Isaiah 4:4
in Isaiah 4when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit of justice, and by the spirit of burning.
KJV
When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.
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This verse in Isaiah 4
Commentary
13 notes on this verse(Verse 4.) When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the blood of Jerusalem from its midst with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then the remnant of Israel shall be saved when their sins are forgiven in the baptism of the Savior and that blood is cleansed, the blood that the wandering people invoked upon themselves saying: His blood be upon us and upon our children (Matthew 27:25).
This site's exposition
when the Lord has washed away
on Isaiah 4:4-6
The washing of Zion "by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire" is a work only the Lord does. The older writers set it against the washings of the law. Over Zion the exodus canopy returns, the double sign that led Israel out of Egypt, covering her assemblies.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
When one has recognized the differences in sins, one can see how the Lord says in Isaiah, "The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion and will cleanse the blood from their midst by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning." Filth is washed away by a spirit of judgment. Blood is washed away by a spirit of burning. Even if you have not committed a sin that leads to death, you have still sinned and have thereby become filthy. The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and he will cleanse the blood from among them. A spirit of judgment will be the recompense for filth, and a spirit of burning will be a recompense for the blood. Whenever we commit heinous sins, we do not need lye or washing with soap; rather we need the spirit of burning.
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaHOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 14:3-4 · Written before 253.
proposed
Then the gospel says, "When the days of their purification were fulfilled, according to the law of Moses, they brought him into Jerusalem." The passage says, on account of "their" purification. Who are "they"? If Scripture had said, "on account of 'her' purification"—that is, Mary's, who had given birth—then no question would arise. We would say confidently that Mary, who was a human being, needed purification after childbirth. But the passage reads, "the days of their purification." Apparently it does not signify one but two or more. Did Jesus therefore need purification? Was he unclean or polluted with some stain? Perhaps I seem to speak rashly; but the authority of Scripture prompts me to ask. See what is written in the book of Job: "No man is clean of stain, not even if his life had lasted but a single day." The passage does not say, "No man is clean of sin," but "No man is clean of stain." "Stain" and "sins" do not mean the same thing. "Stain" is one thing, "sin" another. Isaiah teaches this clearly when he says, "The Lord will wash away the stains of the sons and daughters of Zion, and he will cleanse the blood from their midst. By the spirit of judgment he will purge the stain, and by the spirit of burning the blood."Every soul that has been clothed with a human body has its own "stain." But Jesus was stained through his own will, because he had taken on a human body for our salvation.
The greatest cleansing is the spiritual washing that washes away the filth of the soul. The inspired word speaks of such a washing: "The Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Israel and shall wash away the blood from their midst." This refers to the blood of immortality as well as the killing of the prophets. He means by this purification, seen from the added phrase, "by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." The washing of the body, however, is physical and is accomplished only by water. In fact, it can even be done in fields far away from the baths.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Third, the manner of sanctification: if the Lord shall wash away, that is, if yet before he shall wash away, the filth, of vices, and the blood, of the prophets poured out, out of the midst thereof, not in a corner, by which the public …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When - This shall be accomplished when God hath throughly cleansed the Jewish nation from their sins. The blood - The blood- guiltiness, and especially that of killing the Lord of life. Burning - This is opposed to the former legal way of purification, which was by water.
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
When (n) the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion,....
Thus, in wrath, mercy is remembered, and gospel grace is a sovereign relief, in reference to the terrors of the law and the desolations made by sin. Humiliation of the Daughters of Zion.
