Isaiah 1:25

Isa 1:25 And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

Ver. 25. And I will turn my hand upon thee.] So Zec 13:7, I will turn my hand upon the little ones; so soon doth it repent the Lord concerning his servants. Here he mitigateth the former fearful menace, and promiseth a reformation.

And purely purge away thy dross.] Et expurgabo, ut purificativum, scorias tuas. The wicked are the dross of the state, {Psa 119:119} and wickedness is the dross and dregs of the soul. {Pro 17:3; Pro 27:21} God promiseth her to purge out both, to separate the precious from the vile, to reform and refine all - a metaphor from metallaries.

And I will take away all thy tin.] Thine hypocrisy: for tin hath a show of silver, but it is not so - nay, it is a deadly enemy to gold and silver, saith one, {a} making them hard and brittle. It is also a tyrant over them, and will hardly be separated from them. Hereby are figured your most noted, rooted, and inveterate sins.

{a} Diod.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa_1:25-27

And l will turn My hand upon thee

True reformation the work of God

I.

THE REFORMATION OF A PEOPLE IS GODS OWN WORK.

II. HE DOTH IT BY BLESSING THEM WITH GOOD MAGISTRATES AND GOOD MINISTERS OF STATE (Isa_1:26).

III. HE DOTH IT BY RESTORING JUDGMENT AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AMONG THEM (Isa_1:27).

IV. THE REFORMATION OF A PEOPLE WILL BE THEIR REDEMPTION. Sin is the worst captivity, the worst slavery.

V. THE REVIVING OF A PEOPLES VIRTUE IS THE RESTORING OF THEIR HONOUR. Afterward thou shalt be called, the city of righteousness, the faithful city. (Matthew Henry.)

And purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin

Purging away dross

Purely; R.V. thoroughly; lit. as with lye, i.e., potash, which was used as a flux to facilitate the separation of the metals. (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)

Dross and alloy

Notice the imagery. Here is a community, an individual, that knows and belongs to God; redeemed of the Lord; His own. Yet into life, and into work, and into testimony and service, there has come that which He compares to dross and to alloy in metal The two words in the imagery (dross and alloy) are not precisely the same in idea, Dross suggests to us that which is repulsive, as well as worthless--the glaring inconsistency, crude, and ugly. In the alloy or tin, which looks so much like silver, and yet is different, we see rather the ore, specious and subtle ingredients of evil that enter into the Christians work and life--not crying inconsistencies so much as the more interior and hidden evil of silent self-complacency; of a tacit search for our own glory under colour of the Lords; things which the soul has never fairly traced out, but which it may plainly trace if it will firmly use Gods tests. And these are the things of which we read: I will turn my hand upon them and thoroughly purge them. (Bp. H. C. G. Moule, D. D.)

Dross and alloy

I will purge away thy dross. What is the dross? That which is openly flagrant in the life. It is different from the metal, and is comparatively easily separated from it. But God goes further. He says, I will take sway all thy alloy. This is far more wonderful, because the alloy is something which enters into the nature of me metal, as is were, and it requires a chemical process to separate them. God says that He will deal not only with the outcrop of sin in act, but He will deal with the sin of which the act is the outcrop. (G. H. C. Macgregor, M. A.)

