‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
Parallel translations
- WEB ‘These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
- KJV This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
- NKJV ‘Thesepeople draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.
- NASB ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.
- NLT ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
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
Quoting Isaiah, Jesus says these people honor God with their lips while their hearts remain far from him. It matters because it shows that God cares about inward devotion, not mere outward words.
Overview
Jesus applies Isaiah 29:13 to the Pharisees: their religion is verbal and external, not heartfelt. True worship flows from a heart genuinely near to God, not from lips reciting the right phrases. This exposes the perennial danger of religion reduced to ritual and reputation. The gospel addresses exactly this need, for Christ came to give his people new hearts that draw truly near to God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 29:13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
- Ezek 33:31So My people come to you as usual, sit before you, and hear your words; but they do not put them into practice. Although they express love with their mouths, their hearts pursue dishonest gain.
- Acts 8:21You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God.
- 1 Pet 3:10For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.
- Jer 12:2You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.
- Prov 23:26My son, give me your heart, and let your eyes delight in my ways.
- Heb 3:12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.
- John 1:47When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”
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 15:8 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.