Mark 7:14–23

¹⁴Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand: ¹⁵Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him; but the things that come out of a man, these are what defile him.”^h

¹⁷After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable.

¹⁸“Are you still so dull?” He asked. “Do you not understand? Nothing that enters a man from the outside can defile him, ¹⁹because it does not enter his heart, but it goes into the stomach and then is eliminated.” (Thus all foods are clean.)ⁱ

²⁰He continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. ²¹For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,^{j 22}greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. ²³All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”