Remove the impurities from silver, and the sterling will be ready for the silversmith.
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.
- BSB Remove the dross from the silver, and a vessel for a silversmith will come forth.
- 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;
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 2:20–21Now in a large house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of clay. Some are for honor, and some for dishonor.
- Prov 17:3The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Yahweh tests the hearts.
- Ezek 22:18“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.
- Mal 3:2–3“But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap;
- Isa 1:25–27and I will turn my hand on you, thoroughly purge away your dross, and will take away all your tin.
- 1 Pet 1:7that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to 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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