Bible Strands
Isaiah 1:16
Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God addresses the people of Judah immediately after declaring He will hide His eyes from their prayers because their hands are covered with blood. He issues a direct command to halt their wicked practices before turning to the duty of seeking justice.
The words — The Hebrew imperative רַחֲצוּ (ra.cha.Tzu) means "wash," paired with הִזַּכּוּ (hi.za.Ku) for "cleanse yourselves," followed by הָסִירוּ (ha.Si.ru) to "remove" רֹעַ (Ro.a') "wickedness" and מַעַלְלֵיכֶם (ma'aleikhem) "your deeds" from before עֵינַי ('eina'i) "My eyes." The sequence concludes with חִדְלֻוּ (chid.lu) meaning "cease" or "stop doing."
The thread — The text commands the removal of wicked deeds and the cessation of evil, a pattern that runs into Isaiah 55:6 and appears in 1 Peter 3:11 and 1 Peter 2:1. These passages explicitly link the physical act of turning from sin with the pursuit of righteousness and the rejection of malice.
Why it lands — The passage requires the immediate stopping of evil practices and the physical removal of those deeds from God's sight. It asks a reader to abandon ritual pretense and actively cease unjust behavior.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Cross-references
- Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
- 1 Peter 3:11 He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
- 1 Peter 2:1 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.
- 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.
- 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.
- Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall.
- Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone.
- Matthew 3:8 Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance.
- Revelation 7:14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
- 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?