New Living Translation
Isaiah 1:22
22Once like pure silver, you have become like worthless slag. Once so pure, you are now like watered-down wine.
Isaiah 1:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
- New International Version (NIV)Your silver has become dross, your choice wine is diluted with water.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Your silver has become dross, your best wine mixed with water.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water.
Context of Isaiah 1:22
20But if you turn away and refuse to listen, you will be devoured by the sword of your enemies. I, the Lord, have spoken!” 21See how Jerusalem, once so faithful, has become a prostitute. Once the home of justice and righteousness, she is now filled with murderers. Once like pure silver, you have become like worthless slag. Once so pure, you are now like watered-down wine. 23Your leaders are rebels, the companions of thieves. All of them love bribes and demand payoffs, but they refuse to defend the cause of orphans or fight for the rights of widows. 24Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says, “I will take revenge on my enemies and pay back my foes!
Read all of Isaiah 1Isaiah 1:22 word by word
כַּסְפֵּ֖ךְ הָיָ֣ה לְסִיגִ֑ים סָבְאֵ֖ךְ מָה֥וּל בַּמָּֽיִם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 1:22
- Jeremiah 6:28They are the worst kind of rebel, full of slander. They are as hard as bronze and iron, and they lead others into corruption.
- Lamentations 4:1How the gold has lost its luster! Even the finest gold has become dull. The sacred gemstones lie scattered in the streets!
- Ezekiel 22:18“Son of man, the people of Israel are the worthless slag that remains after silver is smelted. They are the dross that is left over—a useless mixture of copper, tin, iron, and lead.
- Hosea 6:4“O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the Lord. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight.
- Hosea 4:18When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking, off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor.
- 2 Corinthians 2:17You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.
Commentaries on Isaiah 1:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Wine mixed with water - An image used for the adulteration of wines, with more propriety than may at first appear, if what Thevenot says of the people of the Levant of late times were true of them formerly. He says, "They never mingle water with their wine to drink; but drink by itself what water they think proper for abating the strength of the wine." "Lorsque les Persans boivent du vin, ils le prennent tout pur, a la facon des Levantins, qui ne le…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22Thy silver - The sentiment in this verse, as it is explained by the following, is, thy princes and people have become corrupt, and polluted. Silver is used here to denote what should have been more valuable - virtuous princes. Dross - This word - סיג sı̂g - means the scoriae, or baser metal, which is separated from the purer in smelting. It is of little or no value; and the expression means, that the rulers had become debased and corrupt, as if pure…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-31Verses 21-31 Neither holy cities nor royal ones are faithful to their trust, if religion does not dwell in them. Dross may shine like silver, and the wine that is mixed with water may still have the colour of wine. Those have a great deal to answer for, who do not help the oppressed, but oppress them. Men may do much by outward restraints; but only God works effectually by the influences of his Spirit, as a Spirit of Judgment. Sin is the worst captivity…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2222. Thy princes and people are degenerate in "solid worth," equivalent to "silver" (Jr 6:28, 30; Eze 22:18, 19), and in their use of the living Word, equivalent to "wine" (So 7:9). mixed--literally, "circumcised." So the Arabic, "to murder" wine, equivalent to dilute it.Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 1:22
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries