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New Living Translation

Matthew 15:18

But the words you speak come from the heart—that's what defiles you.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Commandments;   Ecclesiasticism;   Heart;   Jesus, the Christ;   Sin;   Teachers;   Tradition;   Thompson Chain Reference - Heart;   The Topic Concordance - Defilement;   Evil;   Heart;   Speech/communication;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Defilement;   Fountains and Springs;   Rebellion against God;   Salutations;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Defile, Defilement;   Tradition;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Hypocrisy;   Mouth;   Sin;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hutchinsonians;   Pharisees;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Capernaum;   Heart;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Haggadah, Halakah;   Law, Ten Commandments, Torah;   Mark, the Gospel of;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Sin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Heart;   Mss;   Text of the New Testament;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Bason;   Caesarea Philippi;   Commandments;   Common Life;   Death of Christ;   Discourse;   Doctrines;   Holiness Purity;   Ideas (Leading);   Israel, Israelite;   Law;   Law of God;   Man (2);   Manuscripts;   Paradox;   Purification (2);   Redemption (2);   Sabbath ;   Tradition (2);   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Tradition;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Chief parables and miracles in the bible;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Jesus of Nazareth;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Defile;   Holiness;   Jesus Christ (Part 2 of 2);   Uncleanness;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Ablution;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for May 31;   My Utmost for His Highest - Devotion for July 26;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.
King James Version (1611)
But those things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and they defile the man.
King James Version
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
English Standard Version
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
New American Standard Bible
"But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person.
New Century Version
But what people say with their mouths comes from the way they think; these are the things that make people unclean.
Amplified Bible
"But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles and dishonors the man.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But those thinges which proceede out of the mouth, come from the heart, and they defile the man.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
Legacy Standard Bible
But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.
Berean Standard Bible
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
Contemporary English Version
But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God.
Complete Jewish Bible
But what comes out of your mouth is actually coming from your heart, and that is what makes a person unclean.
Darby Translation
but the things which go forth out of the mouth come out of the heart, and those defile man.
Easy-to-Read Version
But the bad things people say with their mouth come from the way they think. And that's what can make people wrong.
George Lamsa Translation
But what comes out of the mouth comes out from the heart; and that is what defiles man.
Good News Translation
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these are the things that make you ritually unclean.
Lexham English Bible
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile the person.
Literal Translation
But the things which come out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and these defile the man.
American Standard Version
But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man.
Bible in Basic English
But the things which come out of the mouth come from the heart; and they make a man unclean.
Hebrew Names Version
But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart, and they defile the man.
International Standard Version
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean.James 3:6;">[xr]
Etheridge Translation
But whatsoever from the mouth shall come forth, from the heart cometh forth, and this [fn] contaminates a child of man.
Murdock Translation
But that which proceedeth from the mouth, cometh from the heart: and that is what defileth a man.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
But those thynges which proceade out of the mouth, come foorth from the heart, and they defyle the man.
English Revised Version
But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man.
World English Bible
But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart, and they defile the man.
Wesley's New Testament (1755)
But those things which proceed out of the mouth, come out of the heart, and they defile the man.
Weymouth's New Testament
But the things that come out of the mouth proceed from the heart, and it is these that defile the man.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But tho thingis that comen forth fro the mouth, goon out of the herte, and tho thingis defoulen a man.
Update Bible Version
But the things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart; and they defile the man.
Webster's Bible Translation
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
New English Translation
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person.
New King James Version
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
New Life Bible
But whatever comes from the mouth has come out of the heart. These things make the man unclean inside.
New Revised Standard
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
while, the things which proceed out of the mouth, out of the heart, come forth, and, they, defile the man.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But the things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and those things defile a man.
Revised Standard Version
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man.
Tyndale New Testament (1525)
But those thingis which procede out of the mouth come from the herte and they defyle the man.
Young's Literal Translation
but the things coming forth from the mouth from the heart do come forth, and these defile the man;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But the thinge that proceadeth out of the mouth, cometh fro ye hert, & that defyleth ye ma.
Mace New Testament (1729)
but what proceeds out of the mouth, is deriv'd from the heart, and that defiles the man.
Simplified Cowboy Version
But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. These words are what will make you unfit accordin' to the Boss.

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

Matthew 15:11, Matthew 12:34, 1 Samuel 24:13, Psalms 36:3, Proverbs 6:12, Proverbs 10:32, Proverbs 15:2, Proverbs 15:28, Luke 19:22, James 3:6-10, Revelation 13:5, Revelation 13:6

Reciprocal: Leviticus 18:24 - Defile Isaiah 55:7 - his thoughts Galatians 5:19 - Adultery Titus 1:15 - but James 1:14 - when

Cross-References

Genesis 2:14
The third branch, called the Tigris, flowed east of the land of Asshur. The fourth branch is called the Euphrates.
Genesis 12:7
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, "I will give this land to your descendants." And Abram built an altar there and dedicated it to the Lord , who had appeared to him.
Genesis 13:15
I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.
Genesis 15:1
Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, "Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great."
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 15:4
Then the Lord said to him, "No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir."
Genesis 15:7
Then the Lord told him, "I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your possession."
Genesis 15:8
But Abram replied, "O Sovereign Lord , how can I be sure that I will actually possess it?"
Genesis 15:13
Then the Lord said to Abram, "You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land, where they will be oppressed as slaves for 400 years.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But those things which proceed out of the mouth,.... Meaning not material things, as spittle, vomit, c. but, as it follows, which

come forth from the heart: are first conceived and formed there, and then come forth from thence, and are expressed by the mouth as all idle words, foolish talking, filthy jesting, unsavoury communication, and every word that is rotten and corrupt, or which is done in the life and conversation;

and they defile the man: the heart is the corrupt fountain from whence all moral defilement flows; and sinful words and actions are the impure streams, which spring from thence, and increase the moral pollution of human nature.

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!


 
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