MARK 7:6 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, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, cyan:dative/indirect object.
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 But he, answering, said to them, “Isaiah prophesied well about you hypocrites. As it is written,
⇔  ‘This people honors me with their lips,
⇔  but their heart is far away from me.

UST Jesus replied, “Isaiah the prophet was right when God spoke through him about you. You say that you obey God, but you really do not! Here is what Isaiah wrote:
⇔ ‘You people treat me respectfully when you talk,
⇔ but you do not really care about me.

BSB Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:
⇔ ‘These people honor Me with [their] lips,
⇔ but their hearts are far from Me.

MSB Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:
⇔ ‘These people honor Me with [their] lips,
⇔ but their hearts are far from Me.

BLB And He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly concerning you hypocrites, as it has been written: 'This people honors Me with the lips, but their heart is kept far away from Me;

AICNT And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written [that] ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me;

OEB His answer was, ‘It was well said by Isaiah when he prophesied about you hypocrites in the words – “This is a people who honour me with their lips, while their hearts are far removed from me;

WEBBE He answered them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
⇔ ‘This people honours me with their lips,
⇔ but their heart is far from me.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written:
⇔ ‘ This people honors me with their lips,
⇔  but their heart is far from me.

LSV And He answering said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, hypocrites, as it has been written: This people honors Me with the lips, and their heart is far from Me;

FBV Jesus replied, “Isaiah was right about you hypocrites when he said, ‘These people claim they honor me, but in their thinking they are far from me.

TCNT He [fn]answered them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
⇔ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
⇔ but their heart is far from me.

7:6 answered ¦ said to CT

T4T Jesus said to them, “Isaiah rebuked your ancestors, and his words describe very well you people who only pretend to be good! He wrote these words that God said:
⇔ These people speak as if they honor me, but they [SYN] really do not think about honoring me at all.

LEB So he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
• ‘This people honors me with their[fn] lips,
• but their heart is far, far away from me.

7:6 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun

BBE And he said, Well did Isaiah say of you, you false ones: These people give me honour with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

Moff He said to them, 'Yes, it was about you hypocrites indeed that Isaiah prophesied--as it is written,
⇔ This people honours me with their lips,
⇔ but their heart is far away from me:

Wymth "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites," He replied; "as it is written, "`This People honour Me with their lips, while their hearts are far away from Me:

ASV And he said unto them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
⇔ This people honoreth me with their lips,
⇔ But their heart is far from me.

DRA But he answering, said to them: Well did Isaias prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

YLT and he answering said to them — 'Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, hypocrites, as it hath been written, This people with the lips doth honour Me, and their heart is far from Me;

Drby But he answering said to them, Well did Esaias prophesy concerning you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honour me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.

RV And he said unto them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, But their heart is far from me.

SLT And he having answered, said to them, That Esaias prophesied well concerning you, as it has been written, This people honour me with lips, and their heart keeps far from me.

Wbstr He answered and said to them, Well hath Isaiah prophesied concerning you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.

KJB-1769 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
(He answered and said unto them, Well hath/has Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. )

KJB-1611 He answered and said vnto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you Hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth mee with their lips, but their heart is farre from me.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation)

Bshps He aunswered, and sayde vnto them, that Esaias hath prophesied well of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honoreth me with their lippes, but their heart is farre from me.
(He answered, and said unto them, that Esaias hath/has prophesied well of you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.)

Gnva Then hee answered and sayd vnto them, Surely Esay hath prophecied well of you, hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth mee with lippes, but their heart is farre away from me.
(Then he answered and said unto them, Surely Esay hath/has prophesied well of you, hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with lips, but their heart is far away from me. )

Cvdl But he answered & sayde vnto them: Full well hath Esay prophecied of you Ypocrytes, as it is wrytte: This people honoureth me wt their lippes, but their hert is farre fro me.
(But he answered and said unto them: Full well hath/has Esay prophesied of you Ypocrytes, as it is written: This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.)

