Mark 7:20

20 And he said, ¹"What comes out of a person is what defiles him.

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 And he said to them, "Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him,

19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)

20 And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him.

21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 12:34; James 3:6