Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Parallel translations
- WEB Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.
- BSB Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- NKJV “Washyourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,
- NASB ¶“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil,
- NLT Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God commands them to wash, become clean, and cease doing evil. He calls for genuine repentance, not mere ritual.
Overview
The 'washing' is moral and spiritual, a turning away from wickedness God can see. This is the negative side of repentance, abandoning evil, paired with the positive call that follows. Ultimately such cleansing is granted by God Himself through the Spirit and the work of Christ (Ezekiel 36:25-26).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- 1 Pet 3:11Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
- Isa 55:6–7Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
- 1 Pet 2:1Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
- 2 Cor 7:1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Jas 4:8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
- Ezek 18:30–31Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
- Titus 2:11–14For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
- Rev 7:14And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- Matt 3:8Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
- Zech 1:3–4Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Jer 4:14O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
- Isa 52:11Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.
- Amos 5:15Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
- Eph 4:22–29That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
- Acts 22:16And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
- Ps 26:6I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:
- Rom 12:9Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
- Jer 25:5They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:
- Ps 37:27Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
- Job 11:13–14If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;
- Ps 34:14Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 1:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.