My point is that the context of chapter 1 is challenging the proposition that one can sin with impunity so long as one offers extra sacrifices—attends religious services a little more often, spends some extra time at a prayer meeting—on the assumption that God, the Righteous Judge, will look the other way. The question is whether the extra heavy-duty religiosity will cause scarlet sin to emit whiteness like snow, and the answer implied by the whole context is “God forbid!”