Moral dross

What is the dross which God sees in our heart and life? Lack of truthfulness, showing itself in simple lying, in exaggeration, in fraud, in deceit, in slander, in gossiping, in prevarication, in equivocation, in guile, in evil speaking. Lack of justice and due regard to the rights of others, showing itself in a spiteful temper, in unwillingness to give up our own way to others, in incivility, in rudeness, in disregard of the comfort of others, in thoughtlessness, in ingratitude, in unthankfulness. Lack of wisdom, showing itself in the misuse of the opportunities God gives us, in our ignorance, in our thoughtlessness, in our stupidity, in our blindness to the things of God. Lack of love, showing itself in our pride, in envy, in malice, in hate, in unwillingness to forgive, in unwillingness to apologise for evils which we have done. Lack of self-control, showing itself in our avarice, in covetousness, in sloth, in lethargy, in laziness, in sleepiness, in lust, in sensuality, in gluttony, in self-indulgence in all sorts of ways. What shall we say about our sins against God, our want of prayerfulness, our want of knowledge of Gods Word, our want of trust in God, showing itself in our worry; our want of love to God, showing itself in our shameful hankering after the things of this world? The case is indeed desperate, and calls for the Divine interference. I should go mad at the sight of my own heart if I did not believe in the power of God to cleanse that heart. (G. H. C. Macgregor, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa 1:25-26. And I will turn my hand upon thee — I will chastise thee again, and thereby reform thee: or, I will do that for the reviving of religion, which I did at first for the planting of it. And purge away thy dross — I will purge out of thee those wicked men that are incorrigible, and, as for those of you that are curable, I will by my word, and by the furnace of affliction, purge out all that corruption that yet remains in you. And I will restore thy judges, &c. — I will give thee such princes and magistrates as thou hadst in the beginning, either, 1st, Of thy commonwealth, such as Moses and Joshua: or, 2d, Of thy kingdom, such as David. And thy counsellors — Thy princes shall have, and shall hearken to, wise and faithful counsellors. Afterward thou shalt be called — Namely, justly and truly, the city of righteousness, &c. — Thou shalt be such. “The reforming of the magistracy,” says Henry, “is a good step toward the reforming of the city and country too.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Isa 1:25 states clearly in what the revenge consisted with which Jehovah was inwardly burdened (innakmah, a cohortative with the ah, indicating internal oppression): "And I will bring my hand over thee, and will smelt out thy dross as with alkali, and will clear away all thy lead." As long as God leaves a person's actions or sufferings alone, His hand, i.e., His acting, is at rest. Bringing the hand over a person signifies a movement of the hand, which has been hitherto at rest, either for the purpose of inflicting judicial punishment upon the person named (Amo 1:8; Jer 6:9; Eze 38:12; Psa 81:15), or else, though this is seldom the case, for the purpose of saving him (Zac 13:7). The reference here is to the divine treatment of Jerusalem, in which punishment and salvation were combined - punishment as the means, salvation as the end. The interposition of Jehovah was, as it were, a smelting, which would sweep away, not indeed Jerusalem itself, but the ungodly in Jerusalem. They are compared to dross, or (as the verb seems to imply) to ore mixed with dross, and, inasmuch as lead is thrown off in the smelting of silver, to such ingredients of lead as Jehovah would speedily and thoroughly remove, "like alkali," i.e., "as if with alkali" (Cabbor, Comparatio decurtata, for C'babbor: for this mode of dropping Beth after Caph, compare Isa 9:3; Lev 22:13, and many other passages). By bedilim (from bâdal, to separate) we are to understand the several pieces of stannum or lead

(Note: Plumbum nigrum, says Pliny, n. n. xxiv. 16, is sometimes found alone, and sometimes mixed with silver: ejus qui primus fluic in fornacibus liquor, stannum appellatur. The reference here is to the lead separated from the ore in the process of obtaining pure silver. In the form of powder this dross is called bedil, and the pieces bedilim; whereas ophereth is the name of solid lead, obtained by simply melting down from ore which does not contain silver. The fact that bedil is also apparently used as a name for tin, may be explained in the same way as the homonymy of iron and basalt (Com. on Job 28:2), and of the oak and terebinth. The two metals are called by the same name on account of their having a certain outward resemblance, viz., in softness, pliability, colour, and specific gravity.)

in which the silver is contained, and which are separated by smelting, all the baser metals being distinguished from the purer kinds by the fact that they are combustible (i.e., can be oxidized). Both bor, or potash (an alkali obtained from land-plants), and nether, natron (i.e., soda, or natron obtained from the ashes of marine plants, which is also met with in many mineral waters), have been employed from the very earliest times to accelerate the process of smelting, for the purpose of separating a metal from its ore.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

1:25 I will raise my fist against you: God, normally Israel’s protector, would become their attacker. However, he had a purpose beyond punishment. • I will melt you down. . . . I will remove all your impurities: God would use the Exile to remove the wicked from among his people and to refine those who would return.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Lest the faithful among them should be overcome with his threatening, he addeth this consolation.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

turn . . . hand--not in wrath, but in grace (Zac 13:7), "upon thee," as Isa 1:26-27 show; contrasted with the enemies, of whom He will avenge Himself (Isa 1:24).

purely--literally, "as alkali purifies."

thy dross--not thy sins, but the sinful persons (Jer 6:29); "enemies" (Isa 1:24); degenerate princes (see on Isa 1:22), intermingled with the elect "remnant" of grace.

tin--Hebrew, bedil, here the alloy of lead, tin, &c., separated by smelting from the silver. The pious Bishop Bedell took his motto from this.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 25. I will turn my hand upon thee] So the common version; and this seems to be a metaphor taken from the custom of those who, when the metal is melted, strike off the scoriae with their hand previously to its being poured out into the mould. I have seen this done with the naked hand, and no injury whatever sustained.

