Defilement from Within

¹⁰ And summoning the crowd, he said to them, “Hear and understand: ¹¹ It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth—this defiles a person.” ¹² Then the disciples came and^[a] said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they^[b] heard this saying?” ¹³ And he answered and^[c] said, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let^[d] them! They are blind guides of the blind. And if the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵ But Peter answered and^[e] said to him, “Explain this parable to us.” ¹⁶ But he said, “Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not understand that everything that enters into the mouth goes into the stomach and is evacuated into the latrine? ¹⁸ But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these defile the person. ¹⁹ For from the heart come evil plans, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, abusive speech. ²⁰ These are the things that defile a person. But eating with unwashed hands does not defile a person!”