Passage
Wash ye, make ye pure, Turn aside the evil of your doings, from before Mine eyes, Cease to do evil, learn to do good. Seek judgment, make happy the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, strive <FI>for<Fi> the widow. Come, I pray you, and we reason, saith Jehovah, If your sins are as scarlet, as snow they shall be white, If they are red as crimson, as wool they shall be! If ye are willing, and have hearkened, The good of the land ye consume, And if ye refuse, and have rebelled, <FI>By<Fi> the sword ye are consumed, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
Nearby Context
Isaiah 1:14 Your new moons and your set seasons hath My soul hated, They have been upon me for a burden, I have been weary of bearing.
Isaiah 1:15 And in your spreading forth your hands, I hide mine eyes from you, Also when ye increase prayer, I do not hear, Your hands of blood have been full.
Isaiah 1:16 Wash ye, make ye pure, Turn aside the evil of your doings, from before Mine eyes, Cease to do evil, learn to do good.
Isaiah 1:17 Seek judgment, make happy the oppressed, Judge the fatherless, strive <FI>for<Fi> the widow.
Isaiah 1:18 Come, I pray you, and we reason, saith Jehovah, If your sins are as scarlet, as snow they shall be white, If they are red as crimson, as wool they shall be!
Isaiah 1:19 If ye are willing, and have hearkened, The good of the land ye consume,
Isaiah 1:20 And if ye refuse, and have rebelled, <FI>By<Fi> the sword ye are consumed, For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken.
Isaiah 1:21 How hath a faithful city become a harlot? I have filled it <FI>with<Fi> judgment, Righteousness lodgeth in it--now murderers.
Isaiah 1:22 Thy silver hath become dross, Thy drink polluted with water.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "wash", "make", "pure", "turn", "aside", "evil", "doings", and "before". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wash" and "make", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And in your spreading forth your hands..." into verse 21's "How hath a faithful city become a...", so "wash" and "make" belong inside that flow. In Isaiah context, the local focus is the Holy One of Israel, judgment and restoration, the servant of the LORD, and Zion's hope.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "wash" and "make" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.