Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, April 29th, 2025
the Second Week after Easter
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Proverbs 17:3

Gold and silver are tested by fire, and a person's heart is tested by the Lord .

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Afflictions and Adversities;   Furnace;   God Continued...;   Gold;   Heart;   Silver;   The Topic Concordance - Trial;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Afflictions Made Beneficial;   Gold;   Silver;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Furnaces;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Refine;   Testing;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Temptation, Test;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Pardon;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Fining Pot;   Furnace;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Mines;   Refiner;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Crucible;   Fining Pot;   Proverbs, Book of;   Silver;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Fine;   Mining and Metals;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Furnace;   Gold;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Furnace;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Old - golden;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Furnace;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Affliction;   Furnace;   Gold;   Goldsmith;   Pot;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Artisans;   Furnace;   Metals;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold,and the Lord is the tester of hearts.
Hebrew Names Version
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests the hearts.
King James Version
The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts.
English Standard Version
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts.
New American Standard Bible
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests hearts.
New Century Version
A hot furnace tests silver and gold, but the Lord tests hearts.
Amplified Bible
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests hearts.
World English Bible
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, But Yahweh tests the hearts.
Geneva Bible (1587)
As is the fining pot for siluer, and the fornace for golde, so the Lord trieth the heartes.
Legacy Standard Bible
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,But Yahweh tests hearts.
Berean Standard Bible
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
Contemporary English Version
Silver and gold are tested by flames of fire; our thoughts are tested by the Lord .
Complete Jewish Bible
The crucible [tests] silver, and the furnace [tests] gold, but the one who tests hearts is Adonai .
Darby Translation
The fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but Jehovah trieth the hearts.
Easy-to-Read Version
Fire is used to make gold and silver pure, but a person's heart is made pure by the Lord .
George Lamsa Translation
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold; but the LORD tries the heart.
Lexham English Bible
A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace is for the gold, but Yahweh will test hearts.
Literal Translation
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Jehovah tries the hearts.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Like as syluer is tried in the fyre and golde in the fornace, euen so doth the LORDE proue the hertes.
American Standard Version
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; But Jehovah trieth the hearts.
Bible in Basic English
The heating-pot is for silver and the oven-fire for gold, but the Lord is the tester of hearts.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but the LORD trieth the hearts.
King James Version (1611)
The fining pot is for siluer, and the furnace for gold: but the Lord trieth the hearts.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
As siluer is tryed in the fire, and golde in the furnace: so doth the Lorde proue the heartes.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
As silver and gold are tried in a furnace, so are choice hearts with the Lord.
English Revised Version
The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
As siluer is preued bi fier, and gold is preued bi a chymnei, so the Lord preueth hertis.
Update Bible Version
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; But Yahweh tries the hearts.
Webster's Bible Translation
The fining-pot [is] for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
New English Translation
The crucible is for refining silver and the furnace is for gold, likewise the Lord tests hearts.
New King James Version
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests the hearts.
New Living Translation
Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.
New Life Bible
The melting-pot is for silver and the hot fire is for gold, but the Lord tests hearts.
New Revised Standard
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Fining-pot for silver, crucible for gold, but, he that trieth hearts, is Yahweh.
Douay-Rheims Bible
As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace: so the Lord trieth the hearts.
Revised Standard Version
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tries hearts.
Young's Literal Translation
A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, And the trier of hearts [is] Jehovah.
THE MESSAGE
As silver in a crucible and gold in a pan, so our lives are assayed by God .
New American Standard Bible (1995)
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the LORD tests hearts.

Contextual Overview

3 Gold and silver are tested by fire, and a person's heart is tested by the Lord .

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Proverbs 27:21, Psalms 26:2, Psalms 66:10, Isaiah 48:10, Jeremiah 17:10, Zechariah 13:9, Malachi 3:2, Malachi 3:3, 1 Peter 1:7, Revelation 2:23

Reciprocal: Genesis 22:1 - God Exodus 15:25 - proved Deuteronomy 8:2 - prove thee Judges 2:22 - prove Judges 3:1 - prove 1 Chronicles 28:9 - the Lord 2 Chronicles 32:31 - to try him Job 23:10 - he hath Job 28:1 - where they fine it Psalms 7:4 - If I Psalms 139:23 - know Proverbs 25:4 - General Jeremiah 6:29 - the founder Ezekiel 22:18 - in the midst Daniel 11:35 - to try Romans 8:27 - And he 1 Thessalonians 2:4 - but God Hebrews 11:17 - when James 1:12 - when

Cross-References

Genesis 17:17
Abraham bowed down with his face touching the ground, but he began to laugh when he thought, "Can a man have a child when he is a hundred years old? Can Sarah have a child at ninety?"
Genesis 17:18
He asked God, "Why not let Ishmael be my heir?"
Genesis 17:23
On that same day Abraham obeyed God and circumcised his son Ishmael and all the other males in his household, including the slaves born in his home and those he had bought.
Genesis 17:24
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised,
Exodus 3:6
I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." So Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Numbers 14:5
Then Moses and Aaron bowed to the ground in front of all the people.
Numbers 16:22
But Moses and Aaron bowed down with their faces to the ground and said, "O God, you are the source of all life. When one of us sins, do you become angry with the whole community?"
Numbers 16:45
"Move back from these people, and I will destroy them on the spot!" The two of them bowed down with their faces to the ground,
Joshua 5:14
"Neither," the man answered. "I am here as the commander of the Lord 's army." Joshua threw himself on the ground in worship and said, "I am your servant, sir. What do you want me to do?"
Judges 13:20
While the flames were going up from the altar, Manoah and his wife saw the Lord 's angel go up toward heaven in the flames. Manoah realized then that the man had been the Lord 's angel, and he and his wife threw themselves face downward on the ground. They never saw the angel again.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The fining pot [is] for silver, and the furnace for gold,.... Refiners of silver have their fining pots, in which they purify the silver from the dross; and goldsmiths have their crucibles to melt and purify their gold, by which assays of the worth and value of it may be made;

but the Lord trieth the hearts; there is no vessel, as Gersom observes, in which they can be put and tried by creatures; a man does not know, nor can he thoroughly search and try his own heart, and much less the hearts of others; God only knows and tries them, Jeremiah 17:9; The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render it by way of similitude, "as the fining pot is for silver", c. as silver is refined in the pot, and gold in the furnace, so are the hearts of God's people, and their graces tried and purified by him in the furnace of affliction the variety of troubles they are exercised with are made useful for the purging away of the dross of sin and corruption, and for the brightening of their graces, 1 Peter 1:7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Wonderful as is the separation of the pure metal from the dross with which it has mingled, there is something yet more wonderful in the divine discipline which purifies the good that lies hid, like a grain of gold, even in rough and common natures, and frees it from all admixture of evil. Compare Mal 3:2; 1 Peter 1:7.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Proverbs 17:3. The fining pot is for silver — When silver is mixed, or suspected to be mixed, with base metal, it must be subjected to such a test as the cupel to purify it. And gold also must be purified by the action of the fire. So God tries hearts. He sends afflictions which penetrate the soul, and give a man to see his state, so that he may apply to the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, to destroy what cannot stand the fire, to separate and burn up all the dross.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile