Bible Strands
Isaiah 1:22
Your silver has become dross; your fine wine is diluted with water.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet speaks to Judah and Jerusalem at a moment of divine indictment, contrasting their former justice with their current moral collapse.
The words — כַּסְפֵּךְ (kas.pekh) means "your silver," and לְסִגִּים (lesiggim) translates literally to "into dross." סָבְאֵךְ (save'ek) means "your drink," paired with מָהוּל (mahul) for "mixed" and בַּמַּיִם (bamma'im) for "with water."
The thread — The theme of degraded value appears in Lamentations 4:1, where gold turns dull, and Ezekiel 22:18, where Israel is called dross in a furnace. Jeremiah 6:28 similarly addresses corruption by comparing the people to bronze and iron.
Why it lands — The text states that spiritual decay mirrors material degradation, demanding repentance before ritual acceptance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 6:28 All are hardened rebels, walking around as slanderers. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt.
- Lamentations 4:1 How the gold has become tarnished, the pure gold has become dull! The gems of the temple lie scattered on every street corner.
- Ezekiel 22:18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me. All of them are copper, tin, iron, and lead inside the furnace; they are but the dross of silver.
- Hosea 4:18 When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.
- Hosea 6:4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
- 2 Corinthians 2:17 For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.