But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you.
Parallel translations
- WEB But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man.
- KJV But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
- BSB But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
- NKJV But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
- NASB But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person.
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 teaches that what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. It matters because it locates the source of sin within the human heart.
Overview
In contrast to food, words and the heart behind them reveal a person's true moral state. Defilement is internal and moral, not external and ceremonial. This redirects all concern about purity to the condition of the inner person. It exposes the universal human problem of a corrupt heart, which only Christ can renew.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Prov 15:28The heart of the righteous weighs answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes out evil.
- Matt 12:34You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
- Matt 15:11That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
- Jas 3:6–10And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna.
- Prov 15:2The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of fools gush out folly.
- Prov 10:32The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.
- Prov 6:12A worthless person, a man of iniquity, is he who walks with a perverse mouth;
- Luke 19:22“He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn’t lay down, and reaping that which I didn’t sow.
- 1 Sam 24:13As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness;’ but my hand will not be on you.
- Ps 36:3The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
- Rev 13:5–6A mouth speaking great things and blasphemy was given to him. Authority to make war for forty-two months was given to him.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 15:18 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.