MARK 7:21 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.)

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, 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 For from within, from the heart of men, come out evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thefts, murders,

UST In fact, it is because of what people think and care about that they think wrong things. They have improper sex, steal things, and kill others.

7:21 Some texts list these in a different order; some move adultery to verse 22.

BLB For from within the heart of men go forth evil thoughts, sexual immorality, thefts, murders, adulteries,

AICNT For from within, out of the heart of men, come evil thoughts, fornications,[fn] thefts, murders,

7:21, fornications: Or sexual immoralities

OEB for it is from within, out of the hearts of people, that there come evil thoughts – sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

WEBBE For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, sexual sins, murders, thefts,

WMBB (Same as above)

NET For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder,

LSV for from within, out of the heart of men, the evil reasonings come forth, adulteries, whoredoms, murders,

FBV It's from the inside, from people's minds, that evil thoughts come: sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

TCNT For from within, from the hearts of men, come evil thoughts, [fn]adultery, fornication, murder,

7:21 adultery, fornication, murder, theft ¦ fornication, theft, murder, adultery CT

T4T Specifically, it is people’s innermost being that causes them to think things that are evil; they act immorally, they steal things, they commit murder.

LEB For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders,

BBE Because from inside, from the heart of men, come evil thoughts and unclean pleasures,

Moff From within, from the heart of man, the designs of evil come: sexual vice, stealing, murder,

Wymth For from within, out of men's hearts, their evil purposes proceed—fornication, theft, murder, adultery,

ASV For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,

DRA For from within out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

YLT for from within, out of the heart of men, the evil reasonings do come forth, adulteries, whoredoms, murders,

Drby For from within, out of the heart of men, go forth evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

RV For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,

SLT For within, out of the heart of men, go forth evil reflections, adulteries, fornications, murders,

Wbstr For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

KJB-1769 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,

KJB-1611 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed euill thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps For from within, euen out of the heart of men, proceade euyll thoughtes, adulterie, fornication, murther,
(For from within, even out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder,)

Gnva For from within, euen out of the heart of men, proceede euill thoughtes, adulteries, fornications, murthers,
(For from within, even out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, )

Cvdl that defyleth the man. For from within out of the hert of man proceade euell thoughtes, aduoutrye, whordome, murthur,
(that defileth/defiles the man. For from within out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, adultery, whoredom/prostitution, murder,)

TNT For from with in even oute of the herte of men proceade evill thoughtes: advantry fornicacion murder
(For from with in even out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts: adultery fornication murder )

Wycl For fro with ynne, of the herte of men comen forth yuel thouytis, auowtries,
(For from within, of the heart of men came forth evil thoughts, adulteries,)

Luth Denn von innen, aus dem Herzen der Menschen, gehen heraus böse Gedanken, Ehebruch, Hurerei, Mord,
(Because from inside, out_of to_him heart(s) the/of_the people, go out_of_here evil mind/thoughts, adultery, fornication, murder,)

ClVg Ab intus enim de corde hominum malæ cogitationes procedunt, adulteria, fornicationes, homicidia,[fn]
(From inside/within because from/about heart of_men evil thoughts they_proceed, adultery, fornications, murders, )

7.21 De corde hominum. BEDA. Animæ locus principalis non juxta Platonem in cerebro, sed juxta Christum in corde est. Arguuntur etiam, etc., usque ad ut si pulchram mulierem nos crebro viderit inspicere, intelligit nos amare.

7.21 From/About heart of_men. BEDA. Animæ place principal not/no next_to Platonem in/into/on brain, but next_to Christ/Messiah in/into/on heart it_is. Arguuntur also, etc., until to as when/but_if beautiful woman us frequently/repeatedly see to_inspect, understands us to_love.

UGNT ἔσωθεν γὰρ ἐκ τῆς καρδίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ διαλογισμοὶ οἱ κακοὶ ἐκπορεύονται, πορνεῖαι, κλοπαί, φόνοι,
(esōthen gar ek taʸs kardias tōn anthrōpōn hoi dialogismoi hoi kakoi ekporeuontai, porneiai, klopai, fonoi,)

SBL-GNT ἔσωθεν γὰρ ἐκ τῆς καρδίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ διαλογισμοὶ οἱ κακοὶ ἐκπορεύονται, ⸂πορνεῖαι, κλοπαί, φόνοι,
(esōthen gar ek taʸs kardias tōn anthrōpōn hoi dialogismoi hoi kakoi ekporeuontai, ⸂porneiai, klopai, fonoi,)

RP-GNT Ἔσωθεν γάρ, ἐκ τῆς καρδίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ διαλογισμοὶ οἱ κακοὶ ἐκπορεύονται, μοιχεῖαι, πορνεῖαι, φόνοι,
(Esōthen gar, ek taʸs kardias tōn anthrōpōn hoi dialogismoi hoi kakoi ekporeuontai, moiⱪeiai, porneiai, fonoi,)

TC-GNT Ἔσωθεν γάρ, ἐκ τῆς καρδίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ διαλογισμοὶ οἱ κακοὶ ἐκπορεύονται, [fn]μοιχεῖαι, πορνεῖαι, φόνοι,
(Esōthen gar, ek taʸs kardias tōn anthrōpōn hoi dialogismoi hoi kakoi ekporeuontai, moiⱪeiai, porneiai, fonoi, )

7:21 μοιχειαι πορνειαι φονοι κλοπαι ¦ πορνειαι κλοπαι φονοι μοιχειαι 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.

