The Meaning of Mark 7:16 Explained

Mark 7:16

KJV: If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

YLT: If any hath ears to hear -- let him hear.'

Darby: If any one have ears to hear, let him hear.

ASV: If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

If any man  have  ears  to hear,  let him hear. 

What does Mark 7:16 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

What do the individual words in Mark 7:16 mean?

If anyone has ears to hear let him hear
⧼Εἴ τις ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω⧽

τις  anyone 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: τίς  
Sense: who, which, what.
ὦτα  ears 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Plural
Root: οὖς  
Sense: the ear.
ἀκούειν  to  hear 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
ἀκουέτω⧽  let  him  hear 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.

What are the major concepts related to Mark 7:16?

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