Remove the dross from the silver, and a vessel for a silversmith will come forth.
Parallel translations
- WEB Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the refiner;
- KJV Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.
- NKJV Take away the dross from silver, And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.
- NASB Take away the impurities from the silver, And there comes out a vessel for the smith;
- NLT Remove the impurities from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.
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
Removing dross from silver yields pure metal fit for the craftsman. Purity comes by removing what corrupts.
Overview
This image of refining silver sets up the application in verse 5 about purging wickedness from a kingdom. Just as impurities must be separated before silver is useful, so corruption must be removed for righteousness to flourish. Scripture often uses refining to picture God's purifying work in his people (Mal 3:3; 1 Pet 1:7).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- 2 Tim 2:20–21A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.
- Prov 17:3A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
- Ezek 22:18“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.
- Mal 3:2–3But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
- Isa 1:25–27I will turn My hand against you; I will thoroughly purge your dross; I will remove all your impurities.
- 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 25:4 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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