Proverbs 17:3

JPS Old Testament

The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but the LORD trieth the hearts.

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.

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

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.

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 The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but the LORD trieth the hearts.

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
Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart: 'Shall a child be born unto him that is a hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?'

Genesis 17:18
And Abraham said unto God: 'Oh that Ishmael might live before Thee!'

Genesis 17:23
And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.

Genesis 17:24
And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

Exodus 3:6
Moreover He said: 'I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

Numbers 14:5
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

Numbers 16:22
And they fell upon their faces, and said: 'O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?'

Numbers 16:45
span data-lang="eng" data-trans="jps" data-ref="num.16.1" class="versetxt"> Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men; and they rose up in face of Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty men; they were princes of the congregation, the elect men of the assembly, men of renown; and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them: 'Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them; wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?' And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face. And he spoke unto Korah and unto all his company, saying: 'In the morning the LORD will show who are His, and who is holy, and will cause him to come near unto Him; even him whom He may choose will He cause to come near unto Him. This do: take you censors, Korah, and all his company; and put fire therein, and put incense upon them before the LORD to-morrow; and it shall be that the man whom the LORD doth choose, he shall be holy; ye take too much upon you, ye sons of Levi.' And Moses said unto Korah: 'Hear now, ye sons of Levi: is it but a small thing unto you, that the God of Israel hath separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the LORD, and to stand before the congregation to minister unto them; and that He hath brought thee near, and all thy brethren the sons of Levi with thee? and will ye seek the priesthood also? Therefore thou and all thy company that are gathered together against the LORD--; and as to Aaron, what is he that ye murmur against him?' And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab; and they said: 'We will not come up; is it a small thing that thou hast brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, but thou must needs make thyself also a prince over us? Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards; wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.' And Moses was very wroth, and said unto the LORD: 'Respect not Thou their offering; I have not taken one ass from them, neither have I hurt one of them.' And Moses said unto Korah: 'Be thou and all thy congregation before the LORD, thou, and they, and Aaron, to-morrow; and take ye every man his fire-pan, and put incense upon them, and bring ye before the LORD every man his fire-pan, two hundred and fifty fire-pans; thou also, and Aaron, each his fire-pan.' And they took every man his fire-pan, and put fire in them, and laid incense thereon, and stood at the door of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. And Korah assembled all the congregation against them unto the door of the tent of meeting; and the glory of the LORD appeared unto all the congregation. And the LORD spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying: 'Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.' And they fell upon their faces, and said: 'O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?' And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: 'Speak unto the congregation, saying: Get you up from about the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.' And Moses rose up and went unto Dathan and Abiram; and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spoke unto the congregation, saying: 'Depart, I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest ye be swept away in all their sins.' So they got them up from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, on every side; and Dathan and Abiram came out, and stood at the door of their tents, with their wives, and their sons, and their little ones. And Moses said: 'Hereby ye shall know that the LORD hath sent me to do all these works, and that I have not done them of mine own mind. If these men die the common death of all men, and be visited after the visitation of all men, then the LORD hath not sent Me. But if the LORD make a new thing, and the ground open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down alive into the pit, then ye shall understand that these men have despised the LORD.' And it came to pass, as he made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground did cleave asunder that was under them. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. So they, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit; and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the assembly. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them; for they said: 'Lest the earth swallow us up.' And fire came forth from the LORD, and devoured the two hundred and fifty men that offered the incense.

Joshua 5:14
And he said: 'Nay, but I am captain of the host of the LORD; I am now come.' And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said unto him: 'What saith my lord unto his servant?'

Judges 13:20
For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar; and Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground.

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.