‘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.
- BSB ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are 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.
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 29:13The Lord said, “Because this people draws near with their mouth and with their lips to honor me, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught;
- Ezek 33:31They come to you as the people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear your words, but don’t do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.
- Acts 8:21You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God.
- 1 Pet 3:10For, “He who would love life, and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.
- Jer 12:2You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they produce fruit. You are near in their mouth, and far from their heart.
- Prov 23:26My son, give me your heart; and let your eyes keep in my ways.
- Heb 3:12Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God;
- John 1:47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said about him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 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.