And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
Parallel translations
- WEB He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand.
- BSB Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
- NKJV When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, “Hear and understand:
- NASB After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, “Hear and understand!
- NLT Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus calls the crowd to hear and understand a vital teaching. It matters because he is about to redefine what truly makes a person clean or unclean before God.
Overview
Turning from the Pharisees to the multitude, Jesus invites careful attention—'Hear, and understand.' This call signals that what follows overturns common assumptions about ritual purity. He is moving the focus from external ceremony to the condition of the heart. The summons to understand also marks the disciples, who will need further explanation, distinguishing genuine hearing from mere listening.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Mark 7:14–15And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:
- Luke 20:45–47Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,
- Luke 24:45Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
- Col 1:9For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
- Isa 6:9And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
- Matt 13:19When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
- Matt 24:15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
- 1 Kgs 22:28And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.
- Isa 55:3Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
- Eph 1:17That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
- Jas 1:5If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 15:10 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
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