He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said, “That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man.
- KJV And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
- NKJV And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.
- NASB And He was saying, “That which comes out of the person, that is what defiles the person.
- NLT And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you.
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 stated plainly that what comes out of a person is what defiles him. It locates the source of moral corruption in the human heart.
Overview
Returning to His main point, Jesus declared that defilement originates within and proceeds outward. The problem of sin is internal, not a matter of external contact. This truth exposes the futility of merely ritual religion and prepares for the catalog of sins that flow from the heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Jas 3:6The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
- Jas 1:14–15But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.
- Jas 4:1What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you?
- Mark 7:15Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”
- Matt 12:34–37You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Ps 41:6My visitor speaks falsehood; he gathers slander in his heart; he goes out and spreads it abroad.
- Mic 2:1Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
- Heb 7:6But Melchizedek, who did not trace his descent from Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
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 7:20 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.