Matthew 15:10-20

Christian Standard Bible Anglicised

Defilement Is from Within

¹⁰ Summoning the crowd, he told them, ‘Listen and understand: ¹¹ It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles^(A) a person, but what comes out of the mouth – this defiles a person.’^(B)

¹² Then the disciples came up and told him, ‘Do you know that the Pharisees took offence when they heard what you said? ’

¹³ He replied, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.^{(C) 14} Leave them alone! They are blind guides.^[a] And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.’^(D)

¹⁵ Then Peter said, ‘Explain this parable to us.’^(E)

¹⁶ ‘Do you still lack understanding? ’ he^[b] asked. ¹⁷ ‘Don’t you realise^[c] that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?^{[d] 18} But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.^{(F) 19} For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies,^(G) slander.^{(H) 20} These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.’^(I)