Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is unwashed, hands, they found fault.
Parallel Translations
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Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled, that is unwashed, hands, they found fault.
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And when they sawe certayne of his disciples eate breed with comen hondes (that is to saye with vnwesshen hondes) they complayned.
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And when they sawe some of his disciples eate meate with common hands, (that is to say, vnwashen) they complained.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Mark 7:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Acts 10:28 He said to them, “You yourselves know how it is an unlawful thing for a man who is a Jew to join himself or come to one of another nation, but God has shown me that I shouldn’t call any man unholy or unclean.
- Matthew 7:3-5 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but don’t consider the beam that is in your own eye? Or how will you tell your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye;’ and behold, the beam is in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.
- Romans 14:14 I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
- Daniel 6:4-5 Then the presidents and the local governors sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion or fault, because he was faithful. There wasn’t any error or fault found in him. Then these men said, “We won’t find any occasion against this Daniel, unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
- Matthew 23:23-25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness.
- Acts 10:14-15 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” A voice came to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed, you must not call unclean.”
- Acts 11:8 But I said, ‘Not so, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered into my mouth.’
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain For the Pharisees would not eat their meat with…
For the Pharisees would not eat their meat with unwashed hands, because they thought that their hands were defiled with common handling of things, Matt. 15:11, 12.
Word for word, eat bread: a kind of speech which the Hebrews use, taking bread for all kinds of food.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 2 And when they saw some of his disciples…
2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault.
Ver. 2. With defiled] Gr. with common hands, κοιναις χερσι. Common and defiled is one and the same in Greek and other languages; to show that those that come to holy things with common affections and carriages, profane them.
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They found fault] εμεμψαντο. They mumped at it, as we say; they dispraised, accused, complained. Vituperant homines quam collaudant promptius, saith one: another being demanded, what was the easiest thing in the world? answered, to find fault with another. Μωμεισθαι ραον η μιμεισθαι, saith a third; it is easier to find a fault, than to mend it.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when they saw some of his disciples,.... An…
And when they saw some of his disciples,.... An opportunity soon offered of giving them an handle against him: for observing some of his disciples to sit down to meat, they took notice that they
eat bread with defiled (that is to say, with unwashen) hands, and
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they found fault; with them, and charged them with the breach of the traditions of the elders, and took an occasion from hence of quarrelling with Christ. The Jews use the same phrase the evangelist here does, and interpret it in just the same manner: so, speaking of things eaten, , "with defiled hands"; that is, says the commentator (i), it is all one as if it was said, , "without washing of hands"; which was esteemed a very great crime, and especially if done in a contemptuous way: for they say (k),
"he that despiseth washing of hands, shall be rooted out of the world; for in it is the secret of the decalogue:''
and particularly to eat with unwashed hands, was unpardonable in a disciple of a wise man; for they looked upon this to be the characteristic of one of the vulgar people, a common and illiterate man: for they ask (l),
"who is one of the people of the earth, or a plebeian? he that does not eat his common food with purity.''
By this also they distinguished a Jew from a Gentile; if he washed his hands, and blessed, he was known to be an Israelite, but if not, a Gentile (m); See Gill on Mat 15:2.
(i) Bartenora in Misn. Cholin, c. 2. sect. 5. (k) Zoharin Numb fol. 100. 3. (l) T. Bab. Gittin, fol. 61. 1. (m) Bevaidbar Rabba, fol. 228. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. They found fault.] This is wanting in…
Verse 2. They found fault.] This is wanting in ABEHLV, nineteen others, and several versions: Mill and Bengel approve the omission, and Griesbach rejects the word. If the 3d and 4th verses be read in a parenthesis, the 2d and 5th verses will appear to be properly connected, without the above clause.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain With common hands. It may be translated, with defiled…
With common hands. It may be translated, with defiled hands; as also ver. 15; but the circumstances plainly shew the sense. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. Unwashen hands — This was not the matter…
2. Unwashen hands — This was not the matter of cleanliness, but of superstitious purity. The Jews of Palestine at the present day wash, indeed, after the meal, because they have handled meat with their fingers, but they wash not, either for cleanliness or superstition, before the meal. According to the Eastern custom, they sometimes think it polite, as Dr. Thomson remarks, to present to the mouth of their guests a piece of food in fingers too dirty to be agreeable to a European taste.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 2. with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen,…
2. with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands] Thus St Mark explains for his Roman readers, and then proceeds more fully to set forth certain Jewish usages. The Pharisees had probably crept in secretly into some of the social gatherings of the disciples.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (2) With defiled, that is to say, with unwashen,…
(2) With defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands.—The first word means literally common. This came to be associated, as in Act_10:14, with what was “unclean,” and so, for Jews at all events, the word acquired a new meaning. St. Mark’s Gentile readers, however, were not likely to understand what was meant by “common hands,” and therefore he adds his explanation of “unwashed.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 2. Eat bread with defiled hands. Not dirty, but…
2. Eat bread with defiled hands. Not dirty, but “unwashen.” The “tradition of the elders” required them to always wash before eating lest they might have touched something ceremonially unclean.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
In verses verses 3 and 4, the author gives background information about the Pharisees' washing traditions in order to show why the Pharisees were bothered that Jesus' disciples did not wash their hands before eating. This information can be reordered in order to make it easier to understand, as in the UDB. (See: Background Information and Verse Bridges)
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They saw
"The Pharisees and the scribes saw"
that is, unwashed
The word "unwashed" explains why the disciples' hands were defiled. It can be expressed in active form. AT: "that is, with hands that they had not washed" or "that is, that they had not washed their hands" (See: Active or Passive)
elders
Jewish elders were leaders in their communities and were also judges for the people.
copper vessels
"copper kettles" or "metal containers"
the couches upon which they eat
"benches" or "beds." At that time, the Jews would recline when eating.
translationWords
disciple
bread
defile
Pharisee
Jew
tradition
elder
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 7:2-4 Mark explains the Pharisaic practices of ritual cleansing…
7:2-4 Mark explains the Pharisaic practices of ritual cleansing for his non-Jewish (Gentile) readers. The ancient traditions (literally the traditions of the elders) were as yet unwritten accounts that the Pharisees believed had been given to Moses on Mount Sinai along with the written law. They were written down around AD 200 in the Mishnah, one of the key sources for understanding ancient Judaism.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.