“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are brass, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of the furnace. They are the dross of silver.
- KJV Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
- NKJV “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver.
- NASB “Son of man, the house of Israel has become waste metal to Me; all of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the smelting furnace; they are the waste metal of silver.
- NLT “Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over—a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God declares that Israel has become mere dross, base metals in the furnace rather than pure silver. The people who should be precious have become worthless.
Overview
Once meant to be God's treasured silver, Israel is now the slag left over from smelting. The metaphor exposes how far they have fallen from their intended value and purity. It sets up the furnace of judgment as the means by which God will deal with their impurity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Isa 1:22Your silver has become dross; your fine wine is diluted with water.
- Ps 119:119All the wicked on earth You discard like dross; therefore I love Your testimonies.
- Jer 6:28–30All are hardened rebels, walking around as slanderers. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt.
- Isa 48:10See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
- Prov 17:3A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
- Lam 4:1–2How the gold has become tarnished, the pure gold has become dull! The gems of the temple lie scattered on every street corner.
- Isa 31:9Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard,” declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.
- Isa 1:25I will turn My hand against you; I will thoroughly purge your dross; I will remove all your impurities.
- Ezek 22:20Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to melt with a fiery blast, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you.
- Isa 48:4For I knew that you are stubborn; your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.
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The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 22:18 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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