Purge away thy dross - "In the furnace"] The text has כבר cabbor, which some render "as with soap;" as if it were the same with כברית keborith; so Kimchi; but soap can have nothing to do with the purifying of metals. Others, "according to purity," or "purely," as our version. Le Clerc conjectured that the true reading is ככור kechur, "as in the furnace;" see Eze 22:18; Eze 22:20. Dr. Durell proposes only a transposition of letters בכר to the same sense; and so likewise Archbishop Secker. That this is the true reading is highly probable.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(25) I will turn my hand upon thee.—The phrase, like the English “visit,” presents both a severe and a gracious aspect. Of the former we have instances in Psa_81:14, Amo_1:8; of the latter in Zec_13:7. The context here inclines to the latter meaning. Jehovah punishes that He may save, and smites that He may heal.

Purely purge away thy dross.—Better, will smelt away thy dross with lye, or potash, which was used in the smelting process. The imagery of Isa_1:22 is resumed. The great Refiner can purify the debased metal. In Mal_3:2-3, we have the same image expanded. The process involved, of course, the rejection of the dross—i.e., in the interpretation of the parable, of the lead that would not let itself be turned to silver.

Tin.—Better, perhaps, lead. In either case Isaiah’s knowledge of metallurgy was probably due to intercourse with the Phœnicians, who brought both lead and tin from Tarshish (i.e., Spain).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will turn my hand upon thee,.... The remnant, according to the election of grace, left in Jerusalem, Isa 1:9 meaning not his afflicting hand, no, not even as a fatherly chastisement; though the Lord sometimes, by such means, purges away the iniquity of his people, as follows; see Isa 27:9 much less his hand of wrath and vengeance, the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger; but his hand of efficacious grace in conversion, with which he plucks sinners as brands out of the burning; delivers them from the power of Satan; turns their hearts to himself; opens them, to attend unto and understand divine things; breaks them in pieces with the hammer of his word; works grace in them, and carries on the good work in their souls: all which is owing to his mighty hand of grace upon them, and to the exertions of the exceeding greatness of his power towards them. This was accomplished in part in the conversion of a large number of the Jews on the day of Pentecost, and afterwards; and will be more fully accomplished in the latter day, when that people shall turn to the Lord, in consequence of his hand of powerful grace being turned on them. The phrase is used of the display of divine grace and mercy, in Zac 13:7.

and purely purge away thy dross; which the Targum rightly interprets of "ungodliness" or wickedness; it means the sins of converted ones, which, at conversion, they are purely purged from; not that sin, as to the being of it, is removed from them; that dwells in them, abides with them; and, like dross, is a heavy burden, a dead weight upon them, and will be while they are in this tabernacle, and makes them groan, being burdened; so far from it, that in their view it rather increases; they see the plague of their own hearts; and such innumerable swarms of corruption they never saw before; sin revives, and they die; but in conversion grace superabounds it, deluges over it, keeps down the force and power of it, so that it has not the dominion; the old man is put off concerning the former conversation, which ceases to be a series, a course of sinning: besides, through the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, which cleanseth from all the dross and filth of sin, the guilt is removed from the conscience, and perfect peace and full pardon take place; all iniquity is caused to pass from them, and they are clothed with change of raiment, the righteousness of Christ, by which they are justified from all things, and are pure, spotless, and without fault before the throne:

and take away all thy tin. The Targum also interprets this of iniquity, rendering it, "I will take away all thy sin"; but it is better to understand it of self-righteousness; which, as tin is of more worth than dross, and looks like silver; so this has the appearance of some good in it, and was what the Jews were fond of, trusted in, and depended on, and which they followed after, and endeavoured to establish and hold fast; but this in conversion is all taken away: the Lord, by his Spirit; convinces of the weakness and insufficiency of it, to justify in his sight; shows that it is not a righteousness, and will be of no service in that respect; yea, takes away these filthy rags, and clothes with the righteousness of Christ; causes the soul to drop and renounce its own righteousness, and put on that; and not only to renounce works before conversion, but all after it, as a profession of religion, subjection to Gospel ordinances, and all works, though done in faith, and in a right manner; a glaring instance we have of all this in one of that little remnant, the Apostle Paul, Phi 3:6. Moreover, by "dross" and "tin", or "tins", in the plural number, may be meant persons; wicked and profane men, by the former, who should be put away like dross, Psa 119:119 and self righteous persons, by the latter; who shine like silver, make a show of religion, appear outwardly righteous; but these, as well as the other, should be separated from the people of God, when the precious and the vile should be distinguished.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

