Isaiah 48:10
See, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
BSB
ASV
Behold, I have refined thee, but not as silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
KJV
Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
I have refined you, wishing to cleanse you through trials, but not as silver, which is cleansed, but you were not corrected: the founder has melted in vain (Jer 6:29); I have chosen you, namely, cleansing you through poverty, punishing you by the plundering of …
Their captivity was the punishment of their iniquity; and if, when he had them in Babylon, he had left them to pine away and perish there, and made the desolations of their country perpetual, he would only have dealt with them according to their sins, and it was what such a sinful people might expect from an angry God.
I 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.
1834–1892
THE Lord refines His people, but He exercises great discrimination as to the means by which He does so. A silver furnace is one of the very best for the removal of dross and would seem to be well adapted for refining the most precious things, but it is not choice enough for the Lord's purpose with His people. It is prepared with extreme care and has great separating power, but the purging away of sin needs greater care and more cleansing energy than a silver refinery can supply.
1834–1892
'For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.''Isaiah 48:9-11. THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL in all their generations were full of evil.
Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.
The walk8
Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.
Through
1 Peter 4:12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
leads to
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.
We sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you in your faith,
Through
Job 23:10Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
leads to
so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