TNT He answered and sayde vnto them: well prophesied Esaias of you ypocrites as it is writte: This people honoreth me with their lyppes but their hert is farre from me:
(He answered and said unto them: well prophesied Esaias of you hypocrites as it is writte: This people honoureth me with their lips but their heart is far from me: )

Wycl And he answeride, and seide to hem, Ysaie prophesiede wel of you, ypocritis, as it is writun, This puple worschipith me with lippis, but her herte is fer fro me;
(And he answered, and said to hem, Isaiah prophesiede well of you, ypocritis, as it is written, This people worshippeth/worships me with lips, but her heart is far from me;)

Luth Er aber antwortete und sprach zu ihnen: Wohl fein hat von euch Heuchlern Jesaja geweissagt, wie geschrieben steht: Dies Volk ehret mich mit den Lippen, aber ihr Herz ist ferne von mir.
(He but replied and spoke to/for to_them: Probably fine has from you Heuchlern Yesaya prophesied, as/like written stands: This/These people honours(v) me with the lips, but you(pl)/their/her heart is distant from to_me.)

ClVg At ille respondens, dixit eis: Bene prophetavit Isaias de vobis hypocritis, sicut scriptum est: [Populus hic labiis me honorat, cor autem eorum longe est a me:[fn]
(But he/that_one responding, he/she_said to_them: Well prophesied Isaiahs from/about to_you(pl) hypocritis, like written it_is: [Populus this/here lips me honour/respect(n)at, heart however their far_away it_is from me: )

7.6 Bene prophetavit. HIERON. Latratum Pharisæorum reprimit furca rationis, id est, Moysi et Isaiæ increpatione, ut et nos hæreticos verbis Scripturæ vincere possimus.

7.6 Well prophesied. HIERON. Latratum of_the_Pharisees reprimit furca rationis, that it_is, of_Moses and Isaiæ rebuke, as and us heretics with_words Scriptures to_win we_can.

UGNT ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς, ὅτι καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν Ἠσαΐας περὶ ὑμῶν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, ὡς γέγραπται, ὅτι οὗτος ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ.
(ho de apokritheis eipen autois, hoti kalōs eprofaʸteusen Aʸsaias peri humōn tōn hupokritōn, hōs gegraptai, hoti houtos ho laos tois ⱪeilesin me tima, haʸ de kardia autōn porrō apeⱪei ap’ emou.)

SBL-GNT ὁ ⸀δὲ εἶπεν ⸀αὐτοῖς· Καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν Ἠσαΐας περὶ ὑμῶν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, ὡς γέγραπται ⸀ὅτι Οὗτος ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ·
(ho ⸀de eipen ⸀autois; Kalōs eprofaʸteusen Aʸsaias peri humōn tōn hupokritōn, hōs gegraptai ⸀hoti Houtos ho laos tois ⱪeilesin me tima, haʸ de kardia autōn porrō apeⱪei apʼ emou;)

RP-GNT Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὅτι Καλῶς προεφήτευσεν Ἠσαΐας περὶ ὑμῶν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, ὡς γέγραπται, Οὗτος ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ' ἐμοῦ.
(Ho de apokritheis eipen autois hoti Kalōs proefaʸteusen Aʸsaias peri humōn tōn hupokritōn, hōs gegraptai, Houtos ho laos tois ⱪeilesin me tima, haʸ de kardia autōn porrō apeⱪei ap' emou.)

TC-GNT Ὁ δὲ [fn]ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς [fn]ὅτι Καλῶς [fn]προεφήτευσεν Ἠσαΐας περὶ ὑμῶν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, ὡς [fn]γέγραπται,
⇔ Οὗτος ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσί με τιμᾷ,
⇔ ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ.
(Ho de apokritheis eipen autois hoti Kalōs proefaʸteusen Aʸsaias peri humōn tōn hupokritōn, hōs gegraptai,
⇔ Houtos ho laos tois ⱪeilesi me tima,
⇔ haʸ de kardia autōn porrō apeⱪei ap emou. )

7:6 αποκριθεις ¦ — CT

7:6 οτι ¦ — CT

7:6 προεφητευσεν ¦ επροφητευσεν CT

7:6 γεγραπται ¦ γεγραπται οτι NA SBL TH WH

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 7:6–13

In this paragraph, Jesus responded to the rebuke of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. But he did not explain to them directly why his disciples did not follow the tradition of the Jewish ancestors. Instead he told them that they fulfilled a prophecy from Isaiah about people who followed human traditions rather than God’s laws (7:6–8). He then gave a specific example of one of God’s laws that they prevented people from obeying. They did this by insisting that people follow the traditions of the ancestors (7:9–13) instead of God’s law.

