7:19a

because: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because introduces the explanation that Jesus gave the disciples. He explained the reason why food did not make people impure before God. In some languages, a conjunction is not necessary here.

it: The pronoun it refers to the thing/food “that enters a man from the outside” (in 7:18b).

does not enter his heart: In this context, the word heart refers figuratively to the mind, emotions, and will of a person. It refers to the part of a person that he uses to think, feel, and make decisions. In some languages people refer figuratively to this part of a person as his mind, throat, liver, or stomach. They are not referring literally to that physical part of the body. You should use the expression in your language that is natural to refer to this spiritual part of a person. See how you translated “hearts” in 7:6d.

but it goes into the stomach: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stomach is used literally to refer to the part of the body where food goes after it is swallowed. It includes not only the stomach but also the intestines.

If stomach refers to the spiritual part of a person in your language, you can use some other word that is part of the process of eating. For example:

his mouth
-or-
his intestines

7:19b

and then is eliminated: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is eliminated is literally “goes out into the latrine.” The Berean Standard Bible uses a euphemism here for the literal Greek words. (A euphemism is a figure of speech that substitutes acceptable words for words that people do not want to use when they talk.)

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

• As a euphemism. For example:

Then it goes out of the body. (New Century Version)
-or-
and is eliminated (New American Standard Bible)

• Literally. For example:

and then into a toilet (God’s Word)
-or-
and goes out into the sewer (New Revised Standard Version)

Translate this idea in a way that is appropriate in your language.

General Comment on 7:19a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the information in 7:19a–b. For example:

For it goes into his stomach/belly, and then it is excreted. It does not go into his heart/mind.

7:19c

(Thus all foods are clean.): The Berean Standard Bible puts this sentence in parentheses to show that Mark made this comment, not Jesus. Mark was explaining what Jesus meant when he said the words in 7:19a–b. In some languages it may not be necessary to use parentheses. The Contemporary English Version translates without parentheses and says:

By saying this, Jesus meant that all foods were fit to eat.

all foods are clean: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as all foods are clean is literally “cleansing all foods.” Mark wanted his readers to understand that Jesus’ parable meant that people could now regard all foods as ritually clean. They did not need to consider any food as ritually unclean.

clean: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as clean has the figurative meaning of “ceremonially clean” or “acceptable to use as food.” Here clean does not have a literal meaning. It is not the usual meaning of washing things to remove dirt from them.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

By saying this, Jesus declared all foods acceptable. (God’s Word)
-or-
When Jesus said this, he meant that no longer was any food unclean for people to eat. (New Century 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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