7:4a–b

And on returning from the market, they do not eat unless they wash: In Greek this verse is literally, “and from the market unless they wash they do not eat.” In this context scholars interpret the phrases from the market and unless they wash in different ways. As a result, there are two ways to interpret the verse:

(1) The phrase from the market means when they come from the market. (A few Greek manuscripts actually include the words “when they come.” However, there are many more manuscripts that do not include these words, and these include the oldest and most reliable manuscripts. (Metzger page 80, Swanson page 105.) The UBS4 (page 145) follows the manuscripts that do not include “when they come,” giving this decision an A rating, indicating that the text is virtually certain. It is probable that the English versions that have “When they come” translate that way for stylistic rather than textual reasons, that is, they are trying to express interpretation (2) in natural English. ) The verse means that when they come from the market, they do not eat unless they wash themselves first. For example, the NET Bible says:

And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, NET Bible, New American Standard Bible, King James Version, New Jerusalem Bible, English Standard Version)

(2) The phrase from the marketplace refers to something that comes from the market. The verse means that when they buy something from the market, they do not eat it unless they wash it first. (The New Living Translation follows the view that they do not eat anything from the market until they immerse their hands in water.) For example, the New Revised Standard Version says:

and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it

(Good News Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

Here are some other ways to translate this:

After they come from the market, they always ritually wash themselves before they eat.
-or-
When they come home from the marketplace, they do not eat until they purify themselves with a ritual washing.

7:4a

market: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as market means a large, open area where people came to buy and sell things. The word market means the same thing as “marketplace.”

The plural of this term, “marketplaces,” was first used in 6:56b. You could use the singular form of that term here.

7:4b

they do not eat unless they wash: As in 7:3b–c, it may be natural to translate this as a positive statement:

they always wash before they eat
-or-
they must wash before they eat

they do not eat: In some languages a verb like eat needs to indicate what is eaten. If that is true in your language, use a general term like “food” or “anything.” For example:

they do not eat any food

they: The pronoun they refers to the Pharisees and other Jewish people.

unless they wash: The phrase unless they wash gives a necessary condition. In this context, it means that the Jews believed that they ought to wash their hands before they ate. And so this is what they always did.

they wash: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wash refers to a ceremonial washing (There is a textual issue here: (1) Most Greek manuscripts have a verb that literally means “they baptize/immerse/wash themselves.” This refers to a ceremonial washing. The New Century Version says: “they never eat it until they wash themselves in a special way” (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, NET Bible, God’s Word, King James Version, Revised English Bible, New Century Version, New Living Translation). (2) Some Greek manuscripts have a verb that literally means, “they sprinkle themselves.” The New Jerusalem Bible has: “they never eat without first sprinkling themselves” (New Jerusalem Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New American Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version). It is recommended that you follow option (1). It has the support of the majority of Greek manuscripts and English versions. It is given a B rating in the UBS4 (page 145), indicating that the text is almost certain. However, both words have almost the same meaning in this context.) to make people ritually pure. The form of the verb here means “they wash themselves.” Scholars are not certain whether “they wash themselves” refers to washing their whole body or just their hands. Use a general term, if possible.

Some ways to translate “they wash themselves” are:

• Use an expression that emphasizes that it is a ritual or ceremonial washing. For example:

they wash themselves in a special way (New Century Version)
-or-
they cleanse themselves (New American Standard Bible)

• Use a general expression like wash. For example:

they do not eat unless they wash (NET Bible)
-or-
they never eat without first washing (Revised English Bible)

7:4c

And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And here introduces some more information on the same theme. Some English versions (like the God’s Word) do not explicitly translate this conjunction. Others translate it with the word “also.” For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

They also follow a lot of other teachings

Connect the information of 7:4c with 7:4a and 7:4b in a way that is natural in your language.

many other traditions: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as many other traditions is literally “many other.” The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the word traditions to make the sense more clear.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

many other rules (Good News Bible)
-or-
many other things (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
many other unwritten laws (New Century Version)

for them to observe: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as observe includes the same Greek word as the word that was translated as “holding” in 7:3c. It means that the Pharisees and others Jews very carefully “followed” or “obeyed” their traditions. Here is another way to translate this phrase:

they observe (New International Version)
-or-
they follow (Good News Bible)

7:4d

the washing of cups, pitchers, kettles, and couches for dining: There is a textual issue in this verse. Some Greek manuscripts include a phrase that the Good News Bible translates as “and beds.” This phrase probably referred to couches where people reclined to eat their meals.

(1)Some Greek manuscripts do not have “and beds” at the end of the list. For example, the Contemporary English Version says:

such as washing cups, pitchers, and bowls

(New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

(1)_ Other Greek manuscripts have “and beds.” For example, the Good News Bible says:

to wash cups, pots, copper bowls, and beds

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word, King James Version, English Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). However, if the national language version follows option (2), you may choose to translate “and beds.” Although option (1) has the support of the oldest and most reliable manuscripts, there is also strong support for option (2).

Whichever option you choose, you should consider putting the other option in a footnote. (Both options have about equal manuscript support. (UBS4 page 145, Swanson page105). The Greek phrase translated “and beds” may have been originally rejected because it did not seem to fit in this list of items. However, there is strong possibility that the beds referred to here were not sleeping mats, but rather dining couches on which people sat or reclined to eat a meal. In this case, it would have been appropriate for Mark to include it here in this list of items. (Metzger pages 80–81, Blight and Smith page 152).) The New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, and New Living Translation put “and beds” in a footnote.

If people in your area do not recline to eat their meals, you may want to translate the phrase “and couches” with a different term. For example:

and seats

cups: The word cups refers to containers used for drinking water or other liquids.

pitchers: The word pitchers refers to containers from which water or other liquids are poured into cups. Some other words for pitchers are “pots” (as in the Good News Bible) or “jugs” (as in the Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English).

kettles: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as kettles refers to containers made of brass. Another word for kettles is “pots” (as in the New Century Version). The size and use of the container is not clear. Use a word in your language that refers to metal containers/pots used for cooking food.

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