Yes. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In 1 John 1:9, the Greek word is aphiēmi (G863): to let go, to send away. The same word is in the Lord’s Prayer: “forgive us our debts” (Matthew 6:12).
Get DeepWordWhat the original says
Behind the word “forgive” in this verse is the Greek word aphiēmi (said ah-fee-AY-mee).
It means to let go, to send away. The same word is in the Lord’s Prayer: “forgive us our debts” (Matthew 6:12).
This form is a verb, an action word. With the word before it, it means ‘that he may forgive’.
In the Berean Standard Bible, this same Greek word is ‘forgive’ 47 times, and even more often ‘leave’ (52). The fishermen “left their nets” with this word (Matthew 4:20):
Word by word
| ἵνα | ἀφῇ | ἡμῖν | τὰς | ἁμαρτίας |
| that | he may forgive | us | the | sins |
Original form
What this tells us
John writes like a pastor, to people he calls “My little children” (1 John 2:1). He begins with God’s character: “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). Then he names a way people fool themselves: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves” (1 John 1:8). This verse is the honest way out. The word for “forgive” is aphiēmi: to let go, to send away. The same word is used when fishermen left their nets. Forgiveness here is God letting go of what we owe, and John puts it on firm ground: God is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Faithful, because he keeps his word. Just, as John goes on to explain, because of what Jesus has done. In the next chapter John says it plainly: “He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Just before this verse he wrote, “the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Think of a stain you have scrubbed at for years, and someone else lifts it out completely. To confess is simply to say what is true about what you did. The promise on the other side is not a lecture but a clean start, from a God who is faithful.
What the original says
Behind the word “forgives” in this verse is the Hebrew word salach (said sah-LAKH).
It simply means to forgive, to pardon.
Here it has ‘the’ in front of it (הַ) and describes someone: ‘the one who forgives’. The Berean puts it as “He who forgives”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is ‘forgive’ 40 times, and also ‘pardon’ and ‘absolve’ (3 times each):
Word by word
| הַסֹּלֵחַ | לְכָל | עֲוֺנֵכִי |
| the one · forgiving | to · all | iniquities · your |
Original form
What this tells us
David is speaking to himself here: “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds” (Psalm 103:2). Then he starts a list of those kind deeds, so that he will not forget them, and he puts forgiveness first. The word for “forgives” is salach: to forgive, to pardon. In the Old Testament it is always used of God forgiving, never of one person forgiving another. And David says “all”: “He who forgives all your iniquities”, set right beside “heals all your diseases”. The rest of the psalm says how far that forgiveness goes: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). It also says what God does not do: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins” (Psalm 103:10). Some readers ask whether “heals all your diseases” promises that every illness will be cured in this life; Christians answer that in different ways, but all of them read the forgiveness here as a gift as real as healing. If you are not sure whether there is a sin God will not forgive, notice the word David chose when he spoke to his own soul: all. It is a word you can say to yours.
What the original says
Behind the words “are forgiven” in this verse is the Greek word aphiēmi (said ah-fee-AY-mee), the same word you met in 1 John 1:9.
It is the same word: to let go, to send away.
This form, apheōntai, means ‘have been forgiven’. Its form describes something already done whose result still stands.
You saw how the Berean Standard Bible translates it in 1 John 1:9:
Word by word
| Ἀφέωνταί | σου | αἱ | ἁμαρτίαι |
| have been forgiven | your | the | sins |
Original form
What this tells us
Jesus is at dinner in the home of a Pharisee (Luke 7:36). “When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume” (Luke 7:37). She weeps at his feet, wipes them with her hair and anoints them, while the host says to himself, “for she is a sinner!” (Luke 7:39). The word for “forgiven” is aphiēmi again: let go, sent away. Jesus speaks to the woman directly, in front of everyone in the room: “Your sins are forgiven.” The form says it is already done and the result stands. She does not leave the house still waiting to find out. Jesus explains her love with a short story about two debtors, and then says, “because her many sins have been forgiven, she has loved much” (Luke 7:47). Christians read that sentence in slightly different ways, some hearing her love as the sign of a forgiveness she had already received, others as part of her coming to him, but all hear that much was forgiven. And Jesus sends her off with, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50). Whatever name other people give you, Jesus is the one who has the last word about you. He says it to people with many sins: forgiven, go in peace.
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Download on the App StoreWhat the original says
Behind the words “are forgiven” in this verse is the Hebrew word nasa (said nah-SAH).
It means to lift, to carry, to take up. Here, what is lifted is a wrong someone has done.
This form, nesuy, describes something that has been lifted, taken up. The Berean puts it as “are forgiven”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, this word is mostly about lifting and carrying: ‘carry’ 119 times, ‘lift’ 95, ‘bear’ 72. When “Lot looked out” over the plain, this is the word: in Hebrew he lifted his eyes (Genesis 13:10). And 18 times it is ‘forgive’:
Word by word
| אַשְׁרֵי | נְשׂוּי | פֶּשַׁע | כְּסוּי | חֲטָאָה |
| blessed | forgiven | transgression | covered | sin |
Original form
What this tells us
This psalm comes from someone who knows what hiding feels like: “When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long” (Psalm 32:3). “For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me” (Psalm 32:4). Then everything changes, the moment he stops hiding. The word behind “forgiven” is nasa: to lift, to carry, to take up. Forgiveness here is a weight lifted off you and carried away. The verse pairs it with a second picture, sins “covered”, and calls the person “Blessed”: well off, happy, because the burden is gone. The turning point comes a few lines later: “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and “You forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:5). Paul quotes this psalm in Romans when he explains forgiveness as a gift: “Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (Romans 4:7). Picture setting down a heavy pack at the end of a long climb, and feeling your shoulders straighten. If silence has worn you down, this psalm shows the way out. The weight can be lifted, and the first step is to tell God the truth.
