Mark 7:1-13 - Revision of the Textus Receptus

The gospel according to Mark

Chapter 7

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1. και συναγονται προς αυτον οι φαρισαιοι και τινες των γραμματεων ελθοντες απο ιεροσολυμων Then the Pharisees and some of the scribes came together to him, having come from Jerusalem. 2. και ιδοντες τινας των μαθητων αυτου [1] κοιναις χερσιν τουτ εστιν ανιπτοις εσθιοντας [2] αρτους εμεμψαντο Now when they saw some of his disciples eating bread with defiled (that is, unwashed) hands, they found fault[3]. 3. οι γαρ φαρισαιοι και παντες οι ιουδαιοι εαν μη πυγμη νιψωνται τας χειρας ουκ εσθιουσιν κρατουντες την παραδοσιν των πρεσβυτερων (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash the hands up to the elbow[17], holding to the tradition of the elders. 4. και απο[4] αγορας εαν μη βαπτισωνται ουκ εσθιουσιν και αλλα πολλα εστιν α παρελαβον κρατειν βαπτισμους ποτηριων και ξεστων και χαλκιων και κλινων And they do not eat when they come from the marketplace unless they wash. And there are many other things which they have received and hold, the washings of cups and pots and copper vessels and couches[5].) 5. επειτα επερωτωσιν αυτον οι φαρισαιοι και οι γραμματεις δια τι οι μαθηται σου ου περιπατουσιν κατα την παραδοσιν των πρεσβυτερων αλλα κοιναις[6] χερσιν εσθιουσιν τον αρτον Then[7] the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?” 6. ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις οτι[8] καλως προεφητευσεν[9] ησαιας περι υμων των υποκριτων ως γεγραπται ουτος ο λαος τοις χειλεσιν με τιμα η δε καρδια αυτων πορρω απεχει απ εμου And answering[10], he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7. ματην δε σεβονται με διδασκοντες διδασκαλιας ενταλματα ανθρωπων And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ 8. αφεντες γαρ την εντολην του θεου κρατειτε την παραδοσιν των ανθρωπων βαπτισμους ξεστων και ποτηριων και αλλα παρομοια τοιαυτα πολλα ποιειτε “For[11] laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men, the washing of pots and cups, and many other such things you do[12].” 9. και ελεγεν αυτοις καλως αθετειτε την εντολην του θεου ινα την παραδοσιν υμων τηρησητε[13] And he said to them, “Do you do well to set aside the commandment of God that you may keep your tradition? 10. μωσης[14] γαρ ειπεν τιμα τον πατερα σου και την μητερα σου και ο κακολογων πατερα η μητερα θανατω τελευτατω For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ 11. υμεις δε λεγετε εαν ειπη ανθρωπος τω πατρι η τη μητρι κορβαν ο εστιν δωρον ο εαν εξ εμου ωφεληθης But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother, “Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban (that is, a gift)”’” 12. και ουκετι αφιετε αυτον ουδεν ποιησαι τω πατρι αυτου η τη μητρι αυτου “then[15] you no longer allow him to do anything for his[16] father or his mother, 13. ακυρουντες τον λογον του θεου τη παραδοσει υμων η παρεδωκατε και παρομοια τοιαυτα πολλα ποιειτε making void the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do.” [1] NA-Text adds “οτι” and then modifies the verb “εσθιω”. [2] NA-Text reads “εσθιουσιν τους” (present indicative instead of present participle plus a definite article before “bread”). The verbal tense in the Alexandrian text is probably a conformation to the same verbal tense in verses 3, 4 and 5. The inclusion of the article is supported by codices א, A, B, D, L, X, W, Γ, Δ, Θ, 0274, family of manuscripts ƒ13, minuscules 2*, 33, 157, 565, 579, 700, 788, 892, 1010, 1241, 1342, 1424 and 2427. The omission is supported by codices K, N, Y, family of manuscripts ƒ13, minuscules 22, 28, 565, 700, the Byzantine manuscripts and Theophylact. The article may possibly have been missed by visual homoeoteleuton (τους αρτους, thus missing “τους”), but it is better to not add it to the text so this sentence is more aligned with the evidence of the manuscripts that kept “they found fault” in the text (see following footnote). [3] NA-Text omits “they found fault”. Scrivener thinks that this was a clarification found in a marginal note that crept into the text. Scholz, Griesbach, Lachmann, Tregelles, Tischendorf, Alford, Baljon and von Soden have all excised this word from the text, but the shorter reading is too hard to be accepted as original here, especially because the sentence is incomplete without this clause (which is just the verb “εμεμψαντο”). Besides, there is enough support from a good assortment of witnesses including codices K, N, W, Θ, 0292, both families of manuscripts ƒ1 and ƒ13, minuscules 28, 33, 565, 579, 700, 2542, the Latin scriptures, the Peshitta, the Harklean Syriac and the Sahidic Coptic version to keep it in the text. It seems that there was a motivation for scribes to remove this word from the text as it is attested in good Byzantine and Alexandrian witnesses that will need some more investigation in the future. [4] NA-Text reads “απ”, a contracted form of the same preposition. [5] NA-Text brackets “and couches”, which was most certainly missed in Alexandrian majuscules by parablepsis (και χαλκιων και κλινων, thus missing “and couches”). The Diatessaron reflecting a text from the 100's and Origen's manuscript in the 200's (Commentary on the gospel of Matthew, Book 11, Ch. 11) read "and couches" properly. Only 0.6% of the Greek manuscripts support this omission. [6] NA-Text and Vg-St read “κοιναις” (Latin equivalent: “communibus”). The NA-Text is supported by codices א*, B, D, W, Θ, family of manuscripts ƒ1, manuscripts 28, 33, 565, 700, 1342, 2427 and 2542, 4 old Latin codices (itd, iti, itq and itr1) and the Coptic versions. The Byzantine reading is supported by codices א2, A, K, L, Γ, Δ, minuscules 892, 1241, 1424, the Byzantine manuscripts, 6 old Latin codices (itaur, itb, itc, itf, itff2 and itl), the (Syriac Sinaiticus), the Gothic version, Basil and Theophylact. Papyrus 45 and family of manuscripts ƒ13 create a conflation between both readings. The Byzantine “ανιπτοις” is not likely in this context. Mark had already clarified what the term “κοιναις” meant in context so that there was no need to change the term in context for which a clarification had been previously added. The Alexandrian “κοιναις” is more likely to be reflecting what Mark originally wrote. The text has then been adjusted following the NA-text. [7] NA-Text and VgSt read “And” (Gr.: “και”, Latin equivalent “et”), which is supported by codices א, B, D, L, Δ*, Θ, family of manuscripts ƒ1, minuscules 33, 565, 700 and 892, the Peshitta and the Bohairic Coptic version. “επειτα” is supported by codices A, W, family of manuscripts ƒ13, the Byzantine manuscripts, the old Latin codex itf, the Syriac Sinaiticus, the Harklean Syriac version and Theophylact. Even though the support for “και” is very good, there is no explanation for the existence of “επειτα” other than that it must be original. It was probably missed by visual homoeoarcton (επειτα επερωτωσιν, thus missing “then”). “And” may have been added later to improve the transition from verse 4 to verse 5. [8] NA-Text omits “οτι”. Codices א and B displace the conjunction to the place where “γεγραπται” begins, which is added in the NA-Text within brackets. [9] NA-Text omits “answering”. [10] NA-Text reads “επροφητευσεν”, same verbal tense spelled differently. [11] NA-Text omits “For”. [12] NA-Text omits “the washing of pots and cups, and many other such things you do”. Addition from verse 4 is highly unlikely because “cups and pots” are in transposed order in this verse, not to mention the omission of copper vessels and couches. It is even harder to explain how many transmission lines made up the sentence along the same lines if it is not original. Only 1.7% of the Greek manuscripts support this omission. [13] NA-Text reads “στησητε”, thus rendering “that you may establish your tradition”. The Byzantine reading is supported by several Alexandrian and Byzantine majuscules, including codex Sinaiticus, is more widespread across the versions, including the Sahidic Coptic version and has been preserved in both the Greek and the Latin scriptures. [14] NA-Text reads “μωυσης”. See footnote in Matt. 17:3. [15] NA-Text omits “then”. [16] NA-Text omits “his” before “father” and “his” before “mother”, which is likely a harmonization to verse 11, where the pronoun is omitted twice. The VgSt omits the second occurrence of “his”. [17] This is how Theophylact interpreted the Greek word “πυγμη” in his commentary on this verse. The word can literally mean "from the elbow to the tips of the fingers" according to a footnote in "The explanation of the holy gospel according to Mark", Theophylact, by Chrysostom press, pg. 58)

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Notes:

1. Text in red letters are places where the original reading in the Textus Receptus has been revised and corrected;

2. The English translation used as a reference is the WEB brought to conformity as literal as possible to the Textus Receptus. The end product though is not the WEB or a revised WEB and it should not be called WEB. The content of this post is freely available to everyone and it is not supposed to be copyrighted;

3. TR: Textus Receptus. This text is not copyrighted;

4. NA-Text: Nestle-Aland text commonly known as critical text;

5. M-Text: Majority Text;

6. VgSt: Vulgate of Stuttgart;  

7. WPF³⁵: Wilbur Pickering-family 35;

8. PT: Patriarchal Text, also known as Patriarchal Greek New Testament, published by the ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

9. The creator of the variant apparatus available in the VarApp kindly gave me permission to freely use the information contained in the material he put together.

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To God all the glory for the preservation of the scriptures! He reigns!