The Meaning of Mark 7:10 Explained

Mark 7:10

KJV: For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death:

YLT: for Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother -- let him die the death;

Darby: For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, he who speaks ill of father or mother, let him surely die.

ASV: For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death:

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For  Moses  said,  Honour  thy  father  and  thy  mother;  and,  Whoso curseth  father  or  mother,  let him die  the death: 

What does Mark 7:10 Mean?

Context Summary

Mark 7:1-23 - Breaking The Bonds Of Tradition
The Pharisees laid great stress on ritual. They followed endless rules, both intricate and troublesome, as to ablutions and outward ceremonials. So long as their devotees were careful in the minor observances, they were permitted a wide license so far as the weightier matters of the Law were concerned. This is a natural tendency of the human heart. It is glad to be able to reduce its religious life to an outward and literal obedience, if only its thoughts may be unhampered. In the life of true holiness everything depends on the control of the thoughts. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." With infinite wisdom the wise man said, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life," and Jesus put "evil-thoughts" first in the black category of the contents of the evil heart. A gang of thieves sometimes put a very small boy through a tiny window that he may unlock the front door. So one evil thought will often admit an entire crew of evil. Heart of mine, hast thou learned this lesson? Art thou careful enough of thy cleanliness? That the hands should be often washed, that vessels of household use should be kept cleansed, that there should be decorum and neatness in the outward life, all these customs are good. But it becomes thee to inquire whether thou art not more eager for the outward than the inward cleanliness. "Create in me a clean heart," should be thy constant prayer. [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 7

1  The Pharisees find fault with the disciples for eating with unwashed hands
8  They break the commandment of God by the traditions of men
14  Food defiles not the man
24  He heals the Syrophenician woman's daughter of an unclean spirit;
31  and one that was deaf, and stammered in his speech

Greek Commentary for Mark 7:10

Honor []
Wyc. has worship. Compare his rendering of Matthew 6:2, “That they be worshipped of men;” Matthew 13:57, “A prophet is not without worship but in his own country;” and especially John 12:26, “If any man serve me, my Father shall worship him.” [source]
Die the death [θανάτῳ τελευτάτω]
Lit., come to an end by death. See on Matthew 15:4. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 7:10

Acts 19:9 Disobedient [επειτουν]
Imperfect again, showing the growing disbelief and disobedience Late verb from κακολογος — kakologos (speaker of evil) for the old κακως λεγω — kakōs legō Already in Mark 7:10; Mark 9:39; Matthew 15:4. Now these Jews are aggressive opponents of Paul and seek to injure his influence with the crowd. Note “the Way” as in Acts 9:2 for Christianity. He departed from them Second aorist active participle of απιστημι — aphistēmi made an “apostasy” (standing off, cleavage) as he did at Corinth (Acts 18:7, μεταβας — metabas making a change). Separated the disciples (απωρισεν τους ματητας — aphōrisen tous mathētas). First aorist active indicative of αποριζω — aphorizō old verb to mark limits (horizon) as already in Acts 13:2. Paul himself was a spiritual Pharisee “separated” to Christ (Romans 1:1). The Jews regarded this withdrawal as apostasy, like separating the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32). Paul now made a separate church as he had done at Thessalonica and Corinth. In the school of Tyrannus Σχολη — Scholē (our school) is an old word from σχειν — schein (εχω — echō) to hold on, leisure and then in later Greek (Plutarch, etc.) a place where there is leisure as here. Only this example in the N.T. This is the Greek notion of “school,” the Jewish being that of “yoke” as in Matthew 11:29. The name Tyrannus (our tyrant) is a common one. It is an inscription in the Columbarium of the Empress Livia as that of a physician in the court. Furneaux suggests the possibility that a relative of this physician was lecturing on medicine in Ephesus and so as a friend of Luke, the physician, would be glad to help Paul about a place to preach. It was probably a public building or lecture hall with this name whether hired by Paul or loaned to him. The pagan sophists often spoke in such halls. The Codex Bezae adds “from the fifth hour to the tenth” as the time allotted Paul for his work in this hall, which is quite possible, from just before midday till the close of the afternoon (from before the noon meal till two hours before sunset) each day. Here Paul had great freedom and a great hearing. As the church grows there will be other places of meeting as the church in the house of Aquila and Priscilla (1 Corinthians 16:19). [source]
Acts 19:9 Speaking evil of the Way [κακολογουντες την οδον]
Late verb from κακολογος — kakologos (speaker of evil) for the old κακως λεγω — kakōs legō Already in Mark 7:10; Mark 9:39; Matthew 15:4. Now these Jews are aggressive opponents of Paul and seek to injure his influence with the crowd. Note “the Way” as in Acts 9:2 for Christianity. [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 7:10 mean?

Moses for said Honor the father of you and the mother and The [one] speaking evil of or in death must end
Μωϋσῆς γὰρ εἶπεν Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα καί κακολογῶν θανάτῳ τελευτάτω

Μωϋσῆς  Moses 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Μωσεύς 
Sense: the legislator of the Jewish people and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion.
εἶπεν  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
Τίμα  Honor 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: τιμάω  
Sense: to estimate, fix the value.
πατέρα  father 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: προπάτωρ 
Sense: generator or male ancestor.
σου  of  you 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 2nd Person Singular
Root: σύ  
Sense: you.
μητέρα  mother 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: μήτηρ  
Sense: a mother.
  The  [one] 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
κακολογῶν  speaking  evil  of 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: κακολογέω  
Sense: to speak evil of, revile, abuse, one.
θανάτῳ  in  death 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Singular
Root: θάνατος 
Sense: the death of the body.
τελευτάτω  must  end 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: τελευτάω  
Sense: to finish, bring to and end, close.