New International Version
Mark 7:15
15Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.”
Mark 7:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
- English Standard Version (ESV)There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him."
- New King James Version (NKJV)There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the things which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.
- New Living Translation (NLT)It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”
Context of Mark 7:15
13Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.” 14Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” 17After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable.
Read all of Mark 7Mark 7:15 word by word
οὐδέν ἐστιν ἔξωθεν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου εἰσπορευόμενον εἰς αὐτὸν ὃ δύναται κοινῶσαι αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκπορευόμενά ἐστιν τὰ κοινοῦντα τὸν ἄνθρωπον.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- There isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- nothingοὐδείςoudeis · noneG3762
- from withoutἔξωθενexōthen · outsideG1855
- a manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- thatὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- enteringεἰσπορεύωeisporeuomai · to enterG1531
- intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
- himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- canδύναμαιdunamai · be ableG1410
- defileκοινόωkoinoō · to profaneG2840
- butἀλλάalla · butG235
- the things which come outἐκπορεύωekporeuomai · to departG1607
- ofἀπόapo · away fromG575
- thoseἐκεῖνοςekeinos · thatG1565
Cross-references for Mark 7:15
- Mark 7:18“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them?
- Leviticus 11:42You are not to eat any creature that moves along the ground, whether it moves on its belly or walks on all fours or on many feet; it is unclean.
- Acts 10:14“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
- Acts 11:8“I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
- Acts 15:20Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
- Romans 14:17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
- 1 Corinthians 10:25Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,
- 1 Timothy 4:3They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
- Hebrews 9:10They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
- Hebrews 13:9Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be strengthened by grace, not by eating ceremonial foods, which is of no benefit to those who do so.
- Mark 7:20He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.
- Proverbs 4:23Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
- Matthew 12:34You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
- Matthew 15:16“Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them.
Commentaries on Mark 7:15
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-23Verses 1-23 See this passage explained in the notes at Mark 7:1 Came from Jerusalem - Probably to observe his conduct, and to find matter of accusation against him. Mark 7:2 Defiled hands - The hands were considered defiled or polluted unless they were washed previous to every meal. Mark 7:3 Except they wash their hands oft - Our word “oft” means frequently, often. The Greek wore translated oft has been rendered various ways. Some have said that it means…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-23Verses 14-23 Our wicked thoughts and affections, words and actions, defile us, and these only. As a corrupt fountain sends forth corrupt streams, so does a corrupt heart send forth corrupt reasonings, corrupt appetites and passions, and all the wicked words and actions that come from them. A spiritual understanding of the law of God, and a sense of the evil of sin, will cause a man to seek for the grace of the Holy Spirit, to keep down the evil thoughts…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-23The second argument of Jesus against the Pharisees was a proverb he told the crowd. Later, in a private setting, Jesus explained it to his disciples (7:17–23). It concerns moral distinctions about eating (rules about what is right or wrong to eat). Eating affects the system that processes food, but moral issues involve the heart. The heart is a metaphor for where a person makes moral decisions. How a person eats (with ceremonially clean or unclean hands)…Read the comment
Topics related to Mark 7:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Mark 7
- 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries