Mark 7:14-23

Evangelical Heritage Version

¹⁴ He called the crowd to him again and said, “Everyone, listen to me and understand. ¹⁵ There is nothing outside of a man that can make him unclean by going into him. But the things that come out of a man are what make a man unclean. ¹⁶ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”^[a]

¹⁷ After he had left the crowd and entered a house, his disciples asked him about this illustration. ¹⁸ He said, “Are you lacking in understanding too? Do you not understand that whatever goes into a man from the outside cannot make him unclean? ¹⁹ For it does not enter his heart but goes into his stomach and goes out of him into the latrine—in this way all foods are purified.”^[b]

²⁰ He continued, “What comes out of a man, that is what makes a man unclean. ²¹ In fact, from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual sins, theft, murder, ²² adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained immorality, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things proceed from within and make a person unclean.”