complete verse (Matthew 15:18)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 15:18:

  • Uma: “But evil words that appear from in our (incl.) hearts, and that are uttered by our lips, that is what makes-evil people in the sight of God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But what comes out of the mouth of a person comes out of his liver, and that is what makes a person ritually-unclean.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But the bad words which come out of the mouth of a person, they come from his breath, and this is the thing that really displeases God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But what he causes-to-come-out of his mouth, it is from his mind/thoughts, and these are the things-that-make-him -dirty.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But that evil in the mind which comes out of the mouth, that’s what causes a person to be disgusting in the sight of God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “But concerning the word coming from the mouth of a person, it comes from the thoughts of the person. When the word spoken by the person is evil, then this is sin.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 15:18

What comes out of the mouth has specific reference to the things that a person says. Most translations retain the parallelism between “goes into the mouth” and comes out of the mouth, which is good if the meaning comes across clearly to the readers. But it is quite possible that what comes out of the mouth will at first reading be understood of something other than words. It may then be advisable to translate as “But the words that a person speaks (from his mouth).”

In Jewish thought the heart represented the total person, an individual’s “true self.” Proceeds from the heart may be translated “comes from within the person himself,” or else an equivalent idiom in the receptor language can be used. It may not be natural to speak of words coming from the heart or inner self. “The words that come out of a person’s mouth reflect (or, represent) that person’s thinking” or “… represent that person himself” might be better in some languages. It is important to note that many languages will use some part of the body other than heart as the center of the inner self, possibly the liver or stomach.

Defiles a man: see comments at verse 11.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 15:18



15:18a

But: There is a contrast here. The contrast is between what goes into a person’s mouth and what comes out of it. The Berean Standard Bible indicates this contrast with the conjunction But.

the things that come out of the mouth: This expression refers to the words that a person says. This verse starts with words similar to words in 15:17 so that the different results are emphasized.

Here are some other ways to translate this expression:

the words that come out of your mouth (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the ⌊evil/bad⌋ words that comes out of a person’s mouth
-or-
what people say with their mouths (New Century Version)

come from the heart: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as come also means “comes out” (as in the New International Version).

In Greek culture, the heart was the center and source of life. It is the inner part of a person that thinks, feels and makes decisions. Some languages refer to this part of a person as the throat, stomach, or liver. Use the expression that is natural in your language for this idea.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

comes from within (God’s Word)
-or-
comes from the stomach/liver
-or-
comes from the way they think (New Century Version)
-or-
comes from the mind/thoughts
-or-
comes from inside

15:18b

and these things: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as these things refers to the words that a person says. Specifically, it is the bad/evil words that a person says. In some languages, it may be more natural to make this explicit. For example:

it is these bad things
-or-
it is these evil words

defile a man: The word man is general and refers to people, both men and women.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

a person (English Standard Version)
-or-
you (Contemporary English Version)

defile: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as defile means “make unclean or make something ritually unacceptable.” This same word occurs in 15:11a.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

makes unclean

-or-

make you unfit to worship God (Contemporary English Version)

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