The Meaning of Isaiah 1:25 Explained

Isaiah 1:25

KJV: And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

YLT: And I turn back My hand upon thee, And I refine as purity thy dross, And I turn aside all thy tin,

Darby: And I will turn my hand upon thee, and will thoroughly purge away thy dross, and take away all thine alloy;

ASV: and I will turn my hand upon thee, and thoroughly purge away thy dross, and will take away all thy tin;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I will turn  my hand  upon thee, and purely  purge away  thy dross,  and take away  all thy tin: 

What does Isaiah 1:25 Mean?

Context Summary

Isaiah 1:21-31 - A Nation Purged Of Dross By Disaster
The great lover of our souls does not abandon His people even when they spurn the first overtures of His appealing pity. Though they refuse to yield to them, He refuses to cast them off; and sets Himself by the cleansing judgments of His providence to wean them from the evil ways they have chosen and to win them back to Himself. If only Jerusalem had now listened to Isaiah's earnest pleadings, she would never have been carried away into the seventy years' captivity in a land of strangers. This is the cleansing fire referred to in Isaiah 1:25. Their ground of confidence, whether in themselves or their allies, would be destroyed, Isaiah 1:29-30; the ringleaders of the evil which had brought them to desolation would be exterminated; and there would emerge a new and purified people as in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. Let us thank God for the cleansing fires in national and personal experience. Let us not fear them when plied by the hand of love. See Malachi 3:3 and John 15:2-3. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 1

1  Isaiah complains of Judah for her rebellion
5  He laments her judgments
10  He upbraids their whole service
16  He exhorts to repentance, with promises and threats
21  Bewailing their wickedness, he denounces God's judgments
25  He promises grace
28  And threatens destruction to the wicked

What do the individual words in Isaiah 1:25 mean?

and I will turn My hand against you and purge away thoroughly your dross and take away all your alloy
וְאָשִׁ֤יבָה יָדִי֙ עָלַ֔יִךְ וְאֶצְרֹ֥ף כַּבֹּ֖ר סִיגָ֑יִךְ וְאָסִ֖ירָה כָּל־ בְּדִילָֽיִךְ

וְאָשִׁ֤יבָה  and  I  will  turn 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative, first person common singular
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
יָדִי֙  My  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
עָלַ֔יִךְ  against  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person feminine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
וְאֶצְרֹ֥ף  and  purge  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common singular
Root: צָרַף  
Sense: to smelt, refine, test.
כַּבֹּ֖ר  thoroughly 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: בֹּר  
Sense: cleanness, pureness.
סִיגָ֑יִךְ  your  dross 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: סוּג 
Sense: a moving back or away.
וְאָסִ֖ירָה  and  take  away 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative, first person common singular
Root: סוּר 
Sense: to turn aside, depart.
בְּדִילָֽיִךְ  your  alloy 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: בְּדִיל 
Sense: alloy, tin, dross.