Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY

Mark 7:27

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures
- 27 But he said to her: “First let the children be satisfied, for it is not right to take the bread of the children and throw it to the little dogs.”+

Mark 7:27

The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the Greek Scriptures
- 27 καὶ And ἔλεγεν he was saying αὐτῇ to her Ἄφες Let go off πρῶτον first χορτασθῆναι to be satisfied τὰ the τέκνα, children, οὐ not γάρ for ἐστιν is καλὸν fine λαβεῖν to take τὸν the ἄρτον bread τῶν of the τέκνων children καὶ and τοῖς to the κυναρίοις little dogs βαλεῖν. to throw.

Mark 7:27

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References
- 27 But he began by saying to her: “First let the children be satisfied, for it is not right to take the bread of the children+ and throw it to the little dogs.”+

Mark 7:27

The Bible in Living English
- 27 and he was saying to her “Let the children have their fill first, for it is not a good thing to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

Mark 7:27

American Standard Version
- 27 And he said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs.

Mark 7:27

The Emphasized Bible
- 27 And he was saying to her—Suffer the children first to be fed; for it is not seemly to take the bread of the children, and unto the little dogs to cast it;

Mark 7:27

King James Version
- 27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

Mark Study Notes—Chapter 7

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Study Edition)
- 7:27
  
  children . . . little dogs: Since dogs were unclean according to the Mosaic Law, the Scriptures often use the term in a derogatory sense. (Le 11:27; Mt 7:6; Php 3:2; Re 22:15) However, in both Matthew’s account (15:26) and Mark’s account of Jesus’ conversation, the diminutive form of the term meaning “little dog” or “house dog” is used, softening the comparison. Perhaps this indicates that Jesus used an affectionate term for household pets in non-Jewish homes. By likening Israelites to “children” and non-Jews to “little dogs,” Jesus evidently wanted to indicate an order of priority. In a household that had both children and dogs, the children would be fed first.