7:21a

For from within the hearts of men

For a person’s heart/mind is the source of
Here are some of the things that come from within people’s hearts/minds:

For: The Greek word that the BSB translates as For is a conjunction that introduces a phrase that explains 7:20. Some versions do not use a conjunction. For example, the CEV says:

Out of your heart come evil thoughts, vulgar deeds, stealing, murder

You should connect 7:20 with 7:21 in a natural way in your language that makes it clear that 7:21 explains 7:20.

from within the hearts of men: The phrase from within the hearts of men refers to the unseen, inner part of a person that thinks, feels and makes decisions. Some languages refer to this part of a person as the throat, stomach, or liver. Use the expression that is natural in your language for this idea. See how you translated “heart” in 7:19a.

Some translations express the idea with two phrases. For example, the NIV says:

from within, out of men’s hearts

men: Here, the word men is used in a figurative sense to refer to “people.” For example, the NLT says:

out of a person’s heart

7:21b

come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder,

harmful/wicked thoughts, immoral sexual behaviors, stealing, murdering,
they think about doing what is wrong, they commit sexual sins, they steal, they kill,

come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder: There are two ways to understand the Greek phrase that the BSB translates as evil thoughts here:

The term evil thoughts is a specific term. It is part of the list together with the next terms. They are all things that come out of the heart. For example, the RSV says:
come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder… (BSB, RSV, NIV, NLT, NASB, GW, CEV, NET, REB, KJV, NCV, ESV)
The term evil thoughts is a general term. The next terms are specific examples of that generic term. The NJB indicates this with a colon:
that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder… (NJB, JBP, NRSV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). But if the major language version in your area follows interpretation (2), you may want to follow that.

evil thoughts: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as evil thoughts also means “evil ideas,” “evil reasonings,” or “evil plans.” For example, the NET says:

evil ideas

sexual immorality: The Greek word that the BSB translates as sexual immorality is a general term that refers to all sexual sin. Use the proper term or terms to cover the meaning of this Greek word.

theft: The Greek word that the BSB translates as theft refers to a person taking things that do not belong to him. Another word for theft is “stealing.”

murder: The Greek word that the BNB translates as murder literally means “kill” (as in the GNT). In this context, it refers to the illegal or unlawful ending of someone’s life. It does not refer to executing a criminal or killing an enemy soldier in battle.

7:21c

adultery,

adultery,
have sexual relations with someone who is not their husband or wife,

Some English versions place the term adultery in 7:22 instead of in 7:21. For example, the NET says:

evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²²adultery

You may want to follow what your major language version does here.

adultery: The Greek word that the BSB translates as adultery refers to a specific type of sexual sin. It refers to sexual relations between a man and a woman, when at least one of them is married to another person. If your language has an expression which refers to that behavior, you will want to use that term.

In some languages, there is one term that covers the meaning of both “adultery” and “sexual immorality.” If this is true in your language, use your term once in either 7:21b or 7:21c.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

γὰρ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔσωθεν Γάρ ἐκ τῆς καρδίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων οἱ διαλογισμοί οἱ κακοί ἐκπορεύονται πορνεῖαι κλοπαί φόνοι μοιχεῖαι)

Here, the word For introduces a basis for the claim that Jesus made in the previous verse about how what comes out from a person is what defiles that person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a basis for a claim, or you could leave For untranslated. Alternate translation: [That is because] or [I say that because]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

ἐκ τῆς καρδίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων

from the heart ¬the ˱of˲_people

In Jesus’ culture, the heart is the place where humans think, feel, and desire. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate heart by referring to the place where humans think, feel, and desire in your culture, or you could express the idea plainly. See how you translated heart in [7:19](../07/19.md). Alternate translation: [from the head of men] or [from the mind of men] or [from what men think and desire]

Note 3 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

τῆς καρδίας

the heart

If it would not be natural in your language to speak as if a group of people had only one heart, you could use the plural form of that word in your translation. Alternate translation: [the hearts]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

τῶν ἀνθρώπων

¬the ˱of˲_people

Although the term men is masculine, Jesus is using the word 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: [of humans]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / go

ἐκπορεύονται

˓are˒_going_out

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

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor