As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.
Parallel translations
- WEB As they gather silver, brass, iron, lead, and tin into the middle of the furnace, to blow the fire on it, to melt it; so will I gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will lay you there, and melt you.
- KJV As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
- BSB Just 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.
- NASB As they gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the smelting furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath, and I will place you there and melt you.
- NLT Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.
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
As metals are gathered and melted in a furnace, so God will gather and melt Israel in His anger. The siege is His fiery furnace of wrath.
Overview
The smelting imagery is made explicit: God blows the fire of His wrath to melt the people in Jerusalem. The intense heat depicts the suffering of the siege as a divine process. While the immediate aim here is judgment, the furnace metaphor elsewhere also speaks of refining a remnant (Mal. 3:2-3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Isa 54:16“Behold, I have created the blacksmith who fans the coals into flame, and forges a weapon for his work; and I have created the destroyer to destroy.
- Jer 4:20Destruction on destruction is cried; for the whole land is laid waste: suddenly are my tents destroyed, and my curtains in a moment.
- Jer 4:11–12At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from the bare heights in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow, nor to cleanse;
- Ezek 21:31–32I will pour out my indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver you into the hand of brutish men, skillful to destroy.
- Ezek 24:13In your filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed you and you weren’t cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest.
- Ezek 22:21Yes, I will gather you, and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you will be melted in the middle of it.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 22:20 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.