1 John 1:7

1:7 But if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses ¹  us from all sin. ² 

Psalms 19:12

19:12 Who can know all his errors? ³ 

Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of. ⁴ 

Psalms 51:2

51:2 Wash away my wrongdoing! ⁵ 

Cleanse me of my sin! ⁶ 

Jeremiah 33:8

33:8 I will purify them from all the sin that they committed against me. I will forgive all their sins which they committed in rebelling against me. ⁷ 

Ezekiel 36:25

36:25 I will sprinkle you with pure water ⁸  and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols.

Ezekiel 37:23

37:23 They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness ⁹  by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.

Ezekiel 37:1

The Valley of Dry Bones

37:1 The hand ¹⁰  of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed ¹¹  me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones.

Colossians 1:11

1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of ¹²  all patience and steadfastness, joyfully

Ephesians 5:26

5:26 to sanctify her by cleansing her ¹³  with the washing of the water by the word,

Titus 2:14

2:14 He ¹⁴  gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, ¹⁵  who are eager to do good. ¹⁶ 

¹ tn Or “purifies.”

² tn BDAG 50 s.v. ἁμαρτία 1 defines this term as “a departure fr. either human or divine standards of uprightness” (see 1 John 5:17 where ἁμαρτία [Jamartia] and ἀδικία [adikia] are related). This word occurs 17 times in 1 John, of which 11 are singular and 6 are plural.

³ tn Heb “Errors who can discern?” This rhetorical question makes the point that perfect moral discernment is impossible to achieve. Consequently it is inevitable that even those with good intentions will sin on occasion.

⁴ tn Heb “declare me innocent from hidden [things],” i.e., sins. In this context (see the preceding line) “hidden” sins are not sins committed in secret, but sins which are not recognized as such by the psalmist.

⁵ tn Heb “Thoroughly wash me from my wrongdoing.”

⁶ sn In vv. 1b-2 the psalmist uses three different words to emphasize the multifaceted character and degree of his sin. Whatever one wants to call it (“rebellious acts,” “wrongdoing,” “sin”), he has done it and stands morally polluted in God’s sight. The same three words appear in Exod 34:7, which emphasizes that God is willing to forgive sin in all of its many dimensions. In v. 2 the psalmist compares forgiveness and restoration to physical cleansing. Perhaps he likens spiritual cleansing to the purification rites of priestly law.

⁷ sn Compare Jer 31:34; Ezek 36:25, 33.

⁸ sn The Lord here uses a metaphor from the realm of ritual purification. For the use of water in ritual cleansing, see Exod 30:19-20; Lev 14:51; Num 19:18; Heb 10:22.

⁹ tc Heb “their dwellings.” The text as it stands does not make sense. Based on the LXX, a slight emendation of two vowels, including a mater, yields the reading “from their turning,” a reference here to their turning from God and deviating from his commandments. See BDB 1000 s.v. מְשׁוּבָה, and D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:407.

¹⁰ tn Or “power.”

¹¹ tn Heb “caused me to rest.”

¹² tn The expression “for the display of” is an attempt to convey in English the force of the Greek preposition εἰς (eis) in this context.

¹³ tn The direct object “her” is implied, but not found in the Greek text. It has been supplied in the English translation to clarify the sense of the passage.

¹⁴ tn Grk “who” (as a continuation of the previous clause).

¹⁵ tn Or “a people who are his very own.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “for good works.”