Mark 7:20

20 "It is what comes out of a person," he went on, "that makes him unclean.

Mark 7:20 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 7:20

And he said
Continued to say in his discourse; though this is left but in the Syriac version;

that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man;
meaning, not his excrements, which were unclean by the law, ( Deuteronomy 23:13 ) but what comes out of his heart, by his mouth; or is expressed in action, as appears by what follows; (See Gill on Matthew 15:18).

Mark 7:20 In-Context

18 He replied to them, "So you too are without understanding? Don't you see that nothing going into a person from outside can make him unclean?
19 For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and it passes out into the latrine." (Thus he declared all foods ritually clean.)
20 "It is what comes out of a person," he went on, "that makes him unclean.
21 For from within, out of a person's heart, come forth wicked thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
22 greed, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, foolishness...
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.