What the original says
Behind the word “forgiving” in this verse is the Hebrew word sallach (said sahl-LAKH).
It comes from salach, the word you met in Psalm 103:3. It describes someone who forgives, who is ready to forgive. (‘Placable’, in Strong’s, is an old word for someone easy to make peace with.)
Here it is joined to ‘and’ (וְ): “and forgiving”. Like “kind” just before it, it describes what the Lord is.
In the Berean Standard Bible, this word appears only here, as “forgiving”:
Word by word
| כִּי | אַתָּה | אֲדֹנָי | טוֹב | וְסַלָּח | וְרַב | חֶסֶד |
| for | you | Lord · my | good | and · ready to forgive | and · great of | mercy |
Original form
What this tells us
This is a prayer from someone in need: “Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy” (Psalm 86:1). The psalmist asks, “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and attend to my plea for mercy” (Psalm 86:6). His confidence rests on what he knows God is like. The word for “forgiving” is sallach, built from salach, to forgive. It describes someone ready to forgive, whose whole character leans that way, and it appears only here in the Old Testament. The psalmist sets it between “kind” and “rich in loving devotion”, and adds, “to all who call on You.” Later in the same psalm he uses a description of God that runs all through the Old Testament: “But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness” (Psalm 86:15). Another psalm puts the same thing in one line: “But with You there is forgiveness” (Psalm 130:4). Forgiveness is not something God has to be talked into. It is part of who he is. You do not have to persuade God to become forgiving. This verse says he already is, to all who call on him, and that includes you.
What the original says
Behind the word “forgave” in this verse is the Hebrew word kaphar (said kah-FAR).
It is the word behind the Old Testament’s ‘atonement’. Strong’s gives its basic sense as ‘to cover’. (Bitumen is pitch: in Genesis 6:14 Noah is told to “coat it with pitch”, and the Berean’s “coat” is this same word.)
This form, yekhapper, is an action word, said of God. The Berean puts it as “He forgave”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is ‘atonement’ 81 times, and ‘atone’ 9. Only here is it ‘forgave’:
Word by word
| וְהוּא | רַחוּם | יְכַפֵּר | עָוֺן | וְלֹא | יַשְׁחִית |
| and · he | full of compassion | forgave | iniquity | and · not | destroyed |
Original form
What this tells us
Psalm 78 tells Israel’s history so that the next generation will not repeat it. It recalls the wilderness years, when “Their hearts were disloyal to Him, and they were unfaithful to His covenant” (Psalm 78:37). And it sighs, “How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert!” (Psalm 78:40). The word behind “He forgave” is kaphar, the word behind the Old Testament’s ‘atonement’; Strong’s gives its basic sense as ‘to cover’. Here God covers his people’s wrong, and keeps doing it: “He was compassionate; He forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them. He often restrained His anger”. On the Day of Atonement the same word named the whole point of the day: “because on this day atonement will be made for you to cleanse you” (Leviticus 16:30). And the psalm gives God’s reason for his patience: “He remembered that they were but flesh, a passing breeze that does not return” (Psalm 78:39). He knows how weak people are, and he does not forget it. Israel failed God many times in this psalm, and he kept forgiving. If you are afraid you have used up God’s patience, this verse tells a different story.
What the original says
Behind the word “forgave” in this verse is the Greek word charizomai (said khah-RID-zo-my).
It means to give freely, as a favour, and so to forgive. It comes from charis, the Greek word for grace.
This form, echarisato, means ‘he forgave’. Its form tells of something God did, not something still to come. Paul writes “in Christ”, and the Berean keeps his words.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is ‘forgive’ 12 times, and also ‘give’, as in “freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32):
Word by word
| καθὼς | καὶ | ὁ | θεὸς | ἐν | Χριστῷ | ἐχαρίσατο | ὑμῖν |
| even as | also | the | God | in | Christ | forgave | you |
Original form
What this tells us
Paul is writing about everyday life in the church. Just before this verse he says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31). Then he says what goes in their place: “Be kind and tenderhearted to one another”. The word for “forgiving” and “forgave” is charizomai, built on charis, grace: to give freely, and so to forgive. Paul uses one word for both directions. What God did, “in Christ God forgave you”, is the pattern for what we do, “forgiving each other”. God’s forgiving comes first. Jesus taught the same link in the prayer he gave his disciples: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). When Peter asked how many times he had to forgive, Jesus answered, “not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!” (Matthew 18:22). Forgiving, in the Bible, is not pretending the wrong never happened; Paul has just named bitterness and anger honestly. It is letting go of the debt. If you are struggling to forgive someone, notice where Paul starts. You forgive out of what you have already received: God’s forgiveness of you, given freely in Christ.
Behind "forgive" are 10 different words
Your English Bible says "forgive" 125 times. Behind it stand several Hebrew and Greek words:
Reflect
Read it as yours
Psalm 32:5 is David telling what he did, and what God did. Read it slowly:
Name it
What are you still carrying? 1 John 1:9 begins “If we confess our sins”. Tell God plainly.
Carry with you
What are you still carrying that Psalm 32 says can be lifted?
A note
If you keep fearing you’ve done something God won’t forgive, you’re not alone. Talking with a pastor or counselor can help.