Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?

MATTHEW 15:17KJV
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Matthew 15:17 (KJV)

What does Matthew 15:17 mean?

Matthew 15:17 explains that whatever a person eats goes into the stomach and then leaves the body, so what enters through the mouth does not make someone spiritually unclean. Jesus is pointing out that physical food does not affect a person's moral or spiritual state.

In this verse, Jesus is speaking to His disciples after the Pharisees questioned Him about eating with unwashed hands. He uses a simple example from everyday life to show that ritual handwashing and the food itself are not what truly matter. The focus is on the difference between outward traditions and what actually affects a person's heart and character.

The Greek behind Matthew 15:17

  • στόμα (stoma, "mouth"): This word highlights the physical entry point for food, making clear that Jesus is talking about literal eating, not something symbolic.
  • κοιλία (koilia, "belly"): This term refers to the stomach, emphasizing the normal digestive process and reinforcing that the issue is physical, not spiritual.
  • ἀφεδρών (aphedrōn, "draught" or "latrine"): This word means a place where waste is expelled, underlining that what goes in the mouth simply passes through and is eliminated, with no lasting spiritual impact.

Why Matthew 15:17 matters

  • Matthew 15:17 helps clear up the misunderstanding that eating certain foods or following ritual washings can make a person spiritually unclean.
  • This verse shifts the focus from external religious practices to the importance of inner purity and the condition of the heart, which Jesus discusses in the surrounding verses.
  • Understanding this verse helps explain why Jesus later declares all foods clean and challenges traditional boundaries between ritual and true morality.

Where else these words appear

“draught” Greek G856 · used in 2 verses

  • Mark 7:19 Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?

“goeth” Greek G5562 · used in 9 verses

  • Matthew 19:11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.
  • Mark 2:2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them.
  • John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

“Do” Greek G3539 · used in 14 verses

  • Matthew 16:9 Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
  • Mark 8:17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?
  • Ephesians 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)

“in” Greek G1531 · used in 17 verses

  • Mark 1:21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
  • Mark 7:18 And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
  • Luke 19:30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.