Matthew 15:18

Matthew 15:18 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
• New International Version (NIV)But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.

Context of Matthew 15:18

16And He said, “Are you still so dull [and unable to put things together]? 17Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? But whatever [word] comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this is what defiles and dishonors the man. 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts and plans, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slanders (verbal abuse, irreverent speech, blaspheming). 20These are the things which defile and dishonor the man; but eating with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

Matthew 15:18 word by word

τὰ δὲ ἐκπορευόμενα ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ἐκ τῆς καρδίας ἐξέρχεται, κἀκεῖνα κοινοῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Butδέde · thenG1161
• those things which proceedἐκπορεύωekporeuomai · to departG1607
• outἐκek ex · out fromG1537
• of the mouthστόμαstoma · mouthG4750
• come forthἐξέρχομαιexerchomai · to go outG1831
• the heartκαρδίαkardia · heartG2588
• and theyκἀκεῖνοςkakeinos · and that oneG2548
• defileκοινόωkoinoō · to profaneG2840
• the manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444

Cross-references for Matthew 15:18

• Matthew 15:11It is not what goes into the mouth of a man that defiles and dishonors him, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles and dishonors him.”
• Matthew 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
• 1 Samuel 24:13As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you.
• Psalms 36:3The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
• Proverbs 6:12A worthless person, a wicked man, Is one who walks with a perverse (corrupt, vulgar) mouth.
• Proverbs 10:32The lips of the righteous know (speak) what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked knows (speaks) what is perverted (twisted).
• Proverbs 15:2The tongue of the wise speaks knowledge that is pleasing and acceptable, But the [babbling] mouth of fools spouts folly.
• Luke 19:22He said to the servant, ‘I will judge and condemn you by your own words, you worthless servant! Did you [really] know that I was a stern man, picking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow?
• James 3:6And the tongue is [in a sense] a fire, the very world of injustice and unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which contaminates the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life [the cycle of man’s existence], and is itself set on fire by hell (Gehenna).
• Revelation 13:5And the beast was given a mouth (the power of speech), uttering great things and arrogant and blasphemous words, and he was given freedom and authority to act and to do as he pleased for forty-two months (three and a half years).

Commentaries on Matthew 15:18

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15-20Verses 15-20 See also Mark 7:17-23. Then answered Peter, and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable - See the notes at Matthew 13:3. The word “parable” sometimes means a dark or obscure saying, Psalm 78:2. Peter meant, “Explain to us more fully this obscure and novel doctrine.” To us, now, it is plain; to the disciples, just coming out of Judaism, the doctrine of Jesus was obscure. Mark says that the disciples asked him. There is no contradiction…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-20Verses 10-20 Christ shows that the defilement they ought to fear, was not from what entered their mouths as food, but from what came out of their mouths, which showed the wickedness of their hearts. Nothing will last in the soul but the regenerating graces of the Holy Spirit; and nothing should be admitted into the church but what is from above; therefore, whoever is offended by a plain, seasonable declaration of the truth, we should not be troubled at…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-20Jesus accused the Pharisees of disobeying God's law because of their focus on preserving traditions.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 17-1817-18. Do not ye yet understand that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth, &c.--Familiar though these sayings have now become, what freedom from bondage to outward things do they proclaim, on the one hand; and on the other, how searching is the truth which they express--that nothing which enters from without can really defile us; and that only the evil that is in the heart, that is allowed to stir there, to rise up in thought and affection, and to flow…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 15:18

• Commandments
• Ecclesiasticism
• Heart
• Jesus, the Christ
• Sin
• Teachers
• Tradition

In the dictionaries

• Capernaum
• Commandment
• Continue
• Draught
• Fill
• Heart
• Release
• Sin
• Teach
• Tradition

Commentaries on Matthew 15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings