7:15

In this verse Jesus spoke to the crowd in the form of a parable (7:17b). According to 7:18a, the disciples did not understand what this parable meant.

When you translate this verse, you may need to make some of the meaning explicit in order to avoid a wrong meaning. Some of the English versions have done this. But be careful not to explain the entire meaning of the parable. Otherwise your readers will not understand why Jesus needed to explain the meaning to his disciples in 7:18b–22. Read this whole section carefully before deciding what information needs to be made explicit here in 7:15.

7:15a

Nothing that enters a man from the outside: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Nothing that enters a man from the outside is a general expression that refers indirectly here to any kind of food. Some versions make this clear. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

the food that you put into your mouth

enters…from the outside: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as enters…from the outside refers to eating.

a man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a man is used in a general sense here to refer to anyone, whether male or female. So God’s Word translates this as:

a person

7:15b

can defile him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as can defile him means “can cause him to become unclean/defiled.” For example, the Easy English Bible says:

People do not become unclean because of things that go into their bodies from outside

This word is used in a figurative sense meaning “unfit before God.” Here it is not used in its literal sense of “dirty.” See how you translated “defiled” in 7:2a.

General Comment on 7:15a–b

In some languages, it may not be natural to speak of food entering a person or coming from the outside. It may be necessary to reorder the parts of this sentence or to make one or both of these ideas implicit. For example:

Nothing that goes into a person from the outside can make him unclean. (God’s Word)
-or-
There is nothing people put into their bodies that makes them unclean. (New Century Version)
-or-
The food that you put into your mouth doesn’t make you unclean and unfit to worship God. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
You are not defiled by what you eat (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

7:15c

but: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible here translates as but indicates a strong contrast.

Here are some other ways of expressing this contrast:

Rather (New International Version)
-or-
no,… (Revised English Bible)

Some languages show the contrast without using a word like but or rather. The ideas in the sentences show the contrast clearly. For example, the New Century Version says:

There is nothing people put into their bodies that makes them unclean. People are made unclean by the things that come out of them.

Express the contrast in these sentences in a way that is natural in your language.

the things that come out of a man: The phrase the things that come out of a man is a general expression. In 7:21–22 Jesus explained that he was talking about actions and words that express a person’s inner thoughts.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

• With a general statement. For example, the New Century Version says:

People are made unclean by the things that come out of them.

• With a more specific statement. For example:

Instead, the bad things that come out of a person’s heart/mind are what defile him.
-or-
you are defiled by what you say and do (New Living Translation, 1996 edition)

Remember that Jesus was using a parable here and the disciples did not understand what it meant. So in translating this phrase, be careful not to make explicit all of the meaning from Jesus’ explanation in the next few verses.

defile him: See the note in 7:2a.

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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