The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.
Parallel translations
- WEB The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.
- KJV A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
- NKJV A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.
- NASB The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things.
- NLT A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil 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
A good person draws good from a good treasure, and an evil person draws evil from an evil store.
Overview
Words and deeds flow naturally from the moral treasury of the heart. This explains why outward reform is insufficient apart from inner renewal. The gospel addresses the heart itself, replacing the evil treasure with the good through new birth in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Prov 15:4A soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
- Col 4:6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- Prov 15:28The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.
- Col 3:16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
- Prov 25:11–12A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
- 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.
- Eph 4:29Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- Prov 10:20–21The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked has little worth.
- Prov 16:21–23The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant speech promotes instruction.
- Prov 12:6The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.
- Prov 15:23A man takes joy in a fitting reply—and how good is a timely word!
- Ps 37:30–31The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.
- Prov 12:17–19He who speaks the truth declares what is right, but a false witness speaks deceit.
- Matt 13:52Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 12:35 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.