Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

ISAIAH 1:18KJV
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Isaiah 1:18 (KJV)

What does Isaiah 1:18 mean?

Isaiah 1:18 describes God inviting the people of Israel to come and reason with Him, promising that even though their sins are as obvious and deep as scarlet or crimson, He can make them as pure as snow or wool. The verse uses vivid color imagery to show that forgiveness and complete cleansing are possible, no matter how serious the wrongdoing.

In this verse, the LORD is speaking through the prophet Isaiah to the people of Judah, who have turned away from God and become corrupt. The invitation to “reason together” is a call for honest conversation and reconciliation, not just blind obedience. The verse emphasizes that God is willing to forgive and restore, even when the people’s guilt seems impossible to remove.

The Hebrew behind Isaiah 1:18

  • “Reason together” (נִוָּכְחָה, nivvākḥāh): This word carries the sense of arguing a case or settling a dispute, suggesting God is inviting the people to honestly face their situation and see His willingness to forgive.
  • “Scarlet” (שָׁנִי, shani) and “crimson” (תּוֹלָע, tola): Both words refer to deep red dyes that were difficult to remove from cloth, highlighting how serious and lasting the people’s sins appear.
  • “White” (לָבָן, lavan) and “snow” (שֶׁלֶג, sheleg): These words stress complete purity and a fresh start, showing the total transformation God offers.

Why Isaiah 1:18 matters

  • Isaiah 1:18 clears up the idea that God is only interested in punishment; instead, God seeks honest dialogue and offers real forgiveness.
  • The verse emphasizes that no sin is too deep or permanent for God to cleanse, using the strongest color contrasts available in the ancient world.
  • In the wider passage, this verse stands out as a turning point from judgment to hope, showing that God’s ultimate goal is restoration, not destruction.

Where else these words appear

“white” Hebrew H3835 · used in 8 verses

  • Genesis 11:3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter.
  • Exodus 5:14 And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
  • Daniel 11:35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

“red” Hebrew H119 · used in 10 verses

  • Exodus 25:5 And rams' skins dyed red, and badgers' skins, and shittim wood,
  • Exodus 35:23 And every man, with whom was found blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats' hair, and red skins of rams, and badgers' skins, brought them.
  • Proverbs 23:31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.

“wool” Hebrew H6785 · used in 16 verses

  • Leviticus 13:47 The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;
  • Judges 6:37 Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said.
  • Ezekiel 27:18 Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.

“snow” Hebrew H7950 · used in 20 verses

  • Exodus 4:6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
  • Job 9:30 If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;
  • Psalms 148:8 Fire, and hail; snow, and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word: