Matthew 15:17

New Living Translation

"Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Don’t you realize

King James Version (1611)
Doe not yee yet vnderstand, that whatsoeuer entreth in at the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

King James Version
Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

English Standard Version
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?

New American Standard Bible
"Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?

New Century Version
Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then goes out of the body.

Amplified Bible
"Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Perceiue ye not yet, that whatsoeuer entreth into the mouth, goeth into the bellie, and is cast out into the draught?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?

Legacy Standard Bible
Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and goes into the sewer?

Berean Standard Bible
"Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?

Contemporary English Version
Don't you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body?

Complete Jewish Bible
Don't you see that anything that enters the mouth goes into the stomach and passes out into the latrine?

Darby Translation
Do ye not yet apprehend, that everything that enters into the mouth finds its way into the belly, and is cast forth into the draught?

Easy-to-Read Version
Surely you know that all the food that enters the mouth goes into the stomach. Then it goes out of the body.

George Lamsa Translation
Do you not know that what enters into the mouth goes into the stomach, and thence, through the intestines, is cast out?

Good News Translation
Don't you understand? Anything that goes into your mouth goes into your stomach and then on out of your body.

Lexham English Bible
Do you not understand that everything that enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and is evacuated into the latrine?

Literal Translation
Do you not yet perceive that everything entering into the mouth goes into the belly, and is thrown out into the waste bowl?

American Standard Version
Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

Bible in Basic English
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth goes on into the stomach, and is sent out as waste?

Hebrew Names Version
Don't you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly, and then out of the body?

International Standard Version
Don't you know that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is expelled as waste?1 Corinthians 6:13;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
Know you not that whatsoever entereth the mouth, goeth into the belly, and from thence in purification it is cast without ?

Murdock Translation
Know ye not, that whatever entereth the mouth, passeth into the belly, and from there is ejected by purgation?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Do not ye yet vnderstande, that whatsoeuer entreth in at the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

English Revised Version
Perceive ye not, that whatsoever goeth into the mouth passeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

World English Bible
Don't you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly, and then out of the body?

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
Do not ye yet understand, that whatever entereth into the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the vault?

Weymouth's New Testament
Do you not understand that whatever enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is afterwards ejected from the body?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Vndurstonden ye not, that al thing that entrith in to the mouth, goith in to the wombe, and is sent out in to the goyng awei?

Update Bible Version
Do you not perceive, that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly, and is cast out into the toilet?

Webster's Bible Translation
Do ye not yet understand, that whatever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

New English Translation
Don't you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?

New King James Version
Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?

New Life Bible
Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body?

New Revised Standard
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Perceive ye not that, every thing which entereth into the mouth, into the stomach, findeth way, and, into the draught, is passed;

Douay-Rheims Bible
Do you not understand, that whatsoever entereth into the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy?

Revised Standard Version
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on?

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
perceave ye not that what soever goeth in at the mouth descendeth doune in to the bely and is cast out into the draught?

Young's Literal Translation
do ye not understand that all that is going into the mouth doth pass into the belly, and into the drain is cast forth?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Perceaue ye not, yt what soeuer goeth in at ye mouth, descedeth downe in to ye bely, & is cast out into the draught?

Mace New Testament (1729)
do not ye yet conceive, that whatever enters at the mouth, passes to the belly, and is discharged downwards?

Simplified Cowboy Version
Don't you understand that anything you put in your mouth goes into your belly and will eventually find its way out of your body?

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. "Listen," he said, "and try to understand. ¹¹ It's not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth." ¹² Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?" ¹³ Jesus replied, "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be uprooted, ¹⁴ so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch." ¹⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, "Explain to us the parable that says people aren't defiled by what they eat." ¹⁶ "Don't you understand yet?" Jesus asked. ¹⁷ "Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. ¹⁸ But the words you speak come from the heart—that's what defiles you. ¹⁹ For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that: Matthew 7:19, Matthew 7:20, Luke 6:45, 1 Corinthians 6:13, Colossians 2:21, Colossians 2:22, James 3:6

and is: 2 Kings 10:27

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 17:12 - Know Matthew 13:51 - Have Matthew 16:9 - ye not Mark 7:18 - General Mark 7:19 - General Mark 8:17 - perceive Mark 16:14 - and upbraided

Cross-References

Genesis 15:2
But Abram replied, "O Sovereign Lord , what good are all your blessings when I don't even have a son? Since you've given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth.

Genesis 15:3
You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir."

Genesis 15:18
So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, "I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—

Genesis 15:19
the land now occupied by the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites,

Deuteronomy 4:20
Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.

Judges 6:21
Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and bread with the tip of the staff in his hand, and fire flamed up from the rock and consumed all he had brought. And the angel of the Lord disappeared.

Judges 13:20
As the flames from the altar shot up toward the sky, the angel of the Lord ascended in the fire. When Manoah and his wife saw this, they fell with their faces to the ground.

2 Samuel 22:9
Smoke poured from his nostrils; fierce flames leaped from his mouth. Glowing coals blazed forth from him.

1 Chronicles 21:26
David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And when David prayed, the Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn up the offering on the altar.

Isaiah 62:1
Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Do not ye understand,.... You must understand, you cannot be so ignorant,

that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? that is, that whatsoever food a man takes in at his mouth, he swallows down, and it is received into his stomach; which, having performed its office, the grosser parts go down into the belly, and passing through the bowels, are evacuated into the vault, or privy, "purging all meats", as Mark says; for that only receives the filth and excrementitious matter; so that what is left in the body is pure, wholesome, and nourishing: nor can any part of what goes into a man defile him, because it only enters into the body, and passes through it; and, as Mark says, "entereth not into the heart", which is the seat of moral impurity; so that no moral pollution can be contracted by eating any sort of food, even though it should not be clean itself, nor be eaten with clean hands.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See also Mark 7:17-23.

Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable - See the notes at Matthew 13:3. The word “parable” sometimes means a dark or obscure saying, Psalms 78:2. Peter meant, “Explain to us more fully this obscure and novel doctrine.” To us, now, it is plain; to the disciples, just coming out of Judaism, the doctrine of Jesus was obscure. Mark says that the disciples asked him. There is no contradiction. The question was put by Peter in the name of the disciples; or several of them put the question, though Matthew has mentioned only one. An omission is not a contradiction.

Matthew 15:16

Are ye also yet without understanding? - Jesus appeals, in explaining this, to their common sense; and he wonders that they had not yet learned to judge the foolish traditions of the Jews by the decisions of common sense and by his own instructions.

Matthew 15:17

Do ye not understand ... - The meaning of this may be thus expressed: The food which is eaten does not affect the mind, and therefore cannot pollute it.

The doctrine of the Pharisees, that neglect of washing and of similar observances defiles a man, cannot be true. Those things pertain to the body as much as food does, and they cannot affect the soul. That must be purified by something else than external washing, and it is polluted by other things than a neglect of mere outward ceremonies. The seat of corruption is within - it is the heart itself; and if people would be made pure, this must be cleansed. If that is corrupt, the whole man is corrupt.

Matthew 15:18-20

Christ proceeds to state what does defile the man, or render him a sinner:

1. “Evil thoughts” These are the first things - these are the fountains of all others. Thought precedes action. Thought, or purpose, or motive, gives its character to conduct. All evil thoughts are here intended. Though we labor to suppress them, yet they defile us. They leave pollution behind them.

2. “Murders.” Taking the life of others with malice. The malice has its seat in the heart, and the murder therefore proceeds from the heart, 1 John 3:15.

3. “Adulteries, fornication.” See Matthew 5:28.

4. “Thefts.” Theft is the taking and carrying away the goods of others without their knowledge or consent. Thefts are caused by coveting the property of others. They proceed, therefore, from the heart, and violate at the same time two commandments - the tenth commandment in thought and the eighth commandment in act.

5. “False witness.” Giving wrong testimony. Concealing the truth, or stating what we know to be false - a violation of the ninth commandment. It proceeds from a desire to injure others, to take away their character or property, or to do them injustice. It proceeds thus from the heart.

6. “Blasphemies.” See the notes at Matthew 9:3. Blasphemy proceeds from opposition to God, hatred of his character Romans 8:7, and from a desire that there should be no God. It proceeds from the heart. See Psalms 14:1. Mark adds several things to those enumerated by Matthew:

(a) “Covetousness.” The unlawful desire of what others possess, this always proceeds from the heart.

(b) “Wickedness.” The original here means malice, or a desire of injuring others, Romans 1:29.

(c) “Deceit,” i. e., fraud, concealment, cheating in trade. This proceeds from a desire to benefit ourselves by doing injustice to others, and this proceeds from the heart.

(d) Lasciviousness. Lust, obscenity, unbridled passion - a strong, evil desire of the heart.

(e) “An evil eye.” That is, an eye that is sour, malignant, proud; or an eye of lust and passion. See Matthew 5:28; Matthew 20:15; 2 Peter 2:14, “Having eyes full of adultery, that cannot cease from sin.”

(f) “Pride.” An improper estimate of our own importance; thinking that we are of much more consequence than we really are. This is always the work of an evil heart.

(g) “Foolishness.” Not a lack of intellect - man is not to blame for that - but a moral folly, consisting in choosing evil ends and the bad means of gaining them; or, in other words, sin and wickedness. All sin is folly. It is foolish for a man to disobey God, and foolish for anyone to go to hell.

Matthew 15:20

These are the things which defile a man - These are the true sources of pollution in man.

These are what corrupt and degrade. It is not the neglect of washing the body which defiles; it is the deep, inward corruption of the heart. And what a fountain of pollution is the human soul! What an array of crimes to proceed from the heart of man! What a proof of guilt! What strictness is there in the law of God! How universal is depravity!

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 15:17. Cast out into the draught — εις αφεδωνα, [Anglo-Saxon]. And beeth into the forthgoing a sent - what is not fit for nourishment is evacuated; is thrown into the sink. This I believe to be the meaning of this difficult and variously translated word, αφεδρων. Diodati translates it properly, nella latrina, into the privy. And the Persian translator has given a good paraphrase, and appears to have collected the general meaning [Persian] her teche der dehen ander ayeed, az nusheeb beeroon rood, we ber zemeen aftad: "Whatsoever enters into the mouth goes downward, and falls upon the ground." Michaelis, and his annotator, Dr. Marsh, have been much perplexed with this perplexing passage. See Michaelis's Introduction, vol. i. note 35. p. 458.