For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.
Parallel translations
- WEB For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies.
- KJV For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
- NKJV For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
- NASB For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and slanderous statements.
- NLT For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander.
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 lists the evils that come out of the heart—murders, adulteries, thefts, lies, and more. It matters because it shows sin originates within us, not in our circumstances.
Overview
Jesus catalogs the kinds of sin that flow from a corrupted heart, several of them echoing the commandments. The heart is the wellspring of evil thoughts and deeds, not a neutral place corrupted only from outside. This diagnosis confronts every person with the depth of inward sinfulness. It underscores the need for the new heart that the gospel of Christ alone provides.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Mark 7:21–23For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
- Gal 5:19–21The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
- Jer 17:9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?
- Titus 3:2–6to malign no one, and to be peaceable and gentle, showing full consideration to everyone.
- Jas 1:13–15When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.
- Prov 4:23Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
- Gen 6:5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
- Jer 4:14Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?
- Rom 3:10–19As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.
- Acts 8:22Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.
- Isa 59:7Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
- Prov 6:14With deceit in his heart he devises evil; he continually sows discord.
- Ps 119:113The double-minded I despise, but Your law I love.
- Isa 55:7Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.
- Rom 7:18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
- Eph 2:1–3And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
- Gen 8:21When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.
- Matt 9:4But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts?
- Prov 24:9A foolish scheme is sin, and a mocker is detestable to men.
- Prov 22:15Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
- Rom 8:7–8because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
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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 15:19 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.