¹² Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^(A)offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³ He answered, ^(B)“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^(C)will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; ^(D)they are blind guides.^[a] And ^(E)if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵ But Peter said to him, ^(F)“Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶ And he said, ^(G)“Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that ^(H)whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^{[b] 18} But ^(I)what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come ^(J)evil thoughts, ^(K)murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^(L)slander. ^20 (M)These are what defile a person. But ^(N)to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁴ And he called the people to him again and said to them, ^(A)“Hear me, all of you, and understand: ^15 (B)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.”^{[a] 17} And when he had entered ^(C)the house and left the people, ^(D)his disciples asked him about the parable. ¹⁸ And he said to them, “Then ^(E)are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ since it enters not his heart ^(F)but his stomach, and is expelled?”^[b] (^(G)Thus he declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And he said, ^(H)“What comes out of a person is what defiles him. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, ^(I)murder, adultery, ²² coveting, wickedness, deceit, ^(J)sensuality, ^(K)envy, ^(L)slander, ^(M)pride, ^(N)foolishness. ^23 (O)All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

23 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, ^(A)I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” ² And the high priest ^(B)Ananias commanded those who stood by him ^(C)to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you ^(D)whitewashed ^(E)wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet ^(F)contrary to the law you ^(G)order me to be struck?” ⁴ Those who stood by said, “Would you revile ^(H)God's high priest?” ⁵ And Paul said, ^(I)“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ^(J)‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”

⁶ Now when Paul perceived that one part were ^(K)Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, ^(L)I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is ^(M)with respect to the ^(N)hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” ⁷ And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees ^(O)say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ Then a great clamor arose, and some of ^(P)the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, ^(Q)“We find nothing wrong in this man. What ^(R)if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” ¹⁰ And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into ^(S)the barracks.

^11 (T)The following night ^(U)the Lord stood by him and said, ^(V)“Take courage, for ^(W)as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must ^(X)testify also in Rome.”

¹⁵ Therefore he is ^(A)the mediator of a new covenant, so that ^(B)those who are called may ^(C)receive the promised eternal inheritance, ^(D)since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.^{[a] 16} For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. ¹⁷ For ^(E)a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. ¹⁸ Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated ^(F)without blood. ¹⁹ For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took ^(G)the blood of calves and goats, ^(H)with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, ²⁰ saying, ^(I)“This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” ²¹ And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both ^(J)the tent and all the vessels used in worship. ²² Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and ^(K)without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

^28 (A)Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy ^(B)on the evidence of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one ^(C)who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned ^(D)the blood of the covenant ^(E)by which he was sanctified, and has ^(F)outraged the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, ^(G)“Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, ^(H)“The Lord will judge his people.” ^31 (I)It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

³² But recall the former days when, after ^(J)you were enlightened, you endured ^(K)a hard struggle with sufferings, ³³ sometimes being ^(L)publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. ³⁴ For ^(M)you had compassion on those in prison, and ^(N)you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had ^(O)a better possession and an abiding one. ³⁵ Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has ^(P)a great reward. ³⁶ For ^(Q)you have need of endurance, so that ^(R)when you have done the will of God you may ^(S)receive what is promised. ³⁷ For,

³⁹ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.