Bible Strands
Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples and a large crowd in the Sermon on the Plain, mid-sequence between the tree-and-fruit analogy (v. 44) and the "Lord, Lord" challenge (v. 46).
The words — θησαυρός (thēsaurou, "treasure") is the operative image: the heart is not an empty vessel but a storehouse whose contents determine what comes out.
The thread — Matthew 12:34 repeats the closing clause verbatim ("out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks"); Proverbs 4:23 describes the heart as the source of "springs of life"; Ephesians 4:29 applies the principle to speech in the community.
Why it lands — It closes the gap between what a person claims and what they actually are: your words are not a performance but a disclosure of stored character.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 4:23 Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow springs of life.
- Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
- Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.
- John 7:38 Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’”
- Psalms 37:30 The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.
- Psalms 59:12 By the sins of their mouths and the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride, in the curses and lies they utter.
- Psalms 52:2 Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
- Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
- Romans 3:13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”