15:19a

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the basis for the things that Jesus said in 15:18.

Here is another way to translate this:

⌊I say this⌋ because

Some English versions do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it will not be natural to translate this conjunction either.

out of the heart come: The word heart is the same word as in 15:18a. You should translate it here as you did there.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

that which comes from the heart of a person are
-or-
the things that are in a person’s heart cause/make him to

In some languages, it will be more natural to put the phrase out of the heart come at the end of the verse. See the General Comment at the end of 15:19d for some examples.

15:19b

evil thoughts: There is an interpretation issue here. It involves how the expression evil thoughts relates to the rest of the terms in 15:19.

(1) It is a specific term. It is the first of the seven terms in the list. These seven terms are all things that come out of the heart. For example:

evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (New International Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, NET Bible, English Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), New American Standard Bible, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, King James Version, New Century Version)

(2) It is a general term. It is the thing that leads to the next six specific terms. Some versions show this by putting a colon after this term. For example:

evil intentions: murder, adultery, fornication, theft, perjury, slander (New Jerusalem Bible)

(Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The majority of English versions follow this interpretation.

In some languages, it will be more natural to translate this noun phrase as a verb. For example:

he thinks evil things

murder: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as murder is a plural noun. It also means “killings.” In this context, it refers to the illegal ending of someone’s life. It does not refer to executing a criminal or killing an enemy soldier in battle.

Here is another way to translate this word:

⌊he⌋ kills/murders people

15:19c

adultery: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as adultery means “a married person having sex with someone other than his wife (or her husband).”

Here is another way to translate this word:

sleeping with someone to whom he is not married

sexual immorality: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sexual immorality is a general term referring to all sexual sin.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

[other] sexual sins (God’s Word)
-or-
all other sexual immorality (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
fornication
-or-

⌊he⌋ does other filthy/evil deeds

General Comment on 15:19c

Some languages have one term that covers the meaning of both “adultery” and “sexual immorality.” Other languages may need more than two terms. You should use as few or as many words as necessary to translate these two Greek words.

15:19d

theft: The word theft refers to taking the property of someone else when the owner did not give permission to take it.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

robbery
-or-

⌊he⌋ steals

false testimony: The Greek word here primarily refers to telling lies in court. It can also refer to telling lies in any situation.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

lying (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-

⌊he⌋ tells lies

slander: In Greek this word refers to saying things that hurt the reputation of someone.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

speaking evil of others (New Century Version)
-or-
insulting others (Contemporary English Version)
-or-

⌊he⌋ destroys the name/reputation of other people

General Comment on 15:19a–d

In some languages, it will be more natural to change the order of some of the parts of this verse. For example:

Evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immoralities, theft, lying, and slander all come from the heart.

-or-

Many evil things come from the heart such as evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immoralities, theft, lying, and slander.

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