What Does Mark 11:16 Mean in the King James?
And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Even passage through the temple is barred: the boundary governs transit, not only what happens inside.
THE MEANING
The verse makes the boundary visible: no one is permitted to carry a vessel through the temple precinct. Even movement across this space is subject to what it is set apart for.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the assumption that a temple’s boundary governs only what happens inside; this verse stops passage through its precinct too.
THE ROOT
ἤφιεν
ēphien
GROWS FROM
ἀφίημι
aphiēmi
To let go, send away, or permit; in other contexts, to release or forgive.
The verb behind “suffer” carries the sense of permitting or letting go. The same word family also speaks of releasing what is owed, joining the boundary enforced here with the language of release.
ALSO GROWS
aphesis: Release, remission, or forgiveness.
ἄφεσις
This noun makes the release sense explicit, showing that the verb family extends beyond permission to the letting go of a debt.
aphes: Let go, release, or forgive; an imperative form of the verb.
ἄφες
This form appears in the prayer for debts to be forgiven, showing how the same verb can mean allowing something through or releasing a claim.
διενέγκῃ
dienenkē
GROWS FROM
φέρω
pherō
To bear or carry.
“carry” in this verse is dienenkē. The Greek form comes from διαφέρω (diapherō), combining carrying with the sense of “through” or “across.” The action is specifically to transport a vessel through the precinct, so the route itself is part of what is stopped.
ALSO GROWS
diapherō: Carry through or across; in other contexts, differ.
διαφέρω
This compound is the form used in the verse, making the crossing, not just carrying an object, the action at issue.
anapherō: Carry up or offer.
ἀναφέρω
This related compound uses the same carrying root for bringing something upward, showing how added direction changes the movement.
ἱερόν
hieron
GROWS FROM
ἱερ-
hier-
Sacred, set apart.
The Greek word points to the temple precinct, not only the inner sanctuary. The boundary in this verse therefore reaches the surrounding sacred grounds and the passage through them.
ALSO GROWS
hiereus: Priest.
ἱερεύς
The shared sacred stem links the precinct to the person serving within it.
hierateia: Priesthood or priestly service.
ἱερατεία
The same stem names the service associated with sacred space, adding context to the precinct’s set-apart character.
THE PATTERN
A space set apart for encounter is given a purpose, and ordinary commerce or transit is kept from consuming it.
Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.THE THREAD
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.The Greek form ἤφιεν (ēphien, “permitted”) comes from ἀφίημι (aphiēmi, “let go, release, permit”), the same verb rendered “forgive” in Matthew 6:12. Here passage is not permitted; there, debts are released, one verb spans permission and release.
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