7:6a

Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites,

¶ He replied/said, “Isaiah spoke correctly/truly when he made known these words from God about you^(plur) who are hypocrites.
¶ Jesus answered them, “God’s message that Isaiah said/prophesied long ago definitely/clearly applies to you^(plur) who pretend to be righteous people.

Jesus answered them: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Jesus answered them is literally “And he said to them” (as in the RSV). Jesus was replying to the rhetorical question in 7:5. Because of this, a verb such as “replied” or “answered” may be more natural in some languages.

Isaiah: Isaiah is the name of a prophet. He lived many years before the time of Jesus. See how you translated Isaiah and “prophet” in 1:2a.

prophesied correctly about you: In this context, the verb prophesied means “gave a message from God.” This message (quoted from Isaiah 29:13) originally described the people living in Isaiah’s time. Jesus said that Isaiah prophesied about you (the Pharisees and teachers of the law). He meant that Isaiah’s message described the character of the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ time very accurately.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

make known the words from God about you

God’s message that Isaiah said about you

See prophet in the Glossary.

hypocrites: The Greek word that the BSB translates as hypocrites refers literally to actors. Actors are like hypocrites because what they appear to be is not what they really are. Hypocrites often:

acted in a way that did not fit what they said they believed.
believed that they honored God, but they did not truly love and honor him.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

false servants of God (TRT)

people who only say they are righteous

In some languages people may use an idiom for this idea.

7:6b

as it is written:

This is what God caused him to write:
It is just like he wrote in God’s book:

it is written: Jesus often used the expression it is written when he quoted the Old Testament Scriptures. Some things to consider when you translate this expression are:

Your language may already have a formula that is used to introduce a quotation from sacred writings. Consider if you could use that formula here, possibly with slight modification.
In some languages you will need to make explicit that the quotation comes from Scripture. For example:
This is what is written in God’s word.
If your language would express this using an active verb, you could say something like:
As we/people read in the Scriptures
This is what God caused him to write

See how you translated this expression in 1:2a.

General Comment on 7:6a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to combine or reorder some of the phrases in these verse parts. For example:

What Isaiah said/prophesied in God’s written words about hypocrites like you is true/correct

Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites in Scripture (GW)

Notice that the GW has made implicit the phrase “as it is written.” For an English audience, the phrase “in Scripture” implies that the prophecy was written, so both phrases are not necessary. Express this information in a natural way in your language.

7:6c–7b

These words are quoted from Isaiah 29:13.

7:6c–d

These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me: In Greek, the phrase with their lips occurs in a position of emphasis. The word order indicates that the main contrast is between external worship (with their lips) and internal reality (their hearts). In some languages, it may be possible to express this contrast by saying:

These people, it is only with their lips/words that they honor me, but their hearts are far from me.

Express this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.

7:6c

‘These people honor Me with their lips,

‘It is only with their mouths/words that these people praise me,
‘You^(plur) people speak well about me,

These people: When Isaiah originally spoke these words, the phrase These people referred to the Jewish people who acted like this. Jesus said that the Pharisees were also the people that Isaiah had spoken about.

The people to whom Jesus spoke and to whom Isaiah spoke were all Jewish. So in some languages it may be natural to translate this as:

You^(plur) people

honor Me with their lips: The phrase honor Me with their lips is a figure of speech (metonymy) in which their lips stands for “their words.” This means that the Pharisees honored/praised God with their words.

If this figure of speech is not clear or natural in your language, you may:

Substitute a similar figure of speech. For example:
These people praise me with their mouths/tongues
Omit the figure of speech and express the meaning directly. For example:
You praise me in what you say
These people show honor to me with words (NCV)

Me: Jesus was quoting from the book of Isaiah, which was quoting the words of God. So the pronoun Me refers to God. In some languages it may be necessary to use indirect speech in order to make this clear. See the General Comment on 7:6b–7b after 7:7b for an example.

