defile him, when it entereth/enters into him: but the things which proceed out of him, are they which defile the man. )

Cvdl There is nothinge without a man, that can defyle him, whan it entreth in to him. But that goeth out of him, that is it that maketh the man vncleane.
(There is nothing without a man, that can defile him, when it entereth/enters in to him. But that goeth/goes out of him, that is it that maketh/makes the man unclean.)

TNT There is no thinge with out a man that can defyle him when it entreth into him: but thoo thinges which procede out of him are those which defyle the man.
(There is no thing with out a man that can defile him when it entereth/enters into him: but those things which proceed out of him are those which defile the man. )

Wycl No thing that is withouten a man, that entrith in to hym, may defoule him; but tho thingis that comen forth of a man, tho it ben that defoulen a man.
(No thing that is without a man, that entereth/enters in to him, may defile him; but those things that came forth of a man, those it been that defiling a man.)

Luth Es ist nichts außer dem Menschen, was ihn könnte gemein machen, so es in ihn gehet; sondern was von ihm ausgehet, das ist‘s, was den Menschen gemein macht.
(It is nothing except to_him people, what/which him/it could mean/nasty make, so it in him/it goes; rather what/which from him goes, the it_is, what/which the people mean/nasty power.)

ClVg Nihil est extra hominem introiens in eum, quod possit eum coinquinare, sed quæ de homine procedunt illa sunt quæ communicant hominem.[fn]
(Nothing it_is outside man entering in/into/on him, that can him to_pollute, but which from/about man they_proceed that are which communicate man. )

7.15 Nihil est extra, etc. BEDA. Nec idolothytum in quantum cibus est, in quantum Dei creatura est, sed dæmoniorum invocatio hoc facit immundum. Unde: Non potestis bibere calicem Domini et calicem dæmoniorum I Cor. 10.. Judæi se partem Dei jactant, communes cibos vocant, quibus omnes homines utuntur, ut ostrea, lepores, et hujusmodi animalia, quæ ungulam non findunt, nec ruminant, nec squamosa in piscibus sunt.

7.15 Nothing it_is outside, etc. BEDA. Neither idolthytum in/into/on quantum food it_is, in/into/on quantum of_God creature it_is, but of_demons invocation this he_does unclean/impure. From_where/who: Not/No can_you to_drink chalice/cup Master and chalice/cup of_demons I Cor. 10.. Jews himself part of_God they_boast, common/communitys food they_call, to_whom everyone people/men they_use, as ostrea, lepores, and of_this_kind animals, which hoof not/no findunt, but_not ruminant, but_not scaly in/into/on fish are.

UGNT οὐδέν ἐστιν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτὸν, ὃ δύναται κοινῶσαι αὐτόν; ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκπορευόμενά, ἐστιν τὰ κοινοῦντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
(ouden estin exōthen tou anthrōpou eisporeuomenon eis auton, ho dunatai koinōsai auton; alla ta ek tou anthrōpou ekporeuomena, estin ta koinounta ton anthrōpon.)

SBL-GNT οὐδέν ἐστιν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτὸν ὃ δύναται ⸂κοινῶσαι αὐτόν⸃· ἀλλὰ τὰ ⸂ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκπορευόμενά⸃ ἐστιν τὰ κοινοῦντα τὸν ⸀ἄνθρωπον.
(ouden estin exōthen tou anthrōpou eisporeuomenon eis auton ho dunatai ⸂koinōsai auton⸃; alla ta ⸂ek tou anthrōpou ekporeuomena⸃ estin ta koinounta ton ⸀anthrōpon.)

RP-GNT Οὐδέν ἐστιν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτόν, ὃ δύναται αὐτὸν κοινῶσαι· ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκπορευόμενα ἀπ' αὐτοῦ, ἐκεῖνά ἐστιν τὰ κοινοῦντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
(Ouden estin exōthen tou anthrōpou eisporeuomenon eis auton, ho dunatai auton koinōsai; alla ta ekporeuomena ap' autou, ekeina estin ta koinounta ton anthrōpon.)

TC-GNT Οὐδέν ἐστιν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτόν, ὃ δύναται [fn]αὐτὸν κοινῶσαι· ἀλλὰ τὰ [fn]ἐκπορευόμενα ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, ἐκεῖνά ἐστι τὰ κοινοῦντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
(Ouden estin exōthen tou anthrōpou eisporeuomenon eis auton, ho dunatai auton koinōsai; alla ta ekporeuomena ap autou, ekeina esti ta koinounta ton anthrōpon. )

7:15 αυτον κοινωσαι ¦ κοινωσαι αυτον CT

7:15 εκπορευομενα απ αυτου εκεινα ¦ εκπορευομενα ANT ¦ εκ του ανθρωπου εκπορευομενα CT

Key for above GNTs: red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN 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.

UTN 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]

Parallel MARK 7:15