Ezekiel 22 20

Ezekiel 22:20 kjv

As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.

Ezekiel 22:20 nkjv

As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.

Ezekiel 22:20 niv

As silver, copper, iron, lead and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted with a fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside the city and melt you.

Ezekiel 22:20 esv

As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you.

Ezekiel 22:20 nlt

Just as silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin are melted down in a furnace, I will melt you down in the heat of my fury.

Ezekiel 22 verses

Ezekiel 22 20 Meaning

Ezekiel 22:20 graphically depicts God's impending judgment upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It likens the gathering of various base metals (silver, brass, iron, lead, tin) into a furnace to be melted by intense fire, to God's act of gathering His people in His severe anger and fury within the city, where they will be subjected to the fiery heat of His wrath and consumed. This vivid metaphor emphasizes the inevitability, severity, and purifying (or consuming) nature of divine judgment upon a city filled with spiritual corruption and sin.

Ezekiel 22 20 Context

Ezekiel 22 opens with Jerusalem being branded a "bloody city," condemned for widespread bloodshed and idol worship (v. 2-4). The entire chapter details a catalogue of sins rampant within Jerusalem's leadership and populace, including corruption among princes (v. 6), contempt for parents (v. 7), oppression of the stranger, fatherless, and widow (v. 7), profanation of sacred things, violation of the Sabbath (v. 8), slandering (v. 9), incest and sexual immorality (v. 9-11), bribery (v. 12), and general greed and lawlessness (v. 13). God declares He will deal with the city for these abominations (v. 14).

Verse 15 speaks of God scattering the inhabitants among the nations, signifying exile and dispersal as a judgment. Verses 17-19 introduce the powerful metaphor of a furnace, stating that the house of Israel has become "dross"—worthless impurities separated during metal refining—before God. They are likened to a mixture of various common metals, impure and corrupted. Ezekiel 22:20 then continues this analogy directly, stating that God Himself will gather them into Jerusalem as into a smelting furnace, not just to purify but to intensify the judgment upon them by blowing the fires of His wrath. Historically, this prophecy was delivered to the Jewish exiles in Babylon before the final destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, serving as a dire warning of the imminent, divinely orchestrated calamity. It polemicizes against any false sense of security among the Judeans who believed that God would protect Jerusalem and the Temple no matter their sin, highlighting that their idolatry and wickedness made them fit for destruction or severe purification, not protection.

Ezekiel 22 20 Word analysis

• As they gather: The KJV uses "As they gather," indicating a common human practice of metallurgy. The Hebrew uses the impersonal "as the gathering of," emphasizing the universal nature of this refining process known to people.
• silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin: These are different metals, suggesting the mixed, corrupted nature of Jerusalem's inhabitants. Silver, often pure and valuable, here appears mixed with base metals. This symbolizes the admixture of nominal worshipers or a righteous remnant (if implying purification for silver) with the thoroughly corrupt elements of society. The very presence of such varied metals destined for the furnace speaks to the pervasive impurity requiring severe judgment.
• into the midst of the furnace: The Hebrew word is כּוּר (kur), referring to a smelting furnace or crucible. This signifies a place of intense, destructive, and transformative heat. Jerusalem itself is cast as this "furnace," where God's judgment will be concentrated.
• to blow the fire upon it, to melt it: This emphasizes the deliberate, intensified action. "To blow the fire" (Hebrew: נֶפַח-בּוֹ אֵשׁ) implies a forced increase of heat, signifying the extreme intensity of God's wrath. "To melt it" (Hebrew: לְהַתִּיךְ) signifies either the complete dissolution and destruction of impurities (dross) or the extreme purification of the metal. Given verse 22's emphasis on Jerusalem as the place where "all are brass and tin, iron and lead," and God saying, "I will melt you," the implication here leans towards consumption for the wicked rather than mere purification for all.
• so will I gather you: This transitions from the metallurgical analogy to the divine action. "I" is Yahweh, the sovereign Lord, actively executing judgment. The gathering signifies concentration—the people will not escape this divine furnace. This is not a scattering but a confinement for intense processing.
• in mine anger and in my fury: Hebrew: בְּאַפִּי֙ וּבַחֲמָתִֽי (bə’appī ûḇaḥămāṯî). These two terms are common biblical expressions for divine wrath, often paired to convey ultimate, fierce indignation and burning rage. אַף (’aph, lit. "nose" or "nostril") describes heavy breathing, hence anger. חֵמָה (chemah, lit. "heat" or "burning") denotes passion, rage, and fury. The repetition emphasizes the intensity and unreserved nature of God's holy displeasure against sin.
• and will leave you there: This underscores the inescapability and prolonged nature of the judgment. Once gathered into this fiery furnace of wrath, there is no exit until God's purpose is fulfilled.
• and melt you: The ultimate outcome. Hebrew: וְהִתַּכְתִּ֤י (wəhittaktī). This re-emphasizes the final effect of the furnace: thorough melting. For the unrepentant and "dross," it means destruction. For any "silver" within, it implies purification. In the context of the whole chapter, it suggests that only true metal, the purified remnant, could survive such intense heat; the dross would be consumed.

Ezekiel 22 20 Bonus section

• The metaphor of the "furnace of affliction" (Deut 4:20, Isa 48:10) is a recurring theme in the Old Testament, representing God's disciplinary and purifying hand upon His people. Here, it shifts from merely refining to also encompassing the utter consumption of the unrighteous elements, showing the ultimate gravity of their sin.
• While fire can purify, it can also consume completely. In Ezekiel 22, the emphasis leans towards the latter for the mass of the people who have become "dross," indicating their impending destruction and exile, rather than universal purification. The refining is harsh and fatal for those who are ultimately "slag."
• The selection of metals is significant: common, relatively impure metals (brass, iron, lead, tin) mixed with silver. This illustrates the total degeneration and spiritual mixture within Israel—God's chosen people, once precious, now intertwined with elements of impurity and apostasy. The pure "silver" (representing a faithful remnant or pure worship) is overshadowed and defiled by the abundance of base metals.

Ezekiel 22 20 Commentary

Ezekiel 22:20 is a powerful prophetic declaration of God's certain and severe judgment against Jerusalem. Utilizing the common imagery of a smelting furnace, the verse portrays God as the divine Metallurgist. He is not merely observing but actively gathering the unholy mix of Jerusalem's inhabitants—likened to impure metals—into the "furnace" of the city itself. His intent is to subject them to the extreme, purifying, or consuming, heat of His "anger and fury." This act serves as an indictment of the people's deep-seated corruption and idolatry described throughout the chapter, demonstrating that their spiritual state warrants nothing less than a divine intervention of such devastating proportions. The "melting" process signifies both the purification of any remaining genuine faith (the silver, a faithful remnant) and, more prominently in this context, the complete dissolution and destruction of the wicked "dross" which had utterly defiled the city and His covenant. It emphasizes the absolute inability to escape divine wrath when sin has reached such a zenith, culminating in the city's impending downfall and exile.