Matthew 15:10-20
Christian Standard Bible
Defilement Is from Within
10 Summoning the crowd, he told them, “Listen and understand: 11 It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles(A) a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person.”(B)
12 Then the disciples came up and told him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted.(C) 14 Leave them alone! They are blind guides.[a] And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”(D)
15 Then Peter said, “Explain this parable to us.”(E)
16 “Do you still lack understanding?” he[b] asked. 17 “Don’t you realize[c] that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?[d] 18 But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person.(F) 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies,(G) slander.(H) 20 These are the things that defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”(I)
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Matthew 15:10-20
New English Translation
True Defilement
10 Then he called the crowd to him and said,[a] “Listen and understand. 11 What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what[b] comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees[c] heard this saying they were offended?” 13 And he replied,[d] “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 Leave them! They are blind guides.[e] If someone who is blind leads another who is blind,[f] both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter[g] said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” 16 Jesus[h] said, “Even after all this, are you still so foolish? 17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?[i] 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person.”[j]
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- Matthew 15:10 tn Grk “And calling the crowd, he said to them.” The participle προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) has been translated as attendant circumstance. The emphasis here is upon Jesus’ speaking to the crowd.
- Matthew 15:11 tn Grk “but what.”
- Matthew 15:12 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
- Matthew 15:13 tn Grk “And answering, he said.”
- Matthew 15:14 tc ‡ Most mss, some of which are significant, read “They are blind guides of the blind” (א2a C L N W Z Γ Δ Θ ƒ1, 13 33 579 700 1241 1424 M lat; SBL). The omission of “of the blind” is read by א*,2b B D 0237 Epiph. There is a distinct possibility of omission due to homoioarcton in א*; this manuscript has a word order variation which puts the word τυφλοί (tuphloi, “blind”) right before the word τυφλῶν (tuphlōn, “of the blind”). This does not explain the shorter reading, however, in the other witnesses, of which B and D are quite weighty. Internal considerations suggest that the shorter reading is autographic: “of the blind” was likely added by scribes to balance this phrase with Jesus’ following statement about the blind leading the blind, which clearly has two groups in view. A decision is difficult, but internal considerations here along with the strength of the witnesses argue that the shorter reading is more likely original. NA28 places τυφλῶν in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.
- Matthew 15:14 tn Grk “If blind leads blind.”
- Matthew 15:15 tn Grk “And answering, Peter said to him.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.
- Matthew 15:16 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Matthew 15:17 tn Or “into the latrine.”
- Matthew 15:20 tn Grk “but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a person.”
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