1:15a

To the pure, all things are pure: In this verse part Paul used the word pure in two ways. First it refers to people who are morally and spiritually pure. Then in the second occurrence it refers to objects that are ritually pure and acceptable for use by God’s people.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:

If someone is clean and good inside, everything is clean and good for them to enjoy. (Easy English Bible)
-or-
Everything is pure for someone whose heart is pure. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
All things are ritually clean to those who are clean/pure in heart.

To the pure: The phrase the pure refers to people who are spiritually and morally clean because they have been cleansed by God through their faith in Jesus. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

To people who are pure (New International Reader’s Version)
-or-
To those who are pure/clean in their heart/spirit

all things are pure: This clause indicates that all things that God has made are good and there is nothing inherently wrong in them. Paul was probably thinking of Jesus’ teaching that his disciples need not obey the Jewish food laws about clean and unclean foods. See Romans 14:20b. See also 1 Timothy 4:3-4. Paul was not saying that all actions are pure and right. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

all created things/objects are clean
-or-
all food items are ritually pure

1:15b

but to the defiled and unbelieving: The phrase the defiled refers to people who are not pure, people who have bad morals. It is the same group of people as those who are unbelieving. Here are some other ways to translate these words:

but to those who are corrupt and unbelieving (NET Bible)
-or-
to corrupt unbelievers (God’s Word)
-or-
but…to those who are defiled and unbelieving (Good News Bible)

and unbelieving: This implies that these are people who do not believe in Jesus and the gospel.

nothing is pure: This is the opposite of “all things are pure” in 1:15a. Paul was probably implying that these people defiled everything they touched. Because they were not pure in heart, they could offer nothing that was acceptable to God.

1:15c

Indeed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Indeed here introduces a stronger additional statement. Here are some other ways to translate this:

In fact
-or-
Truly

both their minds and their consciences are defiled: This clause explains “the defiled” in 1:15b. The meaning of these people being defiled is emphasized because it is repeated here.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

their minds and their sense of what is right and wrong are twisted (New International Reader’s Version)
-or-
Both their minds and their consciences have been ruined. (New Century Version)

their minds: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as minds refers to a person’s thinking, intellect, or understanding.

consciences: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as consciences refers to the aspect of a person’s thinking that causes him to feel ashamed or guilty when he does something wrong. It refers to how a person judges or evaluates his own deeds and behavior, approving or disapproving what he has done.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

their assessment/evaluation of their deeds
-or-
their sense of what is right and wrong (New International Reader’s Version)

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible. BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.