Bible Strands
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?
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet Jeremiah addresses the city of Jerusalem amid the threat of imminent military invasion. He issues a direct command to purge internal corruption before the promised judgment arrives.
The words — כַּבְּסִ֨י (ka.be.Si) translates literally to wash, and לִבֵּ/ךְ֙ (li.be/Kh) means your heart. The text pairs this action with the purpose clause לְמַ֖עַן (le.Ma.'an), indicating the washing is required so that תִּוָּשֵׁ֑עִי (ti.va.She.'i) you may be saved.
The thread — The call to internal cleansing appears in Isaiah 55:7, which urges the wicked to forsake his thoughts and return to the LORD. James 4:8 later commands believers to purify their hearts, while Luke 11:39 contrasts external ritual with internal wickedness.
Why it lands — The text demands the removal of wicked thoughts from the heart as a prerequisite for deliverance. It places the responsibility for repentance on the individual rather than on external circumstances.
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
O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
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.
- Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked man forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.
- Luke 11:39 Then the Lord said, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
- Acts 8:22 Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.
- Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- 1 Corinthians 3:20 And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”
- Psalms 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
- Proverbs 1:22 “How long, O simple ones, will you love your simple ways? How long will scoffers delight in their scorn and fools hate knowledge?
- Isaiah 1:16 Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
- Jeremiah 13:27 Your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution on the hills and in the fields—I have seen your detestable acts. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you remain unclean?”