Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people?
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore Yahweh of Armies says, “Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how should I deal with the daughter of my people?
- KJV Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
- NKJV Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will refine them and try them; For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?
- NASB Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says: “Behold, I will refine them and put them to the test; For what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?
- NLT Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “See, I will melt them down in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with my people?
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
Yahweh of Armies will refine His people by judgment, asking how else He can deal with their sin. Affliction comes as a purifying necessity.
Overview
God speaks of melting and testing His people like metal in a furnace, a refining image for purifying judgment. His rhetorical question shows that, given their entrenched sin, He has no gentler recourse. The verse reveals that God's judgments can serve a purifying purpose, a theme deepened in the gospel where God refines and sanctifies His people for Himself.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Isa 1:25I will turn My hand against you; I will thoroughly purge your dross; I will remove all your impurities.
- Jer 6:27“I have appointed you to examine My people like ore, so you may know and try their ways.
- Isa 48:10See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
- Mal 3:3And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.
- Zech 13:9This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
- Hos 11:8–9How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!
- 1 Pet 4:12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- 1 Pet 1:7so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- Jer 6:29–30The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.
- Ezek 22:18–22“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.
- Jer 31:20Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Chr 36:15Again and again the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to His people through His messengers because He had compassion on them and on His dwelling place.
- Hos 6:4–5What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
- Ezek 26:11–12The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets. He will slaughter your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground.
- Zech 1:14–16Then the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion,
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 9:7 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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