Ezekiel 22:18
in Ezekiel 22“Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Son of man, the house of Israel is become dross unto me: all of them are brass and tin and iron and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are the dross of silver.
KJV
Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver.
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This verse in Ezekiel 22
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThe house of Israel is to me become dross - They are all like base metal - brass, tin, iron, and lead alloyed together with silver. Ye must be put in the furnace, and subjected to the most intense fire, till your impurities are consumed away. No ordinary means will avail any thing; the most violent must be resorted to.
This site's exposition
the word of the Lord came unto me, saying
on Ezekiel 22:17-22
The house of Israel becomes dross in the Lord's furnace, base metal mixed among the silver rather than silver itself, and Jerusalem is named the furnace where the smelting will happen. Keil reads the figure against actual metallurgy, dross is what refining is meant to remove, so the image promises no gentle correction but a melting down of the whole mixed mass. Fairbairn notes the coming siege is pictured in advance under this same figure, the city gathered and blown upon in the fire of my wrath, judgment as a furnace before it becomes a fact of history.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 17 seqq.) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, the house of Israel has become like dross to me. All of them, copper, tin, iron, and lead, are in the midst of the furnace; they have become silver dross. Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have all become like dross, behold, I will gather you in the midst of Jerusalem as a gathering of silver, copper, iron, tin, and lead in the midst of the furnace, to kindle a fire in it for melting.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Dross - Utterly degenerate, and base metal. The furnace - The afflictions I have laid upon them have not bettered them. The dross - While they loved mercy, did justly, walked humbly with their God, they were as silver; now they are but dross.
That state, in David's and Solomon's time, had been a head of gold; when the kingdoms were divided it was as the arms of silver. It has degenerated into baser metal, of no value in comparison with what it formerly was: They are all brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, which some make to signify divers sorts of sinners among them.
Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross,....
All orders and degrees of men among them are here found guilty of the neglect of the duty of their place and of having contributed to the national guilt, which therefore, since none appeared as intercessors, they must all expect to share in the punishment of,
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
dross . . . brass--Israel has become a worthless compound of the dross of silver (implying not merely corruption, but degeneracy from good to bad, Isa 1:22, especially offensive) and of the baser metals. Hence the people must be thrown into the furnace of judgment, that the bad may be consumed, and the good separated (Jer 6:29, 30).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בֶּן־ | ben- | O son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אָדָ֕ם | ʾadam | humankind | H120 → | 551 times |
| הָיוּ־ | hayu- | they have become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לִ֥י | li | to me | ||
| בֵֽית־ | veit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לְסִ֑יג | lesug | <into> dross | H5509 → | 8 times |
| כֻּלָּ֡ם | kulam | all of them | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| נְ֠חֹשֶׁת | nechoshet | [are] copper | H5178 → | 140 times |
| וּבְדִ֨יל | uvedil | and tin | H913 → | 6 times |
| וּבַרְזֶ֤ל | uvarzel | and iron | H1270 → | 76 times |
| וְעוֹפֶ֙רֶת֙ | veoferet | and lead | H5777 → | 9 times |
| בְּת֣וֹךְ | betokh | in [the] midst of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| כּ֔וּר | kur | a furnace | H3564 → | 9 times |
| סִגִ֥ים | sigim | dross<es> | H5509 → | 8 times |
| כֶּ֖סֶף | kesef | silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| הָיֽוּ׃ ס | hayu | they have become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
בֶּן־O son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אָדָ֕םhumankind
ʾadamH120 →551 times
הָיוּ־they have become
hayu-H1961 →3559 times
לִ֥יto me
li
בֵֽית־[the] house of
veit-H1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לְסִ֑יג<into> dross
lesugH5509 →8 times
כֻּלָּ֡םall of them
kulamH3605 →5413 times
נְ֠חֹשֶׁת[are] copper
nechoshetH5178 →140 times
וּבְדִ֨ילand tin
uvedilH913 →6 times
וּבַרְזֶ֤לand iron
uvarzelH1270 →76 times
וְעוֹפֶ֙רֶת֙and lead
veoferetH5777 →9 times
בְּת֣וֹךְin [the] midst of
betokhH8432 →418 times
כּ֔וּרa furnace
kurH3564 →9 times
סִגִ֥יםdross<es>
sigimH5509 →8 times
כֶּ֖סֶףsilver
kesefH3701 →403 times
הָיֽוּ׃ סthey have become
hayuH1961 →3559 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 48:10See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 4:12
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- Proverbs 17:3
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
- Job 23:10
Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
- Hebrews 12:10–11
Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
- Psalms 66:10
For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us like silver.
- 1 Peter 4:12
Through
Proverbs 17:3A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
it leads to
- Isaiah 48:10
See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
- Jeremiah 17:10
I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve.
- Psalms 26:2
Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind.
- Isaiah 48:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Ezekiel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.