Mark 7:22

Thefts,.... These also are mentioned in Matthew, but Mark omits "false witnesses", and adds the following; which, excepting "blasphemy", are not taken notice of by the other evangelists;

Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. For the exposition, see the notes at Matthew 15:1-20.

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22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: Ver. 22. An evil eye] Envious, and rejoicing at the miseries of others, which is the property of Edomites, abjects, witches, and devils. Those that are bewitched are said to be overlooked, sc. with an evil and malicious eye. Nescio quis teneros, &c. βασκαινω, fascino, i. q. φαεσι, καινω.

(22) Covetousness, wickedness.—The Greek words for these are, like the preceding, in the plural, as pointing to the manifold forms in which the sins show themselves. An evil eye.—As explained by Matthew 20:15 (where see Note), the “evil eye” is that which looks askance on the good of others—i.e., envy in its most malignant form. Pride.—Better, perhaps, haughtiness. This is the only passage in the New Testament where the word so translated occurs. The cognate adjective meets us in Romans 1:30; 2 Timothy 3:2. Foolishness.—This, again, is a rare word in the New Testament, meeting us only in 2 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Corinthians 11:17; 2 Corinthians 11:21. As interpreted by Proverbs 14:18; Proverbs 15:21, it is the folly which consists in the absence of the fear of God, the infatuation of impiety.

22. covetousness] “avarices,” Wyclif. The original word denotes more than the mere love of money, it is “the drawing and snatching to himself, on the sinner’s part, of the creature in every form and kind, as it lies out of and beyond himself.” Hence we find it joined not only with “thefts” here and with “extortion” in 1 Corinthians 5:10, but also with sins of the flesh as in 1 Corinthians 5:11; Ephesians 5:3; Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5. “Impurity and covetousness may be said to divide between them nearly the whole domain of human selfishness and vice.” “Homo extra Deum quaerit pabulum in creatura materiali vel per voluptatem vel per avaritiam.” See Canon Lightfoot on Colossians 3:5wickedness] or wickednesses The word thus translated occurs in the singular in Matthew 22:18, “but Jesus perceived their wickedness,” and again in Luke 11:39; Romans 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:8; Ephesians 6:12. In the plural it only occurs twice, here and in Acts 3:26, where we have translated it “iniquities.” It denotes the active working of evil, “the cupiditas nocendi,” or as Jeremy Taylor explains it, an “aptness to do shrewd turns, to delight in mischief and trajedies; a love to trouble our neighbour and to do him ill offices; crossness, perverseness, and peevishness of action in our intercourse.” Trench’s N. T. Synonyms, p. 36. lasciviousness] The word thus rendered is of uncertain etymology, and in our Version is translated generally “lasciviousness,” as here and 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Ephesians 4:19; 1 Peter 4:3; sometimes (2) “wantonness,” as in Romans 13:13; 2 Peter 2:18. The Vulgate renders it now “impudicitia,” now “lascivia.” “Wantonness” is the better rendering. In Classical Greek it signifies “lawless insolence” or “boisterous violence” towards another; in later Greek “sensuality.” an evil eye, blasphemy] Of these the first denotes concealed, the second open enmity. The evil eye is notorious in the East; here it is the description of an envious look; “invidia et de malis alienis gaudium.” Bengel. pride] The substantive thus translated only occurs here in the N. T., its adjective occurs in Luke 1:51, “He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts;” Romans 1:30, “proud, boasters;” 2 Timothy 3:2, “proud, blasphemers;” James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5, “God resisteth the proud,” The true seat of this sin, the German “Hochmuch,” is within, and consists in comparing oneself secretly with others, and lifting oneself above others, in being proud in thought. foolishness] only occurs here in the Gospels, and three times in the Epistles of St Paul, 2 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Corinthians 11:17; 2 Corinthians 11:21. “Causa cur insipientia extremo loco ponatur: quae etiam reliqua omnia facit incurabiliora. Non in sola voluntate est corruptio humana.” Bengel.

22. An evil eye — An envious eye.