Isaiah 1:16

Isaiah 1:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
• New International Version (NIV)Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,

Context of Isaiah 1:16

14I hate [the hypocrisy of] your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. 15So when you spread out your hands [in prayer, pleading for My help], I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you offer many prayers, I will not be listening. Your hands are full of blood! “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Get your evil deeds out of My sight. Stop doing evil, 17Learn to do good. Seek justice, Rebuke the ruthless, Defend the fatherless, Plead for the [rights of the] widow [in court]. 18“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be like wool.

Isaiah 1:16 word by word

רַחֲצוּ֙ הִזַּכּ֔וּ הָסִ֛ירוּ רֹ֥עַ מַעַלְלֵיכֶ֖ם מִנֶּ֣גֶד עֵינָ֑י חִדְל֖וּ הָרֵֽעַ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Washרָחַץrâchats · to wash: washH7364
• you, make you cleanזָכָהzâkâh · to cleanH2135
• put awayסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
• the evilרֹעַrôa‛ · evilH7455
• of your doingsמַעֲלָלma‛ălâl · deedH4611
• from beforeנֶ֫גֶדneged · beforeH5048
• mine eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
• ceaseחָדַלchâdal · to ceaseH2308
• to do evilרָעַעrâ‛a‛ · be evilH7489

Cross-references for Isaiah 1:16

• Job 11:13“If you direct your heart [on the right path] And stretch out your hands to Him,
• Psalms 26:6I will wash my hands in innocence, And I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
• Jeremiah 4:14O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved. How long will your wicked and immoral thoughts Lodge within you?
• Acts 22:16Now, why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name [for salvation].’
• 2 Corinthians 7:1Therefore, since we have these [great and wonderful] promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness [living a consecrated life—a life set apart for God’s purpose] in the fear of God.
• James 4:8Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; and purify your [unfaithful] hearts, you double-minded [people].
• Revelation 7:14I said to him, “My lord, you know [the answer].” And he said to me, “These are the people who come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [because of His atoning sacrifice].
• Isaiah 55:6Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near.
• Ezekiel 18:30“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each one in accordance with his conduct,” says the Lord God. “Repent (change your way of thinking) and turn away from all your transgressions, so that sin may not become a stumbling block to you.
• Zechariah 1:3Therefore say to the Jews, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts (armies), “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and I shall return to you.
• Matthew 3:8So produce fruit that is consistent with repentance [demonstrating new behavior that proves a change of heart, and a conscious decision to turn away from sin];
• Ephesians 4:22that, regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires,
• 1 Peter 2:1So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech;
• Psalms 34:14Turn away from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it.
• Psalms 37:27Depart from evil and do good; And you will dwell [securely in the land] forever.
• Amos 5:15Hate evil and love good, And establish justice in the [court of the city] gate. Perhaps the Lord God of hosts Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph [that is, those who remain after God’s judgment].

Commentaries on Isaiah 1:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16Wash you - Referring to the preceding verse, "your hands are full of blood;" and alluding to the legal washing commanded on several occasions. See Leviticus 14:8, Leviticus 14:9, Leviticus 14:47.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Wash you - This is, of course, to be understood in a moral sense; meaning that they should put away their sins. Sin is represented in the Scriptures as defiling or polluting the soul Ezekiel 20:31; Ezekiel 23:30; Hosea 5:8; Hosea 9:4; and the removal of it is represented by the act of washing; Psalm 51:2: Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin;‘ Jeremiah 4:14: O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-20Verses 16-20 Not only feel sorrow for the sin committed, but break off the practice. We must be doing, not stand idle. We must be doing the good the Lord our God requires. It is plain that the sacrifices of the law could not atone, even for outward national crimes. But, blessed be God, there is a Fountain opened, in which sinners of every age and rank may be cleansed. Though our sins have been as scarlet and crimson, a deep dye, a double dye, first in the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Wash and cleanse yourselves: The people were made unclean by their sin and impure sacrifices. To be clean in God's eyes, they needed to change their behavior, remove their sins, and abandon their evil ways (see also Isaiah 1:18).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. God saith to the sinner, "Wash you," &c., that he, finding his inability to "make" himself "clean," may cry to God, Wash me, cleanse me (Psa 51:2, 7, 10). before mine eyes--not mere outward reformation before man's eyes, who cannot, as God, see into the heart (Jr 32:19).Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 1:16

• Ablution
• Church
• Cleanliness
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Ordinance
• Regeneration
• Reward
• Washing

In the dictionaries

• Convert
• Crib
• Eat
• Fade
• Harlot
• Isaiah, The Book of
• Judgment
• Oblation
• Owner
• Purely

Commentaries on Isaiah 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings