40 Bible Verses about Ritual Washing
Most Relevant Verses
The Lord said to Moses, "Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and make them wash their clothes and be ready for the third day, for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
Then Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes.
"You are to bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water. Then you are to clothe Aaron with the holy garments and anoint him and sanctify him so that he may minister as my priest. You are to bring his sons and clothe them with tunicsread more.
and anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may minister as my priests; their anointing will make them a priesthood that will continue throughout their generations."
Then the Lord spoke to Moses: "Take the Levites from among the Israelites and purify them. And do this to them to purify them: Sprinkle water of purification on them; then have them shave all their body and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
"'Any person who eats an animal that has died of natural causes or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a foreigner, must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he becomes clean.
The priest must then examine it again on the seventh day, and if the infection has faded and has not spread on the skin, then the priest is to pronounce the person clean. It is a scab, so he must wash his clothes and be clean.
"'When a man has a seminal emission, he must bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until evening, and he must wash in water any clothing or leather that has semen on it, and it will be unclean until evening. When a man has sexual intercourse with a woman and there is a seminal emission, they must bathe in water and be unclean until evening.
The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer must wash his clothes and be ceremonially unclean until evening. This will be a permanent ordinance both for the Israelites and the resident foreigner who lives among them.
You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you will be ceremonially clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.'"
Anyone who touches its meat must be holy, and whoever spatters some of its blood on a garment, you must wash whatever he spatters it on in a holy place.
"'By these you defile yourselves; anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, and anyone who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until the evening. "'All animals that divide the hoof but it is not completely split in two and do not chew the cud are unclean to you; anyone who touches them becomes unclean.read more.
All that walk on their paws among all the creatures that walk on all fours are unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, and the one who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.
But the garment or the warp or the woof or any article of leather which you wash and infection disappears from it is to be washed a second time and it will be clean."
"If the infection returns and breaks out in the house after he has pulled out the stones, scraped the house, and it is replastered, the priest is to come and examine it, and if the infection has spread in the house, it is a malignant disease in the house. It is unclean. He must tear down the house, its stones, its wood, and all the plaster of the house, and bring all of it outside the city to an unclean place.read more.
Anyone who enters the house all the days the priest has quarantined it will be unclean until evening. Anyone who lies down in the house must wash his clothes. Anyone who eats in the house must wash his clothes.
"'So this will be a perpetual ordinance for them: The one who sprinkles the water of purification must wash his clothes, and the one who touches the water of purification will be unclean until evening.
So I said to him, "My lord, you know the answer." Then he said to me, "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!
Blessed are those who wash their robes so they can have access to the tree of life and can enter into the city by the gates.
"The one being cleansed must then wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water, and so be clean. Then afterward he may enter the camp, but he must live outside his tent seven days. When the seventh day comes he must shave all his hair -- his head, his beard, his eyebrows, all his hair -- and he must wash his clothes, bathe his body in water, and so be clean.
"'Any bed the man with a discharge lies on will be unclean, and any furniture he sits on will be unclean. Anyone who touches his bed must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. The one who sits on the furniture the man with a discharge sits on must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening.read more.
The one who touches the body of the man with a discharge must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. If the man with a discharge spits on a person who is ceremonially clean, that person must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Any means of riding the man with a discharge rides on will be unclean. Anyone who touches anything that was under him will be unclean until evening, and the one who carries those items must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. Anyone whom the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. A clay vessel which the man with the discharge touches must be broken, and any wooden utensil must be rinsed in water. "'When the man with the discharge becomes clean from his discharge he is to count off for himself seven days for his purification, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in fresh water, and be clean.
and the one who sent the goat away to Azazel must wash his clothes, bathe his body in water, and afterward he may reenter the camp. The bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought to make atonement in the holy place, must be brought outside the camp and their hide, their flesh, and their dung must be burned up, and the one who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may reenter the camp.
Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and afterward he may come into the camp, but the priest will be ceremonially unclean until evening. The one who burns it must wash his clothes in water and bathe himself in water. He will be ceremonially unclean until evening.
When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure. If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission, he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately. When evening arrives he must wash himself with water and then at sunset he may reenter the camp.
So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood in the doorway of Elisha's house. Elisha sent out a messenger who told him, "Go and wash seven times in the Jordan; your skin will be restored and you will be healed." Naaman went away angry. He said, "Look, I thought for sure he would come out, stand there, invoke the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the area, and cure the skin disease.read more.
