DAILY TEXT, Friday, May 22, 2026. Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).

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Friday, May 22, 2026

Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).

In the Bible, we find comparisons that help us understand how Jehovah, through the ransom, completely erases the sins of those who repent. Scarlet or crimson stains are extremely difficult to remove. In this vivid way, Jehovah assures us that he can make every trace of our sins disappear.

Sins are also likened to “debts” (Matt. 6:12; Luke 11:4). So every time we sin against Jehovah, it is as if we keep going into debt over and over again. But when he forgives us, it is as if he cancels all those enormous debts—that is, he annuls them, and we no longer have to pay them. In other words, he does not require us to pay for the sins he has already forgiven. How comforting it is to understand that Jehovah forgives us in this way! w25.02 10 pars. 9, 10

What comparisons does Jehovah use to help us understand the extent to which he forgives us?

Let us now consider other Bible comparisons that help us understand how Jehovah, through the ransom, completely washes away the sins of those who repent. For example, the Bible says that Jehovah washes away sins and cleanses them, thus purifying the sinner (Ps. 51:7; Isa. 4:4; Jer. 33:8). Jehovah himself explains the final result of this process: “Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall become white as snow; though they be red like crimson cloth, they shall become like wool” (Isa. 1:18). Scarlet or crimson stains are extremely difficult to remove. In this vivid way, Jehovah is assuring us that he can make our sins disappear completely.

What does the Bible mean when it talks about erasing our sins? (Acts 3:19).

Jehovah does not merely cancel our debts; he completely erases them (read Acts 3:19). This example might make us imagine someone crossing out a debt written on a piece of paper with a large X. Of course, even though the debt is crossed out, the numbers are still visible. But this comparison is not about crossing out a debt, but about erasing it. To understand this, remember that in Bible times, ink was a simple mixture of carbon, gum, and water. So it was easy to erase with a damp sponge. Therefore, when a debt was erased, it disappeared completely. Not a trace remained, so no one could see what had been written there. It was as if the debt had never existed. How grateful we are that when Jehovah forgives our sins, he completely erases them! (Psalm 51:9)

What do we learn from the comparison of the dark cloud?

At Isaiah 44:22, Jehovah uses another comparison to describe what he does with our sins: “I will sweep away your offenses like a cloud, and your sins like a dark cloud.” When Jehovah forgives us, it is as if he covers our sins with a large cloud, so that no one can see them.

How do you feel knowing that Jehovah forgives your sins?

What do all these examples mean for us? When Jehovah forgives us, we should not feel that our sins have left a stain on our record for life. Since our debts have been paid with the blood of Jesus Christ, we no longer have to pay them. They have been completely erased, as if they had never been there. That is what Jehovah does when we repent of our sins: he truly forgives us.

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