Proverbs 27:21
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.
Berean Standard Bible
In The King James Version
As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.
In Context
20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.
22Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.
Cross References
1 Samuel 18:7And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
1 Samuel 18:30Every time the Philistine commanders came out for battle, David was more successful than all of Saul’s officers, so that his name was highly esteemed.
2 Samuel 15:6Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
Psalms 12:6The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.
Proverbs 17:3A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
Malachi 3:3And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.
Matthew Henry on Proverbs 27:21
20 Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. Two things are here said to be insatiable, and they are two things near of kin—death and sin. 1. Death is insatiable. The first death, the second death, both are so. The grave is not clogged with the multitude of dead bodies that are daily thrown into it, but is still an open sepulchre, and cries, Give, give. Hell also has enlarged itself, and still has room for the damned spirits that are committed to that prison. Tophet is deep and… Read the whole commentary →