Proverbs 27:21
New International Version
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.

New Living Translation
Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised.

English Standard Version
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise.

Berean Standard Bible
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

King James Bible
As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

New King James Version
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, And a man is valued by what others say of him.

New American Standard Bible
The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each is tested by the praise accorded him.

NASB 1995
The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each is tested by the praise accorded him.

NASB 1977
The crucible is for silver and the furnace for gold, And a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

Legacy Standard Bible
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, And each is tested by the mouth that praises him.

Amplified Bible
The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold [to separate the impurities of the metal], And each is tested by the praise given to him [and his response to it, whether humble or proud].

Christian Standard Bible
As a crucible refines silver, and a smelter refines gold, so a person should refine his praise.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold, and a man for the words of his praise.

American Standard Version
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; And a man is tried by his praise.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
A refining pot proves silver, and a furnace: gold, so is a man proven by the mouth of his praisers. The heart of the evil seeks evil, and the heart of the pure seeks knowledge.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Fire is the trial for silver and gold; and a man is tried by the mouth of them that praise him. The heart of the transgressor seeks after mischiefs; but an upright heart seeks knowledge.

Contemporary English Version
Gold and silver are tested in a red-hot furnace, but we are tested by praise.

Douay-Rheims Bible
As silver is tried in the fining-pot and gold in the furnace: so a man is tried by the mouth of him that praiseth. The heart of the wicked seeketh after evils, but the righteous heart seeketh after knowledge.

English Revised Version
The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, and a man is tried by his praise.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The crucible is for refining silver and the smelter for gold, but a person [is tested] by the praise given to him.

Good News Translation
Fire tests gold and silver; a person's reputation can also be tested.

International Standard Version
As the crucible tests silver, and the furnace assays gold; so praise received tests a man.

JPS Tanakh 1917
The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, And a man is tried by his praise.

Literal Standard Version
A refining pot [is] for silver, and a furnace for gold, | And a man according to his praise.

Majority Standard Bible
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him.

New American Bible
The crucible for silver, the furnace for gold, so you must assay the praise you receive.

NET Bible
As the crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold, so a person is proved by the praise he receives.

New Revised Standard Version
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, so a person is tested by being praised.

New Heart English Bible
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.

Webster's Bible Translation
As the fining-pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

World English Bible
The crucible is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but man is refined by his praise.

Young's Literal Translation
A refining pot is for silver, and a furnace for gold, And a man according to his praise.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Do not Boast about Tomorrow
20Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. 21A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise accorded him. 22Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.…

Cross References
Luke 6:26
Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.

Proverbs 17:3
A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.


Treasury of Scripture

As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise.

the fining

Proverbs 17:3
The fining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but the LORD trieth the hearts.

Psalm 12:6
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Psalm 66:10
For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

so

1 Samuel 18:7,8,15,16,30
And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands…

2 Samuel 14:25
But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

2 Samuel 15:6
And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.

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Accorded Crucible Fining Fining-Pot Furnace Gold Heating-Pot Judged Measured Mouth Oven-Fire Pot Praise Praised Praiseth Receives Refined Refining Silver Tested Tried
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Accorded Crucible Fining Fining-Pot Furnace Gold Heating-Pot Judged Measured Mouth Oven-Fire Pot Praise Praised Praiseth Receives Refined Refining Silver Tested Tried
Proverbs 27
1. observations of self love
5. of true love
11. of care to avoid offenses
23. and of the household care














(21) So is a man to his praise--i.e., as the fining-pot and furnace test the metals put into them, so does that on which a man prides or boasts himself. Observe what this is--e.g., wealth, or show, or popularity, or duty--and you will see what sort of a man he is. Or it may mean, praise--i.e., popularity, is as great a trial to a man as the fining-pot to silver; he must be of good metal if he comes unhurt out of this. Or, again, it may signify, let a man test his praise--i.e., examine by whom and for what he is praised, and be sure it is genuine and well deserved

Verse 21. - Fining pot, etc. (see on Proverbs 17:3; comp. also Proverbs 25:4). So is a man to his praise. The Hebrew is literally, The crucible for silver, and the furnace for gold, and a man according, to his praise; i.e. as the processes of metallurgy test the precious metals, so a man's public reputation shows what he is really worth, as is stated in Proverbs 12:8. As the crucible brings all impurities to the surface, so public opinion drags forth all that is bad in a man, and he who stands this test is generally esteemed. Certainly praise is a stimulus to exertion, an incentive to try to make one's self worthy of the estimation in which one is held, especially if he purifies it from the dross and earthliness mixed with it, and takes to himself only what is genuine and just. But public opinion is very commonly false end is always a very unsafe criterion of moral excellence. Hence other interpretations have been proposed. Ewald renders, "and a man according to his boasting," that is, according to that which he most praises in himself and others. So virtually Hitzig, Bottcher, Zockler, and others. In this view the gnome denotes that a man's real character is best examined by the light cast upon it by his usual line of thought, what he most prides himself upon, what he admires most in other men. Plumptre, after Gesenius and Fleischer, has, "So let a man be to his praise," i.e. to the mouth which praises him; let him test this commendation, to see what it is worth, before he accepts it as his due. The explanation first given seems on the whole most suitable, when we reflect that the highest morality is not always enunciated, and that secondary motives are widely recognized as factors in action and judgment. There are not wanting men in modern days who uphold the maxim, Vox populi, vox Dei. Septuagint, "The action of fire is a test for silver and gold, so a man is tested by the mouth of them that praise him." No surer test of a man's true character can be found than his behaviour under praise; many men arc spoiled by it. If a man comes forth from it without injury, not rendered vain, or blind to his defects, or disdainful of others, his disposition is good, and the commendation lavished upon him may be morally and spiritually beneficial. Vulgate, Sic probatur homo ore laudantis, "So is a man proved by the mouth of him that praises him." The following passage from St. Gregory, commenting on this, is worth quoting, "Praise of one's self tortures the just, but elates the wicked. But while it tortures, it purifies the just; and while it pleases the wicked, it proves them to be reprobate. For these revel in their own praise, because they seek not the glory of their Maker. But they who seek the glory of their Maker are tortured with their own praise, lest that which is spoken of without should not exist within them; lest, if that which is said really exists, it should be made void in the sight of God by these very honours; lest the praise of men should soften the firmness of their heart, and should lay it low in self-satisfaction; and lest that which ought to aid them to increase their exertions, should be even now the recompense of their labour. But when they see that their own praises tend to the glory of God, they even long for and welcome them. For it is written, "That they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" ('Moral.,' 26:62, Oxford transl.). The LXX. adds a verse which is not found in the Hebrew, but occurs in some manuscripts of the Latin Version, "The heart of the transgressor seeketh out evils, but an upright heart seeketh knowledge."

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
A crucible
מַצְרֵ֣ף (maṣ·rêp̄)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4715: A crucible

for silver
לַ֭כֶּסֶף (lak·ke·sep̄)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3701: Silver, money

and a furnace
וְכ֣וּר (wə·ḵūr)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3564: Smelting pot or furnace

for gold,
לַזָּהָ֑ב (laz·zā·hāḇ)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2091: Gold, something gold-colored, as oil, a clear sky

but a man [is tested]
וְ֝אִ֗ישׁ (wə·’îš)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

by the praise
מַהֲלָלֽוֹ׃ (ma·hă·lā·lōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 4110: Praise

accorded him.
לְפִ֣י (lə·p̄î)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6310: The mouth, edge, portion, side, according to


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OT Poetry: Proverbs 27:21 The crucible is for silver and (Prov. Pro Pr)
Proverbs 27:20
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