Are all foods clean

I receive this question regularly, so I decided to post my response online to make it more accessible. The question is usually something like this, “Didn’t Jesus declare all food to be clean?” This question is in reference to Mark 7:19 in the NIV, which says,

For it doesn’t go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods “clean.”) (Mark 7:19 NIV)

Now look at the King James Version.

“because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods” (Mark 7:19 KJV)

Notice that the phrase “In saying this, Jesus declared all foods ‘clean’” is not present in the King James Version. This is because that is a translator’s note that was added by the translators of the NIV (and a few other modern translations). If you look at the Greek text, you will not find that phrase anywhere. It is not present in any of the Greek manuscripts, it is an addition that was made by the translators.

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