Spoken to:
After the Pharisees accuse Jesus's followers of not washing.
KJV :
Mark 7:16 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
NIV :
Listeners Heard:
If someone has ears to hear, hear.
Lost in Translation:
This verse does not exist in the Greek source we use today. Jesus repeats this phrase about eight times in Gospels, but only in Matthew and Mark. This verse does not appear but the Textus Receptus version is a duplicate of Mark 4:23.
Original Word Order:
If someone has ears to hear, hear.
Εἴ τις ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν, ἀκουέτω
WORD-BY-WORD COMPARISON OF THE GREEK TO ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS:
Textus Receptus: Εἴ τις ἔχει ὦτα ἀκούειν, ἀκουέτω
Εἴ (conj) "If" is ei, which is the particle used to express conditions "if" (implying nothing about its fulfillment) or indirect questions, "whether." It also means "if ever", "in case," and "whenever." It is combined with various conjunctions to create derivative conditions. --
τις ( pron sg masc/fem nom ) "Any man" is tis which can mean "someone", "any one", "everyone", "they [indefinite]", "many a one", "whoever", "anyone", "anything", "some sort", "some sort of", "each", "any", "the individual", "such," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who", "why," or "what." --
ἔχει ( verb 3rd sg pres ind act ) "Have" is echo, which means "to have", "to hold", "to possess", "to keep", "to have charge of", "to have due to one", "to maintain", "to hold fast", "to bear", "to carry", "to keep close", "to keep safe," and "to have means to do."
ὦτα (noun pl neut acc/nome) "Ears" is from ous, which means "ear" and things that resemble an ear, such as a handle on pitchers, cups, etc. --
ἀκούειν ( verb pres inf act ) "to hear" is akouo, which means "hear of", "hear tell of", "what one actually hears", "know by hearsay", "listen to", "give ear to", "hear and understand," and "understand." --
ἀκουέτω. ( verb 3rd sg pres imperat act ) "Let him hear" is akouo, which means "hear of", "hear tell of", "what one actually hears", "know by hearsay", "listen to", "give ear to", "hear and understand," and "understand." -- "Hear" is translated from a Greek word that has the same sense as the English not only of listening but of understanding.
KJV Analysis:
If -- The "if" here expresses a condition but it means nothing regarding whether that condition is met or not when used with the subjective negative. It also means "if ever" and "whenever." However, when used in an "if" clause, the verb is the subjunctive form of possibility. When citing a fact with a declarative verb, indicative, instead of one of possibility with the objective negative, the sense is more "since" or "as sure as." When this word is paired with the conjunction translated as "but" or "however," the structure works like an "if then" statement in English. With an imperative, it is used to express a wish. The sense is "I wish that."
any -- The Greek word translated as "any" in the singular means "anyone," "someone," "something," and "anything." The same forms are used both for the masculine or feminine so "anyone" works best for a person. In the plural, it means "everyone," "some," "they," and "those." Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who," "what," or even "why."
man -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "man" in the Greek source. The form is singular and can be either masculine or feminine.
have -- The word translated as "have" means to "have," "possess," "bear," "keep close," "hold in," "have means to do," "to have due to one," or "keep" and many specific uses. This verb isn't used to form past tenses as the helper verb does in English. Nor does it has the sense of "must" when used with infinitives.
ears -- The term translated as "ears" means "ear," things resembling a handle and is a metaphor for understanding.
to This comes from the infinitive form of the following verb.
hear, -- "Hear" is from a Greek verb that means "to hear" and "to listen." It has the same sense as the English not only of listening but of understanding. It also means "to listen" and "to understand," but amusingly, it also means "to be silent." The accusative object is the person/thing heard about, while the genitive is the person/thing heard from. However, two genitives can be used with the sense of "hear of a thing from a person."
let - (CW) This word is added to translate the third-person command form of this word but this makes it a second person command. In English, we would probably use "must." This is not the common word that means "let."
him - (WF) This comes from the singular form of the verb, but it is a subject not an object.
hear. -- "Hear" is translated from a Greek word that has the same sense as the English not only of listening but of understanding.
KJV Translation Issues:
- IW - Inserted Word -- The word "man" doesn't exist in the source.
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "let" is not the common word usually translated as "let."
- WF -- Wrong Form - The "him" is not the object of the verb but the subject, "he."