'Washing' in the Bible

(For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, holding fast to the tradition of the elders.

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.)

He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

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.

to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word,

he saved us not by works of righteousness that we have done but on the basis of his mercy, through the washing of the new birth and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

And this prefigured baptism, which now saves you -- not the washing off of physical dirt but the pledge of a good conscience to God -- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

They are illustrations of this true proverb: "A dog returns to its own vomit," and "A sow, after washing herself, wallows in the mire."