Ayub 23:10

23:10 But he knows the pathway that I take; ¹ 

if he tested me, I would come forth like gold. ² 

Mazmur 66:10

66:10 For ³  you, O God, tested us;

you purified us like refined silver.

Amsal 17:3

17:3 The crucible ⁴  is for refining ⁵  silver and the furnace ⁶  is for gold,

likewise ⁷  the Lord tests ⁸  hearts.

Yesaya 48:10

48:10 Look, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have purified you ⁹  in the furnace of misery.

[23:10]  ¹ tn The expression דֶּרֶךְ עִמָּדִי (derekh ’immadi) means “the way with me,” i.e., “the way that I take.” The Syriac has “my way and my standing.” Several commentators prefer “the way of my standing,” meaning where to look for me. J. Reider offers “the way of my life” (“Some notes to the text of the scriptures,” HUCA 3 [1926]: 115). Whatever the precise wording, Job knows that God can always find him.

[23:10]  ² tn There is a perfect verb followed by an imperfect in this clause with the protasis and apodosis relationship (see GKC 493 §159.b).

[66:10]  ³ tn Or “indeed.”

[17:3]  ⁴ sn The noun מַצְרֵף (matsref) means “a place or instrument for refining” (cf. ASV, NASB “the refining pot”). The related verb, which means “to melt, refine, smelt,” is used in scripture literally for refining and figuratively for the Lord’s purifying and cleansing and testing people.

[17:3]  ⁵ tn The term “refining” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the parallelism; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[17:3]  ⁶ sn The term כּוּר (cur) describes a “furnace” or “smelting pot.” It can be used figuratively for the beneficial side of affliction (Isa 48:10).

[17:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and.” Most English versions treat this as an adversative (“but”).

[17:3]  ⁸ sn The participle בֹּחֵן (bokhen, “tests”) in this emblematic parallelism takes on the connotations of the crucible and the furnace. When the Lord “tests” human hearts, the test, whatever form it takes, is designed to improve the value of the one being tested. Evil and folly will be removed when such testing takes place.

[48:10]  ⁹ tc The Hebrew text has בְּחַרְתִּיךָ (bÿkhartikha, “I have chosen you”), but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly בחנתיכה (“I have tested you”). The metallurgical background of the imagery suggests that purification through testing is the idea.