Matthew 15:10-20 - Defilement From Within

¹⁰ He got the people together and said to them: Listen, and let my words be clear to you. ¹¹ That which comes out of the mouth makes a man unclean, not that which goes into the mouth.

¹² The disciples told him the Pharisees were upset by what he said.

¹³ In answer he replied: Every plant my Father in heaven has not planted in the earth will be pulled out by the roots. ¹⁴ Let them be. They are blind guides. If a blind man guides another blind man, they will fall in a hole together.

¹⁵ Then Peter said to him: Make the story clear to us.

¹⁶ He replied: Are you, like them, without wisdom? ¹⁷ Do you not see, that which goes into the mouth, goes into the stomach and is sent out as waste? ¹⁸ That which comes out of the mouth, comes from the heart and makes a man unclean. ¹⁹ Evil thoughts come from the heart! Thoughts about murder, adultery, fornication, theft, lying, and slander come from the heart! ²⁰ These things make a man unclean. Eating food with unwashed hands does not make a man unclean.

¹⁴ He called the crowd again and said: Listen and understand! ¹⁵ Nothing that goes into a person from the outside can make him unclean. That which comes from inside of a man can make him unclean. ¹⁶ If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁷ When he entered the house away from the crowd his disciples asked him to explain. ¹⁸ He replied: Do you not understand? Do you not know that which goes into the man from the outside cannot defile him? ¹⁹ It is because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach and is eliminated? All foods are clean. ²⁰ That which comes out of the man defiles the man. ²¹ It is from the heart that evil thoughts come such as: fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, loose conduct, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things come from within and defile the man.