Clement of Alexandria : The greatest cleansing is the spiritual washing that washes away the filth of the soul. The inspired word speaks of such a washing: "The Lord shall wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Israel and shall wash away the blood from their midst." This refers to the blood of immortality as well as the killing of the prophets. He means by this purification, seen from the added phrase, "by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning." The washing of the body, however, is physical and is accomplished only by water. In fact, it can even be done in fields far away from the baths. — The Instructor Book 3 Jerome : (Verse 4.) When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the blood of Jerusalem from its midst with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then the remnant of Israel shall be saved when their sins are forgiven in the baptism of the Savior and that blood is cleansed, the blood that the wandering people invoked upon themselves saying: His blood be upon us and upon our children (Matthew 27:25). Hence, we read above: When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood (Isaiah 1:15-16). And afterwards, provoking them to repentance, he brings forth this: Be washed, be made clean. And take note that the filth of the daughters of Zion will be washed away by the spirit of judgment, but the blood of Jerusalem will be washed away by the spirit of burning. For what is light is washed away, but what is heavier is burned up. Concerning this spirit of judgment and spirit of burning, John the Baptist spoke in the Gospel: I baptize you with water, but he who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). From this we learn that while man gives only water, God gives the Holy Spirit, by which both filth is washed away and the sins of blood are cleansed. — Commentary on Isaiah Origen of Alexandria : Then there follows: "when the days of their purification were fulfilled, according to the law of Moses, they brought him to Jerusalem". On account of the purification, he says, "of them". Of whom, "of them"? If it had been written: on account of her purification, that is, of Mary, who had given birth, no question would arise, and we would boldly say that Mary, who was human, had need of purification after childbirth. But now, in that it says: "the days of their purification", it seems to signify not one, but another or several. Did Jesus, then, have need of purification and was he unclean, or defiled with some filth? Perhaps I seem to speak rashly, but I am moved by the authority of the Scriptures. See what is written in Job: "no one is clean from filth, not even if his life should be of a single day". He did not say: "no one is clean from sin," but: "no one is clean from filth". For filth and sins do not signify the same thing; and that you may know that filth means one thing and sin another, Isaiah teaches most plainly, saying: "the Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and will cleanse the blood from their midst, by the spirit of judgment the filth and by the spirit of burning the blood". Every soul that has been clothed with a human body has its own "filth". And that you may know that Jesus too was made filthy by his own will, because for our salvation he had assumed a human body, listen to the prophet Zechariah saying: "Jesus was clothed with filthy garments". — HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF Luke 14 Origen of Alexandria : When one has recognized the differences in sins, one can see how the Lord says in Isaiah, "The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion and will cleanse the blood from their midst by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning." Filth is washed away by a spirit of judgment. Blood is washed away by a spirit of burning. Even if you have not committed a sin that leads to death, you have still sinned and have thereby become filthy. The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and he will cleanse the blood from among them. A spirit of judgment will be the recompense for filth, and a spirit of burning will be a recompense for the blood. Whenever we commit heinous sins, we do not need lye or washing with soap; rather we need the spirit of burning. — HOMILIES ON Jeremiah 2:2