Mark 7:8–9

Footnotes

1. 11 Grk “Having left the command.”
2. 12 The majority of , mostly Byzantine ([A] f13 33 𝔐), have at the end of v. 8 material that seems to have come from v. 4 and v. 13: “the washing of pots and cups, and you do many other similar things.” A slight variation on the wording occurs at the very beginning of v. 8 in mostly Western witnesses (D Θ 0131vid 28 565 it). Such floating texts are usually signs of scribal emendations. The fact that the earliest and most reliable , as well as other important witnesses (𝔓45 א B L W Δ 0274 f1 2427 co), lacked this material also strongly suggests that the longer reading is secondary.
3. 13 The translation here follows the reading στήσητε (stēsēte, “set up”) found in D W Θ f1 28 565 2542 it sys,p Cyp. The majority of here read τηρήσητε (tērēsete; א A L f13 33 𝔐 co) or τηρῆτε (tērēte; B 2427), both translated “keep.” It is hard to know which reading is best: On the one hand, τηρήσητε/τηρῆτε has much stronger external support, but στήσητε is a more difficult reading. What makes “keep” suspect is that it appears in two different forms, suggesting independent alterations of a difficult reading. Further, scribes may have been influenced by the preceding “commandment of God” to change the text toward “keep” ( ), a common enough expression (cf. Matt 19:17; John 14:15; 1 Tim 6:1; 1 John 5:3; Rev 14:12). Thus, the more difficult reading is “set up.” Also, the more natural opposite of “reject” (ἀθεῖτε [atheite], literally “you set aside”) is “set up.” However, the Western reading may have been influenced by Exod 6:4 or Heb 10:9, but this likelihood seems remote. Thus, “set up” is more likely to be the original wording of Mark here.