The rivers of Damascus, the Abana and Pharpar, are better than any of the waters of Israel! Could I not wash in them and be healed?" So he turned around and went away angry. His servants approached and said to him, "O master, if the prophet had told you to do some difficult task, you would have been willing to do it. It seems you should be happy that he simply said, "Wash and you will be healed." So he went down and dipped in the Jordan seven times, as the prophet had instructed. His skin became as smooth as a young child's and he was healed.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the fresh and living way that he inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God,read more.
let us draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, because we have had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.
"'For a ceremonially unclean person you must take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin and pour fresh running water over them in a vessel. Then a ceremonially clean person must take hyssop, dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent, on all its furnishings, and on the people who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, or one killed, or one who died, or a grave. And the clean person must sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he must purify him, and then he must wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and he will be clean in the evening.
Anyone who touches the corpse of any dead person and does not purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. And that person must be cut off from Israel, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him. He will be unclean; his uncleanness remains on him.
"'I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries; then I will bring you to your land. I will sprinkle you with pure water and you will be clean from all your impurities. I will purify you from all your idols.
The Lord spoke to Moses: "You are also to make a large bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing. You are to put it between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it, and Aaron and his sons must wash their hands and their feet from it.read more.
When they enter the tent of meeting, they must wash with water so that they do not die. Also, when they approach the altar to minister by burning incense as an offering made by fire to the Lord, they must wash their hands and their feet so that they do not die. And this will be a perpetual ordinance for them and for their descendants throughout their generations."
Then he put the large basin between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. Moses and Aaron and his sons would wash their hands and their feet from it. Whenever they entered the tent of meeting, and whenever they approached the altar, they would wash, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. Then they must proclaim, "Our hands have not spilled this blood, nor have we witnessed the crime. Do not blame your people Israel whom you redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person." Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed.read more.
In this manner you will purge out the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before the Lord.
He poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to dry them with the towel he had wrapped around himself. Then he came to Simon Peter. Peter said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus replied, "You do not understand what I am doing now, but you will understand after these things."read more.
Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet!" Jesus replied, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!" Jesus replied, "The one who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not every one of you."
Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and make your hearts pure, you double-minded.
But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person must be cut off from among the community, because he has polluted the sanctuary of the Lord; the water of purification was not sprinkled on him, so he is unclean.
"'Any person who eats an animal that has died of natural causes or an animal torn by beasts, whether a native citizen or a foreigner, must wash his clothes, bathe in water, and be unclean until evening; then he becomes clean. But if he does not wash his clothes and does not bathe his body, he will bear his punishment for iniquity.'"
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washing, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
Now a dispute came about between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew concerning ceremonial washing.
Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said, "Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat." He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?read more.
For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say, 'If someone tells his father or mother, "Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God," he does not need to honor his father.' You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition. Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said, This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'" Then he called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person."
Now the Pharisees and some of the experts in the law who came from Jerusalem gathered around him. And they saw that some of Jesus' disciples ate their bread with unclean hands, that is, unwashed. (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, holding fast to the tradition of the elders.read more.
And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches.) The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashed hands?" He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. They worship me in vain, teaching as doctrine the commandments of men.' Having no regard for the command of God, you hold fast to human tradition." He also said to them, "You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up your tradition. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, 'Whatever help you would have received from me is corban' (that is, a gift for God), then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother. Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this." Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand. There is nothing outside of a person that can defile him by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles him." [[EMPTY]] Now when Jesus had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable. He said to them, "Are you so foolish? Don't you understand that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him? For it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and then goes out into the sewer." (This means all foods are clean.) He said, "What comes out of a person defiles him. For from within, out of the human heart, come evil ideas, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, evil, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, pride, and folly. All these evils come from within and defile a person."
As he spoke, a Pharisee invited Jesus to have a meal with him, so he went in and took his place at the table. The Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus did not first wash his hands before the meal. But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.read more.
You fools! Didn't the one who made the outside make the inside as well? But give from your heart to those in need, and then everything will be clean for you.
So with these things prepared like this, the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties. But only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, and not without blood that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the holy place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing.read more.
This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. They served only for matters of food and drink and various washings; they are external regulations imposed until the new order came. But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