The author of the reformation: The Lord shall do it. Reformation-work is God's work; if any thing be done to purpose in it, it is his doing. By the judgment of his providence the sinners were destroyed and consumed; but it is by the Spirit of his grace that they are reformed and converted.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The spirit of burning - Means the fire of God’s wrath, by which he will prove and purify his people; gathering them into his furnace, in order to separate the dross from the silver, the bad from the good. The severity of God’s judgments, the fiery trial of his servants, Ezekiel (Eze 22:18-22) has set forth at large, after his manner, with great boldness of imagery and force of expression. God threatens to gather them into the midst of Jerusalem, as into the furnace; to blow the fire upon them, and to melt them.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When--that is, After. washed-- (Zec 13:1). filth--moral (Isa 1:21-25). daughters of Zion--same as in Isa 3:16. purged--purified by judgments; destroying the ungodly, correcting and refining the godly. blood-- (Isa 1:15). spirit--Whatever God does in the universe, He does by His Spirit, "without the hand" of man (Job 34:20;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
When the Lord - That is, “after” God has done this, then all that are written among the living shall be called holy. The prophet in this verse states the benefits of “affliction” in purifying the people of God. He had said, in the previous verse, that all who should be left in Zion should be called holy. He here states that “previous” to that, the defilement of the people would be removed by judgment. Shall have washed away - The expression, “to wash,” is often used to denote to “purify” in any way. In allusion to this fact is the beautiful promise in Zec 13:1; see the note at Isa 1:16. The filth - This word here refers to their “moral” defilement - their pride, vanity, haughtiness; and perhaps to the idolatry and general sins of the people. As the prophet, however, in Isa 3:16-23, had particularly specified the sins of the female part of the Jewish people, the expression here probably refers especially to them, and to the judgments which were to come upon them; Isa 3:24. It is not departing from the spirit of this passage to remark, that the church is purified, and true religion is often promoted, by God’s humbling the pride and vanity of females. A love of excessive ornament; a fondness for dress and display; and an exhibition of great gaiety, often stand grievously in the way of pure religion. The daughters of Zion - see Isa 3:16. And shall have purged - This is synonymous with the expression “to wash.” It means to purify, to remove, as one removes blood from the hands by washing. Blood of Jerusalem - Crime, blood-guiltiness - particularly the crime of “oppression, cruelty,” and “robbery,” which the prophet Isa 1:15 had charged on them. By the spirit of judgment - This refers, doubtless, to the “calamities,” or “punishment,” that would come upon the nation; principally, to the Babylonian captivity. […]
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אִ֣ם׀ | ʾim | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| רָחַ֣ץ | rachatz | he has washed away | H7364 → | |
| אֲדֹנָ֗י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צֹאַ֣ת | tzoat | [the] excrement of | H6675 → | 5 times |
| בְּנוֹת־ | benot- | [the] daughters of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| צִיּ֔וֹן | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דְּמֵ֥י | demei | [the] blood<s> of | H1818 → | 360 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| יָדִ֣יחַ | yadiach | he will cleanse | H1740 → | |
| מִקִּרְבָּ֑הּ | mikirbah | from midst its | H7130 → | 227 times |
| בְּר֥וּחַ | beruach | by a spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| מִשְׁפָּ֖ט | mishpat | judgment | H4941 → | 422 times |
| וּבְר֥וּחַ | uveruach | and by a spirit of | H7307 → | 378 times |
| בָּעֵֽר׃ | baer | burning | H1197 → | 94 times |
אִ֣ם׀if
ʾimH518 →1069 times
רָחַ֣ץhe has washed away
rachatzH7364 →
אֲדֹנָ֗י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
צֹאַ֣ת[the] excrement of
tzoatH6675 →5 times
בְּנוֹת־[the] daughters of
benot-H1323 →588 times
צִיּ֔וֹןZion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
דְּמֵ֥י[the] blood<s> of
demeiH1818 →360 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
יָדִ֣יחַhe will cleanse
yadiachH1740 →
מִקִּרְבָּ֑הּfrom midst its
mikirbahH7130 →227 times
בְּר֥וּחַby a spirit of
beruachH7307 →378 times
מִשְׁפָּ֖טjudgment
mishpatH4941 →422 times
וּבְר֥וּחַand by a spirit of
uveruachH7307 →378 times
בָּעֵֽר׃burning
baerH1197 →94 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 13:9This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
it leads to
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Jeremiah 29:11–12
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
- Acts 2:21
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
- Isaiah 65:23–24
They will not labor in vain or bear children doomed to disaster; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD—they and their descendants with them.
- Isaiah 48:10
See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
- Psalms 50:15
Through
Ezekiel 36:25I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols.
it leads to
- Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
- John 3:5
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.
- Jeremiah 33:8
And I will cleanse them from all the iniquity they have committed against Me, and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against Me.
- Hebrews 10:22
Where this verse is studied
About Isaiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceJerusalemZionThe eastern ridge David took from the Jebusites and made his stronghold, the name the Psalms and the prophets give the city the LO…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor Book 3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 2:2; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 14:3-4 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.