Mark 7:7

Vocabulary (Greek word by word)

μάτην [2 verses](adv) "In vain" is from the Greek maten which means "in vain", "fruitless", "at random", "idly," and "falsely."

δὲ [446 verses](conj)  "But" is from de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be a weak connective ("and") and explanation of cause ("so"). --

σέβονταί [3 verses]( verb 3rd pl pres ind mp) "Do they worship" is from sebomai, which means "feel awe", "full of awe", "feel fear" or "feel shame," before God, "fear to do", "revere, "honour", "respect", "approve", and "worship". In Hebrew, the sense of fear is more direct. The single word, yir'ah, which means "fear", "awe," or "fear of God." In the original Hebrew, this line is translated in KJV as saying, that the fear of God comes from the teaching of men, not from God. The Greek could and should be translated this way as well.

με, [49 verses](pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is from eme, which means "I", "me", and "my".

διδάσκοντες [12 verses](part pl pres act masc nom) "Teach" is from didasko, which means "to teach", "to instruct", "to indicate", "to explain," and "to give sign of."

διδασκαλίας [2 verses](noun pl fem acc) "Doctrines" is from disaskalia which means "teachings", "instruction", "elucidation," and "official instruction."

ἐντάλματα [2 verses](noun pl neut acc) "Commandments" is from entalma, which means "to order". The Greek, entalma, only appears here and in the parallel verse, Mar 7:7. It is a form of entolê which means "injunction", "order," and "command."

ἀνθρώπων. [209 verses](noun pl masc gen) "Of man" is from anthropos, which is "man," and, in plural, "mankind." It also means "humanity" and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate. -- The Greek word for "of man" in the singular means "person" and "humanity" and "people" and "peoples" in plural.

Septuagint Version

μάτην (adv) "In vain" is from the Greek maten which means "in vain", "fruitless", "at random", "idly," and "falsely."

δὲ "But" is from de which means "but" and "on the other hand." It is the particle that joins sentences in an adversarial way but can also be a weak connective ("and") and explanation of cause ("so"). --

σέβονταί ( verb 3rd pl pres ind mp) "Do they worship" is from sebomai, which means "feel awe", "full of awe", "feel fear" or "feel shame," before God, "fear to do", "revere, ""honour", "respect", "approve", and "worship". In Hebrew, the sense of fear is more direct. The single word, yir'ah, which means "fear", "awe," or "fear of God." In the original Hebrew, this line is translated in KJV as saying, that the fear of God comes from the teaching of men, not from God. The Greek could and should be translated this way as well.

με, (pron 1st sg masc acc) "Me" is from eme, which means "I", "me", and "my".

διδάσκοντες (part pl pres act masc nom) "Teach" is from didasko, which means "to teach", "to instruct", "to indicate", "to explain," and "to give sign of."

ἐντάλματα (noun pl neut acc) "Commandments" is from entalma, which means "to order". The Greek, entalma, only appears here and in the parallel verse, Matthew 15:9. It is a form of entolê which means "injunction", "order," and "command."

ἀνθρώπων. (noun pl masc gen) "Of man" is from anthropos, which is "man," and, in plural, "mankind." It also means "humanity" and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate. -- The Greek word for "of man" in the singular means "person" and "humanity" and "people" and "peoples" in plural.

καὶ [1089 verses](conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "but." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also," and "just."

διδασκαλίας [12 verses]( noun pl fem acc OR noun sg fem gen) "Teach" is from didasko, which means "to teach", "to instruct", "to indicate", "to explain," and "to give sign of."

KJV — word by word

Howbeit  - (WW) The Greek word translated as "howbeit" joins phrases in an adversarial way. It is usually translated as "but" as it is in the parallel version of this verse in Matthew 15:9. Since this word always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.

in vain  -  The word translated as "in vain," is an adverb that also means "fruitless", "at random", "idly," and "falsely." This word is only used here and in the parallel verse in Matthew 15:9.

they   - This is from the plural form of the following verb.

do -- This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek

worship  -  (CW) "Worship" is from a verb that means "feel awe", "full of awe", "feel fear" or "feel shame," before God, "revere, "honor", "respect," and "worship".  This verb is rarely used by Jesus but is used here because it is the Greek word used in the Greek Septuagint. Note that its primary meaning is to "feel awe" or "fear," not worship. In original Hebrew, the sense of fear is more direct. However, the sense of "honor" echoes and idea in the previous verse.

me, -  "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek.

teaching  - "Teaching" is a verb that means "to teach", "to instruct", "to explain," and "to give sign of." It is in the form of a participle, that is, an adjective form of the verb, so "teaching" or "explaining."

for  -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "for" in the Greek source.  There is no "for" in the Greek before this word.  This word comes at the end of the verse in the Septuagint version.

doctrines -  "Doctrines" is the noun form of the verb above, so it which means "teachings", "instruction", "explanations," and "official instruction."

the  - There is no definite Greek article here, but in English we use the definitive article ("the") more commonly from the plural. 

commandments  - (CW) The Greek translated as "commandments" means " is a rare form of another Greek noun that means "injunction", "order," and "command." This form is used only here, in the parallel verse, Matthew 15:9., and in the Septuagint version. While Jesus often uses unusual word for wordplay, he also uses them to be consistent with the original scripture. Except for here, quoting the Septuagint, Jesus always used the common form of this noun.

of -- This word "of"  comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. 

men. The Greek word for "of men" means "man", "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men", "people", and "peoples". 

NIV — word by word

missing "however"  -- (MW) The untranslated word  "howbeit" joins phrases in an adversarial way. It is usually translated as "but" as it is in the parallel version of this verse in Matthew 15:9. Since this word always falls in the second position, translating it as "however" often captures its feeling better.

They - This is from the plural form of the following verb.

do -- This English helping verb is used to create questions, commands, negative statements, and smooth word flow in translation from Greek

worship  -  (CW) "Worship" is from a verb that means "feel awe", "full of awe", "feel fear" or "feel shame," before God, "revere, "honor", "respect," and "worship".  This verb is rarely used by Jesus but is used here because it is the Greek word used in the Greek Septuagint. Note that its primary meaning is to "feel awe" or "fear," not worship. In original Hebrew, the sense of fear is more direct. However, the sense of "honor" echoes and idea in the previous verse.

me, -  "Me" is the regular first-person pronoun in Greek.

in vain  -  The word translated as "in vain," is an adverb that also means "fruitless", "at random", "idly," and "falsely." This word is only used here and in the parallel verse in Matthew 15:9.

their -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "their " in the Greek source. 

missing "teaching"  -- (MW) The untranslated word  is a verb that means "to teach", "to instruct", "to explain," and "to give sign of." It is in the form of a participle, that is, an adjective form of the verb, so "teaching" or "explaining."

teachings  -  "Teachings" is the noun form of the verb above, so it which means "teachings", "instruction", "explanations," and "official instruction."

are merely -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "are merely " in the Greek source.  There is no "are merely " in the Greek before this word. 

human  - The Greek word for "human" means "man", "person" and "humanity" in the singular. In the plural, it means "men", "people", and "peoples". 

rules- The Greek translated as "rules" means " is a rare form of another Greek noun that means "injunction", "order," and "command." This form is used only here, in the parallel verse, Matthew 15:9., and in the Septuagint version. While Jesus often uses unusual word for wordplay, he also uses them to be consistent with the original scripture. Except for here, quoting the Septuagint, Jesus always used the common form of this noun.