So all the Israelites [113] left David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the people of Judah stayed with their king all the way from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.
But \{even after he did this,\} all of us wandered away like sheep. We all went our own way. \{We did this after\} the Lord \{freed us from our guilt and\} put all our guilt on him.
We are all dirty with sin.\par Even our good works \{are not pure\}.\par They are like blood-stained rags.\par We are all like dead leaves.\par Our sins have carried us away like wind.\par
Then I will sprinkle pure water on you and make you pure. I will wash away all your filth. I will wash away the filth from those nasty idols and make you pure.”
Some people turned away from the Lord. They quit following me. Those people stopped asking the Lord for help. So I will remove those people from that place.”
Dear friends, we have these promises \{from God\}. So we should make ourselves pure—free from anything that makes our body or our soul unclean. We should try to become perfect in the way we live, because we respect God.
Let the person that is doing wrong continue to do wrong. Let the person that is unclean continue to be unclean. Let the person that is doing right continue to do right. Let the person that is holy continue to be holy {\cf2\super [172]} .”