New Living Translation
Isaiah 48:10
10I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.
Isaiah 48:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
- New International Version (NIV)See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
Context of Isaiah 48:10
8“Yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new, things you never heard of before. For I know so well what traitors you are. You have been rebels from birth. 9Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name, I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out. I have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. 11I will rescue you for my sake— yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols! 12“Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last.
Read all of Isaiah 48Isaiah 48:10 word by word
הִנֵּ֥ה צְרַפְתִּ֖יךָ וְלֹ֣א בְכָ֑סֶף בְּחַרְתִּ֖יךָ בְּכ֥וּר עֹֽנִי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Isaiah 48:10
- Isaiah 1:25I will raise my fist against you. I will melt you down and skim off your slag. I will remove all your impurities.
- Job 23:10“But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
- Psalms 66:10You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver.
- Proverbs 17:3Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.
- Jeremiah 9:7Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “See, I will melt them down in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with my people?
- Ezekiel 20:38I will purge you of all those who rebel and revolt against me. I will bring them out of the countries where they are in exile, but they will never enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
- 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.
- Zechariah 13:8Two-thirds of the people in the land will be cut off and die,” says the Lord. “But one-third will be left in the land.
- Malachi 3:2“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.
- Hebrews 12:10For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness.
- 1 Peter 1:7These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
- 1 Peter 4:12Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
- Revelation 3:19I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.
- Deuteronomy 4:20Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.
Commentaries on Isaiah 48:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10I have chosen thee "I have tried thee" - For בחרתיך becharticha, "I have chosen thee," a MS. has בחנתיך bechanticha, "I have tried thee." And so perhaps read the Syriac and Chaldee interpreters; they retain the same word בחרתך bechartach ; but in those languages it signifies, I have tried thee. ככסף kecheseph, quasi argentum, "as silver." Vulgate. I cannot think בכסף becheseph, With silver, is the true reading. ככסף kecheseph, Like silver, as the Vulgate…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10Behold, I have refined thee - This refers to the Jews in their afflictions and captivity in Babylon. It states one design which he had in view in these afflictions - to purify them. The word used here, and rendered refined‘ (צרף tsâraph ), means properly to melt; to smelt metals; to subject them to the action of fire, in order to remove the scoria or dross from them (see the notes at Isaiah 1:25). Then it means to purify in any manner. Here it means that…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-15Verses 9-15 We have nothing ourselves to plead with God, why he should have mercy upon us. It is for his praise, to the honour of his mercy, to spare. His bringing men into trouble was to do them good. It was to refine them, but not as silver; not so thoroughly as men refine silver. If God should take that course, they are all dross, and, as such, might justly be put away. He takes them as refined in part only. Many have been brought home to God as chosen…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10The exile in Babylon was a period of intense suffering (compare Deuteronomy 4:20) that God used to purify Israel.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1010. (See on Is 1:25). with silver--rather, "for silver." I sought by affliction to purify thee, but thou wast not as silver obtained by melting, but as dross [Gesenius]. Thy repentance is not complete: thou art not yet as refined silver. Rosenmuller explains, "not as silver," not with the intense heat needed to melt silver (it being harder to melt than gold), that is, not with the most extreme severity. The former view is better (Is 1:25; 42:25; Eze…Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 48:10
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 48
- 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