Defilement from Within

14 And summoning the crowd again, he said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him by[fn] going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person.”[fn] 17 And when he entered into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “So are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything that is outside that goes into a person is not able to defile him? 19 For it does not enter into his heart but into his[fn] stomach, and goes out into the latrine”—thus[fn] declaring all foods clean. 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person, that defiles a person. 21 For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, envy,[fn] abusive speech, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”