Matthew 15:10-20 - Defilement From Within

¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand: ¹¹ not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man."

¹² Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"

¹³ He answered, "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."

¹⁵ But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us."

¹⁶ So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not yet see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? ¹⁸ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornications, theft, false witness, slander. ²⁰ These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

¹⁴ And he called all the people to him again, and said to them, "Hear me, everyone, and understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him." ¹⁶ (...)

¹⁷ When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. ¹⁸ So he said to them, "Are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and so passes on?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, "What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of men, come evil thoughts, fornications, theft, murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."