Mark 7:8

For laying aside the commandment of God,

Asked by Pharisees why followers eat with unwashed hands, violating tradition. This line follows the previous verse's quote of Isaiah.

Spoken to:: The Pharisees
KJV issues:: 4

KJV

Mark 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

NIV

Mark 7:8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

What His Listeners Heard

Leaving the command of the Divine, you control the tradition of these men.

Greek

Mark 7:8 ἀφέντες τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ κρατεῖτε τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων.

Greek Word Order

ἀφέντες τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ κρατεῖτε τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Leaving the command of the Divine, you control the tradition of these men.

People want to take control over people from the Divine.

Lost in Translation

Most of this KJV verse does not exist in the Greek sources that we use today and are not in modern translations. See this article about Greek source and translation.

The word translated as "commandment" and "commands" here is singular, but does it refer to a specific commandment or to the "command" in the sense of control? If translated to the singular "the command" followed by the verb "order" this verse becomes a discussion of who is in general control rather than a discussion of a specific commandment.

The word translate as "laying aside" and "letting go of" has the sense of letting something fall though it often translated as "leaving," which works here.

But the key verb is translated as "hold" and "holding" primarily means "control" or "ruling" and "conquering." There is an untranslated "the/these" before "men/human."

So Jesus is explicitly saying that the Pharisees are controlling the traditions of these specific group of people, the Judeans.

Vocabulary (Greek word by word)

ἀφέντες [73 verses]( part pl aor act masc nom ) "Laying aside" is aphiemi, which means "to let fall", "to send away", "give up", "hand over", "to let loose", "to get rid of", "to leave alone", "to pass by", "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself."

τὴν [821 verses] ( article sg fem acc ) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). -

ἐντολὴν [23 verses] (noun sg fem acc) "Commandment" is entole which means "injunction", "order," and "command."

τοῦ [821 verses] ( article sg masc gen ) Untransated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

θεοῦ [144 verses](noun sg masc gen ) "God" is theos, which means "God," "divine," and "Deity."

κρατεῖτε [7 verses] (verb 2nd pl pres ind act ) "Ye hold" is from krateo, which means "to rule", "to hold sway", "to be the lord and master", "to conquer", "to prevail over", "to get the upper hand", "to seize", "to control," and "to command."

τὴν [821 verses] ( article sg fem acc) "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

παράδοσιν [5 verses]( noun sg fem acc ) "Tradition" is from paradosis, which means "handing down", "transmission", "that which is handed down," and "the transmission of orders." This specifically includes legends, traditions, and doctrines but it is not specific about the quality of what is handed down, only that it has been passed down.

τῶν [821 verses] ( article pl masc gen) Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"), which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one" or, in the plural, "the ones."

ἀνθρώπων. [209 verses] (noun pl masc gen) "Men" is 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 rest of this verse doesn't exist in the Greek sources that we use today. The more modern Bible do not have it. See this article about Greek sources.

KJV — word by word

For -- -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "for" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used.

laying aside -- (CW) The word translated as "laying aside" primarily means "to let go" or "to send away." This same word is usually translated as "leave", "forgive", "suffer," and "let" in the New Testament. This is the word used to mean "forgive" in phrases like "the forgiveness of sin." See this article for more.

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.

commandment -- The word translated as "commandment" has the sense of a direct "order" or "command" given by someone as opposed to a body of law or tradition in society.

of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.

missing "the/this" -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article," the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," and "those"). See this article for more.

God, -- The word translated as "God" means "God" and "deity." It is introduced with an article, so "the God." Jesus often uses it this way perhaps to indicate the one God as opposed to the pagan gods.

ye -- This is from the second-person, plural form of the verb.

hold -- (CW) The Greek verb translated as "hold" means "to rule", "to conquer", "to seize", "to control," and "to command." In English, "overpower" is a good equivalent.

the - The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, which usually precedes a noun. The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this", "that", "these", "those"). See this article for more.

tradition -- "Tradition" is from a noun which means literally "handing over" and it used to mean "handing over" and "passing down." It is used to mean the "transmission" of legends, "bequeathing" of an inheritance," or that which is handed down such as "tradition", "doctrine," or "teaching."

of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.

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

This rest of this verse does not exist in the Greek sources we use today. It seems more of an explanation of those traditions provided by the St. Jerome than something Jesus actually said. See this article about Greek sources and translation.

NIV — word by word

You-- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "you" in the Greek source. The verb has no subject because it is a participle, not an active verb.

have -- (WT) This helping verb "have" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

let go of -- The word translated as "laying aside" primarily means "to let go" or "to send away." This same word is usually translated as "leave", "forgive", "suffer," and "let" in the New Testament. This is the word used to mean "forgive" in phrases like "the forgiveness of sin." See this article for more.

commands -- (WN) The word translated as "commandments" has the sense of a direct "order" or "command" given by someone as opposed to a body of law or tradition in society. This word is not plural but singular.

of -- This word "of" comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is the "of" of possession.

and -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "and" in the Greek source. The verb has no subject because it is a participle, not an active verb.

are -- This helping verb indicates the present tense of the verb. It is used here to form the present, progressive tense, which doesn't exist in Greek but which can smooth the flow of English sentences.

holding on to -- (CW) The Greek verb translated as "holding" means "to rule", "to conquer", "to seize", "to control," and "to command." In English, "overpower" is a good equivalent. When used with the genitive object here, the sense is "to rule over" or "the be above." The progressive verb form doesn't exist in Greek but it works in translation.

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

traditions -- (WN) "Traditions" is from a noun which means literally "handing over" and it used to mean "handing over" and "passing down." It is used to mean the "transmission" of legends, "bequeathing" of an inheritance," or that which is handed down such as "tradition", "doctrine," or "teaching." This word is not plural but singular.

Related Verses

Matthew 15:3 Why do you also transgress

Luke 11:39 Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter;