Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
Parallel translations
- WEB There is nothing from outside of the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man.
- KJV There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
- NKJV There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.
- NASB there is nothing outside the person which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which come out of the person are what defile the person.”
- NLT It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus taught that nothing external defiles a person; defilement comes from within. It relocates true impurity from ritual to the heart.
Overview
Against the Pharisees' focus on outward ceremonial purity, Jesus declared that real defilement proceeds from inside a person. This teaching exposed the inadequacy of external religion to address the human problem. It points to the deeper need for inward cleansing that only the gospel can supply through a new heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Prov 4:23Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
- Lev 11:42–47Do not eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it crawls on its belly or walks on four or more feet; for such creatures are detestable.
- Titus 1:15To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
- Matt 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Heb 13:9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace and not by foods of no value to those devoted to them.
- Mark 7:18–23“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him,
- Rom 14:17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
- Heb 9:10They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform.
- 1 Cor 10:25Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,
- Matt 15:16“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.
- Acts 10:28He said to them, “You know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with a foreigner or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean.
- 1 Tim 4:3–5They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
- Acts 11:8–10‘No, Lord,’ I said, ‘for nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
- Acts 15:20–21Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
- Acts 10:14–16“No, Lord!” Peter answered. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 7:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.