Paragraph 7:14–16

In this paragraph, Jesus again spoke to the crowd. He explained to them that what defiles a person is not something external like food that goes into a person’s body. Rather, what defiles a person in God’s sight are the sinful things that come from inside him. Jesus implied that the Pharisees and teachers of the law were wrong to focus on external rituals such as hand-washing.

7:14a

The part of the story that starts in 7:14 probably began immediately after 7:1–13. In some languages, it is natural to begin a new part of a story with a time word or phrase. If your language is like that, use an expression here that is not too specific. For example:

Then (Good News Bible)
-or-
After that

In other languages, a time word or phrase is not necessary. Introduce this part of the story in a natural way in your language.

Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him:

There is a textual issue here: (1) Some Greek texts have the word
again. For example, the NET Bible says: “he called the crowd again” (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible, New Century Version, God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Bible, English Standard Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English).” (2) Other Greek texts have the word all. For example the King James Version says: “he called all the crowd” (King James Version). It is recommended that you follow option (1) as the majority of English versions do.) The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Once again shows that Jesus began to speak to the people in the crowd, as he had done earlier. These people were there when the Pharisees and teachers of the law questioned him and he responded to their question.

Jesus called the crowd to Him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus called the crowd to Him means that Jesus invited the crowd to gather around him. He did this because he wanted to talk to them.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Jesus called the crowd together again… (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. (New Living Translation)

7:14b

All of you, listen to Me and understand: The expression All of you, listen to Me and understand indicates that:

(a) Jesus intended to say something important to the crowd.

(b) He strongly urged the people to listen carefully to what he said.

Each part of what Jesus said adds emphasis. Listen to me means “concentrate on what I am saying.” The phrase All of you makes clear that what he said was so important that each person should listen. The word understand emphasizes that everyone should think carefully about the meaning of what Jesus was about to say.

Use an expression in your language that people say when they want others to give careful attention and think about the meaning of what they hear. For example:

Pay attention and try to understand what I mean. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Hear me, all of you, and understand (Revised Standard Version)

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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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