Proverbs 17:3
As silver is tried by fire, and gold in the furnace: so the Lord trieth the hearts.
Douay-Rheims 1899
In The King James Version
The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.
In Context
2A wise servant shall rule over foolish sons, and shall divide the inheritance among the brethren.
4The evil man obeyeth an unjust tongue: and the deceitful hearkeneth to lying lips.
Cross References
Deuteronomy 8:2And thou shalt remember all the way through which the Lord thy God hath brought thee for forty years through the desert, to afflict thee and to prove thee, and that the things that were in thy heart might be made known, whether thou wouldst keep his commandments or no.
1 Chronicles 29:17I know my God that thou provest hearts, and lovest simplicity, wherefore I also in the simplicity of my heart, have joyfully offered all these things: and I have seen with great joy thy people, which are here present, offer thee their offerings.
Job 28:1Silver hath beginnings of its veins, and gold hath a place wherein it is melted.
Psalms 66:10For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us by fire, as silver is tried.
Proverbs 21:2Every way of a man seemeth right to himself: but the Lord weigheth the hearts.
Isaiah 48:10Behold I have refined thee, but not as silver, I have chosen thee in the furnace of poverty.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 17:3
2 A wise servant shall have rule over a son that causeth shame, and shall have part of the inheritance among the brethren. Note, 1. True merit does not go by dignity. All agree that the son in the family is more worthy than the servant ( John viii. 35 ), and yet sometimes it so happens that the servant is wise, and a blessing and credit to the family, when the son is a fool, and a burden and shame to the family. Eliezer of Damascus, though Abram could not bear to think that he should be his heir, was a stay to the… Read the whole commentary →