As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
Parallel translations
- WEB The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.
- BSB A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.
- NKJV The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, And a man is valued by what others say of him.
- NASB The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each is tested by the praise accorded him.
- NLT Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.
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 fire refines precious metals, praise tests and reveals a person's character. It warns that how we handle praise exposes what we truly are.
Overview
Comparing the crucible and furnace to the test of praise, the proverb teaches that commendation reveals whether a person is humble or proud. Praise can refine the godly or expose the vain. The believer is called to receive any honor with humility, ultimately seeking the praise that comes from God rather than men (John 12:43).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Prov 17:3The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
- Zech 13:9And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
- Ps 66:10For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
- 1 Pet 1:7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
- Mal 3:3And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
- Ps 12:6The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
- 1 Sam 18:30Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.
- 1 Pet 4:12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
- 1 Sam 18:7–8And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
- 1 Sam 18:15–16Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.
- 2 Sam 14:25But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
- 2 Sam 15:6–12And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
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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 27:21 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.
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