Isaiah 1:16
New International Version
Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong.

New Living Translation
Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways.

English Standard Version
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,

Berean Standard Bible
Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!

King James Bible
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

New King James Version
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,

New American Standard Bible
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil,

NASB 1995
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,

NASB 1977
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil,

Legacy Standard Bible
“Wash yourselves, purify yourselves; Remove the evil of your deeds from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,

Amplified Bible
“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Get your evil deeds out of My sight. Stop doing evil,

Christian Standard Bible
“Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from my sight. Stop doing evil.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Wash yourselves. Cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil.

American Standard Version
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

Contemporary English Version
Wash yourselves clean! I hate your filthy deeds. Stop doing wrong

English Revised Version
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Wash yourselves! Become clean! Get your evil deeds out of my sight. Stop doing evil.

Good News Translation
Wash yourselves clean. Stop all this evil that I see you doing. Yes, stop doing evil

International Standard Version
"Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean; remove your evil behavior from my presence; stop practicing what is evil.

Majority Standard Bible
Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!

NET Bible
Wash! Cleanse yourselves! Remove your sinful deeds from my sight. Stop sinning!

New Heart English Bible
Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.

Webster's Bible Translation
Wash ye, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;

World English Bible
Wash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Wash yourselves, make yourselves pure, "" Turn aside the evil of your doings, from before My eyes, "" Cease to do evil, learn to do good.

Young's Literal Translation
Wash ye, make ye pure, Turn aside the evil of your doings, from before Mine eyes, Cease to do evil, learn to do good.

Smith's Literal Translation
Wash ye, cleanse yourselves: turn away evil from your doings from before mine eyes; leave off the evil;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices from my eyes: cease to do perversely,

Catholic Public Domain Version
Wash, become clean, take away the evil of your intentions from my eyes. Cease to act perversely.

New American Bible
Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil;

New Revised Standard Version
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Wash and be purified and remove the evil of your works from before my eyes; cease from evil
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Wash you, make you clean, Put away the evil of your doings From before Mine eyes, Cease to do evil;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Wash you, be clean; remove your iniquities from your souls before mine eyes; cease from your iniquities;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Meaningless Offerings
15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. 16Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! 17Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.”…

Cross References
James 4:8
Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Psalm 51:7
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Ezekiel 18:31
Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?

Jeremiah 4:14
Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?

2 Corinthians 7:1
Therefore, beloved, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that defiles body and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Matthew 23:26
Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalm 34:14
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

1 Peter 1:22
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.

Zechariah 1:4
Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets proclaimed that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Turn now from your evil ways and deeds.’ But they did not listen or pay attention to Me, declares the LORD.

Acts 22:16
And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’

Ephesians 4:22-24
to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; / to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; / and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Jeremiah 7:3
Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Correct your ways and deeds, and I will let you live in this place.

1 Timothy 2:8
Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.

Hosea 14:1
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.


Treasury of Scripture

Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;

wash

Job 11:13,14
If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; …

Psalm 26:6
I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:

Jeremiah 4:14
O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?

put away

Isaiah 55:6,7
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: …

Ezekiel 18:30,31
Therefore 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…

Zechariah 1:3,4
Therefore 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…

cease

Psalm 34:14
Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalm 37:27
Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

Amos 5:15
Hate 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.

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Cease Clean Deeds Doings End Evil Eyes Good Learn Pure Remove Sight Sinning Stop Turn Wash Washed Wrong Yourselves
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Cease Clean Deeds Doings End Evil Eyes Good Learn Pure Remove Sight Sinning Stop Turn Wash Washed Wrong Yourselves
Isaiah 1
1. Isaiah complains of Judah for her rebellion
5. He laments her judgments
10. He upbraids their whole service
16. He exhorts to repentance, with promises and threats
21. Bewailing their wickedness, he denounces God's judgments
25. He promises grace
28. And threatens destruction to the wicked














Wash and cleanse yourselves
The phrase "Wash and cleanse yourselves" calls for a personal and communal purification. In the Hebrew context, the word "wash" (רָחַץ, rachats) often refers to a ceremonial cleansing, which was a common practice in ancient Israel to signify purity and readiness to approach God. This act of washing is not merely physical but symbolizes a deeper spiritual cleansing. The call to "cleanse yourselves" emphasizes personal responsibility in repentance and moral purification. It is a call to remove the stain of sin, aligning with the broader biblical theme of holiness and sanctification.