And I will turn my hand upon thee - This expression is capable of two significations. The hand may be stretched out for two purposes, either to inflict punishment, or to afford help and protection. The phrase here refers evidently to the latter, to the act of redeeming and restoring his people, Isa 1:26-27. The idea may be thus expressed: ‘I will stretch out my hand to punish my enemies Isa 1:24, and will turn my hand upon thee for protection, and recovery.’

Purge away - This refers to the process of smelting, or purifying metals in the fire. It means, I will remove all the dross which has accumulated Isa 1:22, and will make the silver pure. This was commonly done by fire; and the idea is, that he would render his own people pure by those judgments which would destroy his enemies who were intermingled with them.

Purely - The original word here - כבר kabor - has been commonly understood to mean, according to purity; that is, effectually or entirely pure. Thus it is translated by the Septuagint, and by the Latin Vulgate. But by the Chaldee it is translated, ‘I will purify thee as with the herb borith.’ The word may mean lye, alkali, or potash, Job 9:30; and it may mean also borax - a substance formed of alkali and boracic acid, much used in purifying metals. The essential idea is, I will make you effectually, or entirely pure.

Thy tin - Tin is with us a well-known white metal. But the word used here does not mean tin. It denotes the stannum of the ancients; a metal formed of lead mixed with silver ore. Here it means, I will take away all the impure metal mixed with thee; varying the idea but little from the former part of the verse.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Tin. I will reform abuses in the reign of Ezechias, but much more by establishing the Church of Christ, which shall be the faithful city. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I will turn my hand upon thee, to chastise thee again, which God threatened that he would not do, Isa 1:5, but now promiseth that he will do it, not in fury, or so as utterly to destroy them, but in mercy, and with moderation, so as to purge them, as it here follows.

And purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin; I will purge out of thee and destroy those wicked men that are incorrigible and infectious to others; and for those of you that are curable, I will by my word, and by the furnace of affliction, purge out all that hypocrisy and corruption that yet remains in you, and requires so sharp a cure.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. In this verse punishment and salvation are combined: punishment as the means, salvation as the end.

I will turn my hand upon thee — This with a view to vigorous correction. The words seem addressed to captive Zion.

Isa_1:27. If this chapter were written as introductory to the whole body of prophecies following, as some think, then its scope embraces the average character of Judah from Uzziah’s reign to the captivity and the restoration. Then, too, the changes of aspect — deep shades and partial lights — seen to pass over the chapter are to be accounted for.

And purely purge away thy dross — The recovery was to be by severe measures, namely, as by smelting fires. The figure is, that in the people and princes of Judah there was something corresponding to silver, but mixed with abundant dross.

The latter was to be thoroughly removed.

Thy tin — Alloy; tin, lead, or other base metal. The same figure as before used, precious metals held in combination by other ores.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will turn my hand upon thee; rather, I will bring back my hand upon thee; i.e. I will once more put forth the "strong hand and mighty arm, with which I brought thee out of Egypt", (Psa_136:12) and will work another deliverance the deliverance of Israel out of captivity.

Purely purge away thy dross; literally, will purge away thy dross like borax, which was used as a flux in purifying the metal. The prophet continues the metaphor of ver. 22. And take away all thy tin; rather, thy had the alloy with which the "silver" had become mixed.

The purifying power of punishment.

Great national judgments, such as that which Isaiah was sent to announce, have a purifying effect in three ways.

I THEY ALARM A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PERSONS, AND INDUCE THEM TO QUIT THEIR SINS. The careless and indifferent have their attention excited and their fern"s aroused by the dangers which manifestly threaten all, and the calamities which naturally fall on some. The class of waverers, who would fain be on the side of good, but continually fall away when temptation assails them, find their power of resistance strengthened by the perils of the time, which render sinful enjoyment insecure, and bring home to them the certainty that there is retribution in store for sin. Even among pronounced and habitual sinners there are apt to be some whom the novel circumstances of the time startle and induce to "consider their ways." It is an undeniable fact, that of such penitents a certain proportion repent with extreme earnestness, and become examples to the flock, advancing with the same impulse and fervor in the way of godliness as they formerly advanced in the "way which leadeth to destruction". (Mat_7:13)

II THEY INCREASE THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE BETTER DISPOSED, AND RENDER THEM MORE CIRCUMSPECT AND STRICT IN THEIR CONDUCT. Men are aware, under ordinary circumstances, that they may at any moment be summoned to meet their Judge. But they do not commonly realize the possibility. It is one of the effects of great national judgments war, pestilence, famine that they force on men the consideration of the peril in which they stand, and compel them to contemplate death as near, and their own speedy demise as probable. They lead men"s thoughts to existence beyond the grave, and encourage them to prepare for the great change which death will make in their condition. They break in upon the placid calm of everyday life, which laps so many souls in an elysium of unconsciousness, and remind men of their Lord"s solemn injunction to them: "Watch". (Mar_13:37)

III THEY GIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE EXERCISE OF THE HEROIC VIRTUES, AND HAVE THUS AN ELEVATING AND PURIFYING INFLUENCE ON THE BEST MEN. There is more room for self-devotion in times of national calamity than under any other circumstances. Thousands are thrown upon the charity of their neighbors.

The suffering which exists is at once quasi-universal and extreme. Much danger has to be encountered in its relief. The best men at such times give themselves up wholly to the task of alleviating their neighbors" woes. Singly, or in bands, they go forth, fling themselves into the thick of the struggle, and do their best to relieve the general distress and misery. Whether they succeed or whether they fail in their object of helping others, they do not, cannot fail in one thing the improvement of their own characters. Their "dross" is certain to be "purged away" by their unselfish efforts, and the pure metal of their virtue to shine forth ever more and more, as time goes on, free from all alloy of pride, or vanity, or self-seeking. Affliction has also a purifying effect on the individual. "Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth," etc. Thus only can "patience have her perfect. (Jam_1:4) Thus only can faith be tried (1Pe_1:7) and strengthened. Thus only can "the fellowship of Christ"s sufferings" (Php_3:10) be known and realized. But this branch of the subject lies outside of Isaiah"s teaching in the present chapter.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And purge - I will purge out of thee, those wicked men that are incorrigible, and for those of you that are curable, I will by my word, and by the furnace of affliction, purge out all that corruption that yet remains in you.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The mingled promise and threatening is repeated under one of the figures used in v. 22. The adulterated silver must be purified by the separation of its impure particles. “And I will turn my hand upon thee,” (i.e., take thee in hand), address myself to thy case, “and will purge out thy dross like purity itself,” (i.e., most purely, thoroughly), “and will take away all thine alloy,” tin, lead, or other base metal found in combination with the precious ores. Although to turn the hand has elsewhere an unfavorable sense, (Psa 81:14; Amo 1:8) it does not of itself express it, but simply means to take in hand, address one’s self to any thing, make it the object of attention.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I will return My hand upon you One blow after another, until the transgressors have been completely destroyed.

as with lye This is an expression meaning soap [sbon in O.F., savon (in modern French)]. Its deviation is an expression of cleanliness, similar to (Ps. 24:4): “and pure (בַּר) of heart,” since it cleanses the garment of its stains.

your dross mentioned above, as: “Your silver has become dross”; a mixture of silver with copper is called dross. Here too, a mixture of the wicked with the righteous. I will destroy the transgressors, who are all dross.

all your tin The tin mixed with silver, that is to say, the wicked among you. בְדִיל is called estejjn [etain] in O.F. [tin].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ידי My hand; that is, my smiting (comp. Exod. 9:3).

כבור As if it were with soap; ═ בור בורית ‘ soap ’; or more correctly, purely (comp. Ps. 18:25).

Thy dross. This expression reverts to the former metaphor, thy silver is become dross.

בדיליך Thy tin. R. Moses Hakkohen remarks, that the names of the seven kinds of metal are not found in the Bible in the plural; he forgets בדיליך, which is plural; the singular would be בדילֵך. היחידים, two exceptions: בדיליך ‘thy tin,’ and כספיהם ‘their silver’ (Gen. 42:25). R. Moses Hakkohen does not say the seven kinds of metal, but ועפרת זהב וכסף ונחשת וברזל ובדיל Gold, silver, brass, iron, tin, lead. I. E. makes seven out of these six by applying כסף to silver and mercury (כסף חי)

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.