Mark 7:13 kjv
Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
Mark 7:13 nkjv
making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down. And many such things you do."
Mark 7:13 niv
Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that."
Mark 7:13 esv
thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do."
Mark 7:13 nlt
And so you cancel the word of God in order to hand down your own tradition. And this is only one example among many others."
Mark 7 13 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 4:2 | You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it... | Do not alter God's commands. |
| Deut 12:32 | Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it. | Warnings against changing divine law. |
| Prov 30:5-6 | Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar. | Integrity of God's word; don't add. |
| Isa 29:13 | And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men." | Empty worship based on human rules. |
| Jer 8:9 | The wise men are put to shame; they are dismayed and caught; behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord, and what wisdom is in them? | Rejection of God's word by the 'wise'. |
| Mal 2:7-8 | For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you have turned aside... | Priests failing to uphold God's law. |
| Matt 15:3 | He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?" | Parallel to Mark 7:13; human tradition vs. God's law. |
| Matt 15:6 | So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. | Direct parallel to Mark 7:13. |
| Mk 7:8 | You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men. | Jesus condemns valuing tradition over command. |
| Rom 10:1-3 | Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. | Zeal for God not based on true understanding. |
| Gal 1:14 | And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. | Paul's former devotion to human traditions. |
| Col 2:8 | See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. | Warning against misleading human traditions. |
| Tit 1:14 | and not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth. | Rejecting human commands for truth. |
| 1 Tim 4:1-3 | Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars… | Departure from faith due to false human doctrines. |
| Rev 22:18-19 | I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book… | Strict warning against adding to Scripture. |
| Hos 8:12 | Were I to write for him my laws by the ten thousands, they would be regarded as a strange thing. | Ignoring God's abundant laws. |
| Deut 18:20 | But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die. | Gravity of speaking beyond God's command. |
| 1 Cor 4:6 | …that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written… | Warning against exceeding biblical bounds. |
| Ps 119:105 | Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. | God's word as the ultimate guide. |
| John 1:1-2 | In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. | Divine authority of "the Word." |
| 2 Tim 3:16-17 | All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness… | Sufficiency and divine origin of Scripture. |
| Acts 4:19-20 | But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge…" | God's authority above human authority. |
| Rom 3:4 | Let God be true though every one were a liar… | God's truth stands supreme. |
Mark 7 verses
Mark 7 13 Meaning
Mark 7:13 declares that human traditions are capable of nullifying or rendering void the divine word of God. This verse is part of Jesus' teaching on true defilement, contrasting external ceremonial purity with internal heart purity, and directly challenging the prevailing religious legalism of the Pharisees and scribes. He identifies their prioritizing of man-made rules and customs over God's commandments, using the example of the Corban vow, as an act of making God's revealed will ineffective in people's lives.
Mark 7 13 Context
Mark chapter 7 begins with a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees and some scribes who had come from Jerusalem. They criticized Jesus’ disciples for eating with "unwashed hands," violating their established traditions concerning ceremonial purity. Jesus turns the criticism back on them, accusing them of nullifying God’s commands through their human traditions. He quotes Isa 29:13, showing their worship to be hypocritical because their hearts were far from God, adhering to rules taught by men. Mark 7:13 then directly summarizes this grave indictment. The specific example Jesus gives immediately after this verse is the Corban vow, where individuals dedicated resources to God, effectively exempting themselves from supporting their elderly parents, thus violating the commandment to honor father and mother (Exod 20:12, Deut 5:16). This act exposed the hypocrisy of valuing a human vow over God's clear commandment for family care. This confrontation represents Jesus’ polemic against a form of Judaism that had elevated its man-made traditions (halakha) to the level of, or even above, divine revelation, leading to legalism and spiritual blindness.
Mark 7 13 Word analysis
- invalidating: Greek akyrountes (ἀκυροῦντες). Present active participle, meaning "making void," "nullifying," "rendering without force or effect." This is a strong word, emphasizing that the human tradition doesn't just bypass but actively renders God's word powerless or without authority in practice. It implies active cancellation or disenfranchisement of the divine command.
- the word: Greek ton logon (τὸν λόγον). Refers to the divine revelation, specifically the commandments of God from the Old Testament. The singular "word" highlights the unified, authoritative body of God's revealed will.
- of God: Greek tou Theou (τοῦ Θεοῦ). Emphasizes the divine source and inherent authority of the "word." It contrasts sharply with the source of "your tradition."
- by your tradition: Greek tē paradosē hymōn (τῇ παραδόσει ὑμῶν). Tradition (paradosis) refers to something "handed down," doctrines or practices that have been transmitted orally or in writing from generation to generation. The possessive "your" (hymōn) underlines its human origin, belonging specifically to the Pharisees and their rabbinic teachings, not God.
- which you have handed down: Greek hē paradosis hymōn hēn paredōkate (ἡ παράδοσις ὑμῶν ἣν παρεδώκατε). This is a strong, intentional redundancy in the Greek, emphatically reinforcing the man-made, passed-down nature of these rules. It highlights the act of transmitting these customs themselves. The perfect active verb paredōkate means "you have transmitted/handed over," showing it is an established system.
- And many such things: Greek kai toiauta polla poieite (καὶ τοιαῦτα πολλὰ ποιεῖτε). "And many similar things you do." This phrase indicates that the Corban example is just one instance of a pervasive issue. It shows a pattern of elevating human traditions over God's commands, implying a widespread systemic problem within their religious practice and a fundamental misplacement of authority. It's not an isolated incident but a deep-seated spiritual illness.
Mark 7 13 Bonus section
This verse highlights a crucial theological tension: the conflict between divine authority and human authority in matters of faith and practice. The principle applies not only to explicit religious traditions but also to cultural norms, philosophical ideas, or personal preferences that might subtly displace God's commands. Jesus here is asserting the supreme and exclusive authority of God's Word as the ultimate guide for life and godliness. The phrase "the word of God" also carries Messianic undertones for the early Christian readers, understanding Jesus himself as the Living Word (John 1:1, Rev 19:13), whose teaching now clarified and fulfilled the Old Testament Law, and thus stood as the ultimate truth to be upheld against human distortions.
Mark 7 13 Commentary
Mark 7:13 stands as a stark warning against religious practices that, however well-intentioned or sincerely held, ultimately undermine God’s explicit commands. Jesus exposes the profound danger of elevating human traditions—even those purporting to serve God or enhance piety—above the direct revelation of God's Word. The heart of the issue is a crisis of authority: who truly holds sway, God or man? The Pharisees, in their zeal to build a "fence around the Torah" to prevent breaking the law, had inadvertently constructed barriers to true obedience and spiritual discernment. This led to hypocrisy, where external observance was prioritized over genuine love and mercy, exemplified by the neglect of parents in favor of a spiritual-sounding vow. The principle remains vital for believers: any teaching, custom, or practice, regardless of its age or pedigree, must be subservient to and judged by the unadulterated Word of God. True faith does not add to or subtract from God's perfect revelation, but seeks to understand and obey it wholeheartedly, with the right heart motivation.