What Does Mark 7:14 Mean in the King James?
And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
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
The Greek word for “understand” means to bring things together: hearing is the beginning of the movement, not its end.
THE MEANING
You are included in the address to “every one of you”: listen, and understand. The verse holds hearing and comprehension together as distinct movements; what reaches the ear is gathered into meaning.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that hearing the words is already the same as understanding them.
THE ROOT
σύνετε
synete
GROWS FROM
συν- + ἵημι (syn- + hiēmi)
To put or send together; to bring things together into comprehension.
“understand” in this verse is synete. The Greek verb pictures understanding as pieces meeting in one grasp. Jesus pairs it with hearing: sound reaches the ear, then its meaning comes together.
ALSO GROWS
synesis: understanding, discernment
σύνεσις
This related noun names the comprehension that gathers what has been heard.
synetos: intelligent, discerning
συνετός
This related adjective describes someone capable of bringing meaning together.
ἀκούσατε
akousate
GROWS FROM
ἀκου-
akou-
To hear or listen.
“hearken” in this verse is akousate. The Greek uses a direct command to hear, addressed to everyone. Its word family shows how listening can extend toward response, while this verse keeps hearing and understanding as two distinct movements.
ALSO GROWS
akoē: hearing, report
ἀκοή
This noun from the same word family keeps attention on what enters through hearing.
hypakouō: heed, obey
ὑπακούω
This compound shares the hearing verb and shows how listening can extend into response.
THE PATTERN
Scripture joins hearing to understanding and response, showing what has truly been received.
Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.THE THREAD
That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.The same Greek verb συνίημι (syniēmi, to understand) appears here in the negative: hearing can reach the ear while the pieces remain unjoined. That contrast sharpens this verse’s pairing of hearing with understanding.
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