If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
Parallel translations
- WEB If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
- NKJV If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus called those with ears to hear to heed His words. It is a summons to spiritual attentiveness and obedience.
Overview
This call to hear, found in many manuscripts and echoing Jesus' frequent refrain, urges the hearers to receive and act on His teaching. Spiritual understanding requires more than physical hearing; it requires a receptive heart. The verse underscores the weight of the truth Jesus has just declared about inward defilement. Some early manuscripts omit this verse, which is why some translations place it in a footnote.
Cross-references & the web
No cross-references recorded for this verse.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 7:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.