Isaiah 1 · Verse 16

Isaiah 1:16

Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Isaiah 1:16, King James Version

Isaiah 1:16 in other translations

BSBWash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
WEBWash yourselves. Make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil.
ASVWash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
YLTWash ye, make ye pure, Turn aside the evil of your doings, from before Mine eyes, Cease to do evil, learn to do good.
DARBYWash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; — cease to do evil,
BBEBe washed, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; let there be an end of sinning;
WebsterWash ye, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil;

What does Isaiah 1:16 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
16. 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).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 16 Wash you - Referring to the preceding verse, "your hands are full of blood;" and alluding to the legal washing commanded on several occasions. See Lev 14:8, Lev 14:9, Lev 14:47.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Isaiah 1:16-20
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 wool of original corruption, and afterwards in the many threads of actual transgression; though we have often dipped into sin, by many backslidings; yet pardoning mercy will take out the stain, Ps. 51:7. They should have all the happiness and comfort they could desire. Life and death, good and evil, are set before us. O Lord, incline all of us to live to thy glory.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Isaiah 1:16 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

רַחֲצוּ֙ra.cha.TzuwashH7364
הִזַּכּ֔וּhi.za.Kucleanse yourselvesH2135
הָסִ֛ירוּha.Si.ruremoveH5493
רֹ֥עַRo.a'[the] wickedness ofH7455
מַעַלְלֵיכֶ֖םma.'a.lei.Khemdeeds yourH4611
מִנֶּ֣גֶדmi.Ne.gedfrom beforeH5048
עֵינָ֑י'ei.Naieyes myH5869
חִדְל֖וּchid.LuceaseH2308
הָרֵֽעַ\׃ha.Re.a'to do evilH7489

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Isaiah 1:16

  • Isaiah 55:6-7

    Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

  • 1 Peter 3:11

    Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.

  • 1 Peter 2:1

    Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

  • 2 Corinthians 7:1

    Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

  • James 4:8

    Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

  • 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. Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

  • Titus 2:11-14

    For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

  • Revelation 7:14

    And 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.

  • Matthew 3:8

    Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

  • Jeremiah 4:14

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

  • 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. Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord.

  • Isaiah 52:11

    Depart 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.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Wash.
Job 11:13,14; Ps 26:6; Jer 4:14; Ac 22:16; 2Co 7:1; Jas 4:8
Re 7:14
put away.
55:6,7; Eze 18:30,31; Zec 1:3,4; Mt 3:8; Eph 4:22-24; Tit 2:11-14
1Pe 2:1
cease.
Ps 34:14; 37:27; Am 5:15; Ro 12:9; Eph 4:25-29; 1Pe 3:11

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Isaiah 1:15

    And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.

  • Isaiah 1:16

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

  • Isaiah 1:17

    Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.

Read all of Isaiah 1

Isaiah 1:16 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Lavad, limpiaos; quitad la iniquidad de vuestras obras de ante mis ojos; dejad de hacer lo malo:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Lavez-vous, purifiez-vous; ôtez de devant mes yeux le mal de vos actions; cessez de mal faire,
German
Elberfelder 1871
Waschet euch, reiniget euch; schaffet die Schlechtigkeit eurer Handlungen mir aus den Augen, lasset ab vom Übeltun!
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Lavamini, mundi estote; auferte malum cogitationum vestrarum ab oculis meis: quiescite agere perverse,