Remove your evil deeds from My sight
The phrase "Remove your evil deeds from My sight" underscores the necessity of genuine repentance. The Hebrew word for "remove" (סוּר, sur) implies a turning away or a departure from sin. This is not just about stopping sinful actions but involves a transformation of the heart and mind. The phrase "from My sight" indicates that God is omniscient and sees all actions. It is a reminder that sin cannot be hidden from God, and true repentance involves a sincere effort to live righteously before Him.

Stop doing evil
"Stop doing evil" is a direct and urgent command. The Hebrew word for "stop" (חָדַל, chadal) means to cease or desist. This imperative highlights the need for immediate action in abandoning sinful behaviors. The term "evil" (רָע, ra) encompasses actions that are morally wrong and contrary to God's will. This call to cease evil is a foundational step in the process of repentance and aligns with the biblical call to pursue righteousness and justice.

(16) Wash you, make you clean . . .--The words were probably as an echo of Psalm 51:7. Both psalmist and prophet had entered into the inner meaning of the outward ablutions of ritual.

Cease to do evil; (17) learn to do well.--Such words the prophet might have heard in his youth from Amos (Amos 5:14-15). What had then been spoken to the princes of the northern kingdom was now repeated to those of Judah.

Verses 16-20. - THE REQUIREMENT OF GOD - AMENDMENT OF LIFE. God, having put aside the worthless plea of outward religiousness made by his people, goes on to declare, by the mouth of his prophet, what he requires. First, in general terms (ver. 16), and then with distinct specification (ver. 17), he calls on them to amend their ways, both negatively ("cease to do evil") and positively ("learn to do well"). If they will really amend, then he assures them of forgiveness and favor; if they refuse and continue their rebellion, the sword will devour them. Verse 16. - Wash you, make you clean. The analogy of sin to defilement, and of washing to cleansing from sin, has been felt among men universally wherever there has been any sense of sin. Outward purification by water has been constantly made use of as typical of the recovery of inward purity. Hence the numerous washings of the Levitical Law (Exodus 29:4; Leviticus 1:9, 13; Numbers 19:7, 8, 19; Deuteronomy 21:6; Deuteronomy 23:11; etc.); hence the ablutions of the priests in Egypt (Herod., 2:37); hence the appropriateness of the rite of baptism; hence the symbolical washing of hands to free from complicity in blood-guiltiness (Matthew 27:24). "Wash you, make you clean, "could not be misunderstood by the Israelites; they would know that it was a requirement to "wash their hands in innocency" (Psalm 26:6; Psalm 73:13), even apart from what follows. Put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes. Not "hide it, "for that was impossible; but remove it altogether - in other words, "cease from it." "Cast off all the works of darkness;" get rid of evil, to begin with. So much is negative.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Wash
רַחֲצוּ֙ (ra·ḥă·ṣū)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 7364: To wash, wash off or away, bathe

and cleanse yourselves.
הִזַּכּ֔וּ (hiz·zak·kū)
Verb - Hitpael - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 2135: To be translucent, to be innocent

Remove
הָסִ֛ירוּ (hā·sî·rū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 5493: To turn aside

your evil
רֹ֥עַ (rō·a‘)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 7455: Badness, evil

deeds
מַעַלְלֵיכֶ֖ם (ma·‘al·lê·ḵem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural
Strong's 4611: A deed, practice

from
מִנֶּ֣גֶד (min·ne·ḡeḏ)
Preposition-m
Strong's 5048: A front, part opposite, a counterpart, mate, over against, before

My sight.
עֵינָ֑י (‘ê·nāy)
Noun - cdc | first person common singular
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

Stop
חִדְל֖וּ (ḥiḏ·lū)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural
Strong's 2308: To be flabby, desist, be lacking, idle

doing evil!
הָרֵֽעַ׃ (hā·rê·a‘)
Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7489: To spoil, to make, good for, nothing, bad


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OT Prophets: Isaiah 1:16 Wash yourselves make yourself clean (Isa Isi Is)
Isaiah 1:15
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