Matthew 15:10-20 - Defilement From Within

¹⁰ And calling the multitude unto him, he said unto them, Hear and understand: ¹¹ not that which goes into the mouth defiles the man; but that which comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man.

¹² Then his disciples came and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this word?

¹³ But he answered and said, Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into a pit.

¹⁵ Then Peter answered and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.

¹⁶ And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? ¹⁷ Do not ye yet understand that whatever enters in at the mouth goes into the belly and is cast out into the draught? ¹⁸ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. ¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: ²⁰ these are the things which defile the man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.

¹⁴ And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you and understand; ¹⁵ there is nothing from outside the man that entering into him can defile him, but the things which come out of him, those are what defile the man. ¹⁶ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁷ And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. ¹⁸ And he said unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not understand that anything from outside that enters into the man cannot defile him? ¹⁹ Because it enters not into his heart, but into the belly, and the man goes out to the privy and purges all foods. ²⁰ For he had said that it is what comes out of the man that defiles the man. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of men, come forth the evil thoughts, the adulteries, the fornications, the murders, ²² the thefts, the covetousness, the wickedness, the deceit, the lasciviousness, the evil eye, the slander, the pride, the unwiseness: ²³ all these evil things come out from within and defile the man.