7:6d

but their hearts are far from Me.

but in their hearts/thoughts they are not close to me.
but they do not mean what they say.
but you^(plur) do not really love me or think about me.

but their hearts are far from me: This clause contrasts what the people say (7:6c) and their true, inner attitude toward God.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

All of you praise me with your words, but you never really think about me. (CEV)

You say that you want to honor me, but you do not care about what truly honors me.

their hearts: In the New Testament, the word heart refers figuratively to the mind, emotions, and will of a person. It refers to the part of a person that he uses to think, feel, and make decisions. In some languages people refer figuratively to this part of a person as his mind, throat, liver, or stomach. They are not referring literally to that physical part of the body. You should use the expression in your language that is natural to refer to this spiritual part of a person.

far from Me: The words far from Me are a figurative expression that means that the people had turned away from God. They had turned away:

with their minds and did not think of God,
with their will and did not obey God,
with their emotions and did not love God.

In your translation, try to find an expression that implies or suggests all of these things.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

but their minds/livers/stomachs are far from me

but in their hearts/throats/thoughts, they have turned away from me

but they do not mean what they say

If one term expresses only part of the meaning, you may be able to use a combination of terms. For example:

they do not truly love me or think about me

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

δὲ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν Ἠσαΐας περί ὑμῶν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν ὡς γέγραπται ὅτι Οὗτος ὁ λαός τοῖς χείλεσιν μέ τιμᾷ ἡ δέ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ)

Here, the word But introduces the next thing that happened. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a word or phrase that introduces the next event, or you could leave But untranslated. Alternate translation: [Then]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

καλῶς

rightly

Here, the word well indicates that what Isaiah prophesied accurately describes the scribes and the Pharisees. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [accurately] or [truly]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

ὡς γέγραπται, ὅτι οὗτος ὁ λαὸς τοῖς χείλεσίν με τιμᾷ, ἡ δὲ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ & μάτην δὲ σέβονταί με, διδάσκοντες διδασκαλίας ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων

as ˱it˲_˓has_been˒_written ¬that (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν Ἠσαΐας περί ὑμῶν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν ὡς γέγραπται ὅτι Οὗτος ὁ λαός τοῖς χείλεσιν μέ τιμᾷ ἡ δέ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ)

If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [As it is written, God said that this people honors him with their lips, but their heart is far away from him. But they worship him in vain, teaching as doctrines commandments of men.]

Note 4 topic: writing-quotations

ὡς γέγραπται

as ˱it˲_˓has_been˒_written

Here Jesus introduces a quotation from the Old Testament scriptures, specifically from [Isaiah 29:13](../isa/29/13.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could use a word or phrase that introduces a quotation from an important text, and you could include this information in a footnote. Alternate translation: [He wrote in the book of Isaiah] or [As he said]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

οὗτος ὁ λαὸς

Here, the phrase This people refers to the Israelites about whom Isaiah was speaking. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make that idea more explicit. Alternate translation: [The Israelites honor] or [These Jewish people]

Note 6 topic: writing-pronouns

με & ἐμοῦ

Here, both uses of the word me refer to God. If it would be helpful in your language, you could refer to him more directly. Alternate translation: [me, their God, … me]

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τοῖς χείλεσίν

˱with˲_the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ ἀποκριθείς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς καλῶς ἐπροφήτευσεν Ἠσαΐας περί ὑμῶν τῶν ὑποκριτῶν ὡς γέγραπται ὅτι Οὗτος ὁ λαός τοῖς χείλεσιν μέ τιμᾷ ἡ δέ καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ)

Here, lips represent someone speaking. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use an equivalent expression from your language or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [with their speech] or [with their words]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἡ & καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ

the & heart ˱of˲_them far_away ˓is˒_being_away from me

Here Isaiah speaks as if the Israelites’ heart were far away from God. He means that they do not think about God or want to obey him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use simile form or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [it is as if their hearts were far away from me] or [they do not want to serve me]

Note 9 topic: grammar-collectivenouns

ἡ & καρδία αὐτῶν πόρρω ἀπέχει

the & heart ˱of˲_them far_away ˓is˒_being_away

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: [their hearts are far away]

Parallel MARK 7:6

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

Paragraph 7:6–13

7:6a

7:6b

General Comment on 7:6a–b

7:6c–7b

7:6c–d

7:6c

7:6d