Bible Strands
Matthew 15:18
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses His disciples amid a teaching on ritual purity, contrasting physical digestion with moral origin. He speaks at a moment when His followers are seeking clarification on what truly constitutes defilement.
The words — ἐκπορευόμενα (ekporeuomena) denotes things actively going forth, while στόματος (stomatos) specifies the mouth as the exit point. The text literally states that verbal output originates internally rather than from external sources.
The thread — This teaching echoes Matthew 15:11, which first introduces the mouth-to-heart defilement principle, and Matthew 12:34, which ties speech to the heart's overflow. It also parallels Proverbs 15:28 in contrasting the righteous heart's deliberation with the wicked mouth's unfiltered output.
Why it lands — The verse demands that readers stop locating moral corruption in external circumstances or ritual failures and instead examine their inner motives. It requires accepting that unchecked speech reveals a heart already compromised, making internal repentance the only necessary remedy.
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
But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.
- 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.
- Matthew 15:11 A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
- James 3:6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
- Proverbs 10:32 The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.
- Proverbs 15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.
- Proverbs 6:12 A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth,
- 1 Samuel 24:13 As the old proverb says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand will never be against you.
- Psalms 36:3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and well-doing.
- Luke 19:22 His master replied, ‘You wicked servant, I will judge you by your own words. So you knew that I am a harsh man, withdrawing what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?