Isaiah 1:22 — Word Study
WLCכַּסְפֵּ֖ךְ הָיָ֣ה לְסִיגִ֑ים סָבְאֵ֖ךְ מָה֥וּל בַּמָּֽיִם׃
BSAYour silverkeçeph [valuable, pure, silver; money, a price] has becomehâyâh■ [turned into, corrupted by] drossçîyg [waste, impurities] your fine wineçôbeʼ [pure, unmixed, liqueur, drink] is dilutedmâhal△ [watered down, weakened] with watermayim [a spring or watercourse]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| כַּסְפֵּ֖ךְ | silver your | Noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| הָיָ֣ה | it has become | Verb, Qal, perfect third person masculine singular |
| לְסִיגִ֑ים | dross | Preposition, noun common masculine plural absolute |
| סָבְאֵ֖ךְ | drink your | Noun common masculine singular construct, suffix |
| מָה֥וּל | [has been] mixed | Verb, Qal, participle (passive) masculine singular |
| בַּמָּֽיִם׃ | with water | Preposition, noun common masculine plural absolute |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Your silver has become dross; your fine wine is diluted with water. |
| KJV | Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: |
| ASV | Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water. |
| YLT | Thy silver hath become dross, Thy drink polluted with water. |
| WEB | Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water. |
| BBE | Your silver is no longer true metal, your wine is mixed with water. |
Where they part company is לְסִיגִ֑ים — see How Translations Differ.
Two main clauses express the degradation of both silver and wine, emphasizing the theme of corruption.
8 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
verbהָיָה
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
1 of 6 occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament — a word chosen on purpose.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Isaiah 1:22
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Corruption of Jerusalemgenerated
Isaiah 1:22 presents a stark indictment of Jerusalem's spiritual state, illustrating how the city, once characterized by justice and righteousness, has degenerated into corruption and moral failure. This verse follows a description of the city's transformation from a faithful city to one filled with violence and deceit, emphasizing the gravity of its decline. The imagery of silver becoming dross and wine being diluted serves to highlight the loss of value and purity in both the people and their offerings to God.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremiah 6:28–30 | All are hardened rebels, walking around as slanderers. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt. |
| 2 | Lamentations 4:1–2 | How the gold has become tarnished, the pure gold has become dull! The gems of the temple lie scattered on every street corner. |
| 3 | Ezekiel 22:18–22 | “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. |
| 4 | 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. |
| 5 | Hosea 4:18 | When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace. |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 6 references, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — כַּסְפֵּ֖ךְ, kas.Pekhgenerated
The word כַּסְפֵּ֖ךְ (kas.Pekh) refers to silver or money, often symbolizing wealth or value. It is derived from a root meaning 'to be pale,' indicating its significance in transactions and as a measure of worth. In this verse, it underscores the idea of something once precious now rendered worthless.
The construction here, with the possessive suffix, indicates that the silver belongs to the people of Jerusalem, emphasizing their personal responsibility for its degradation. The use of silver in this context serves as a metaphor for the spiritual and moral decline of the city.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
This study reads the verse in the Berean Standard Bible, so the BSB is the wording every comparison below is made against.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The verse contains two main clauses, each with its own subject and predicate. The first clause focuses on the transformation of silver, while the second addresses the state of wine. The finite verb הָיָ֣ה (has become) governs the first clause, indicating a change of state.
The structure highlights the contrast between what was once valuable and its current worthless state, emphasizing the theme of corruption throughout the passage.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
In the Septuagint, the Hebrew כַּסְפֵּ֖ךְ is rendered as ὑμῶν (humōn), meaning 'your.' This choice reflects a direct translation of possession, maintaining the personal connection to the silver's degradation.
The Greek term for לְסִיגִ֑ים is not directly matched, indicating a potential interpretive shift in how the translators viewed the concept of dross, emphasizing the loss of purity.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Isaiah 1:22 illustrates how Jerusalem's silver, which symbolizes its wealth and value, has become dross, indicating a loss of purity and worth. Similarly, the wine, representing joy and abundance, has been diluted with water, signifying corruption and weakness. This verse serves as a powerful metaphor for the moral and spiritual decay of the city.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
This means that what was once valuable and pure has been corrupted and rendered worthless, reflecting the moral decline of the people.
Wine symbolizes joy and abundance, and its dilution with water indicates a loss of quality and strength, paralleling the degradation of the city's values.
This verse encapsulates the theme of judgment against Jerusalem for its corruption and failure to uphold justice and righteousness.
The imagery of silver and wine serves to highlight the extent of Jerusalem's moral decay, contrasting their former glory with their current state of corruption.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- In what ways can I identify areas in my life that have become diluted or corrupted?
- How can I strive to maintain purity and integrity in my actions and relationships?
- What steps can I take to restore value to the things I hold dear?
- How does this verse challenge me to reflect on the state of my community or society?
The early church on this verse — how the Fathers read it
Early Church Fathers reference Isaiah 1:22 to discuss the corruption of truth and the dilution of doctrine, highlighting the need for purity in faith.
Someone who looks at what is done divinely by the Word and denies the body, or looks at what is proper to the body and denies the Word’s presence in the flesh or from what is human,Early Church Fathers on Isaiah 1 →
And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as the many, able to corrupt the word of truth and mix the wine, which makes glad the heart of man, with water.Early Church Fathers on Isaiah 1 →
Your silver has turned into dross. The city of Zion speaks, in which righteousness once rested: that silver, namely the doctrine of the Scriptures,Early Church Fathers on Isaiah 1 →
Commentators on this verse — 8 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Isaiah 1:22 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleThy silver is become dross,.... Meaning either that such persons, who had the appearance of goodness, looked like genuine silver, were now become reprobate, and, as the wicked of the earth, like
Read John Gill on Isaiah 1 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryThy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water - Thy princes and people are degenerate in solid worth ("silver," Jeremiah 6:28; Jeremiah
Read Robert Jamieson on Isaiah 1 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleThou art woefully degenerated from thy former purity. If there be any remainders of religion and justice in thee, they are mixed with many and great corruptions.
Read Matthew Poole on Isaiah 1 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsIsaiah 1:22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:Ver. 22. Thy silver is become dross.] Heb., Drosses, a proverbial kind of speech, deciphering apostasy. It is as if the prophet had said, There is nothing pure in thee, nothing sincere or simple: sed omnia fallacia, omnia fucata, omnia inquinata; but all things are deceitful, degenerate, and corrupt. Dross looketh like silver, and is nothing less. Wine mixed, or marred, with water hath the name of wine, when it is nil nisi vappa. Hypocrites are mere seemers, magicians, having a form of knowledge, a form of godliness. Fair professors they are, and foul sinners. But be not deceived; God is not mocked; he is a faithful…
Read John Trapp on Isaiah 1 →Charles John Ellicott1819–1905Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(22) Thy silver is become dross . . .—The two images describe the degeneracy of the rulers to whose neglect this disorder was due. (See Notes on Jeremiah 6:28-30.) Hypocrisy and adulteration were the order of the day. The coinage of judgment and justice was debased; the wine of spiritual life (Proverbs 9:5), of enthusiasm and zeal for good, was diluted till it had lost all power to strengthen and refresh. In “the salt that has lost its savour” of Matthew 5:13 we have a like symbolism.
Read Charles John Ellicott on Isaiah 1 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 22. Wine mixed with water] An image used for the adulteration of wines, with more propriety than may at first appear, if what Thevenot says of the people of the Levant of late times were true of them formerly. He says, "They never mingle water with their wine to drink; but drink by itself what water they think proper for abating the strength of the wine." "Lorsque les Persans boivent du vin, ils le prennent tout pur, a la facon des Levantins, qui ne le melent jamais avec de l'eua; mais en beuvant du vin, de temps en temps ils prennent un pot d'eau, et en boivent de grand traits." Voyage, part ii., liv. ii., chap. x. "Ils (les Turcs) n'y meslent jamais d'eau, et se moquent des…
Read AdamClarke on Isaiah 1 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges22. silver and wine may refer to the great men of the city (Isaiah 1:23) but more naturally to the “judgment” and “righteousness” of Isaiah 1:21;—all that was best in her, purity of morals, excellence of character, &c. The word for mixt occurs only here. The phrase is usually illustrated by the Latin “castrare vinum,” the verb being taken as connected with that for “circumcise.” wine] better: choice drink, found elsewhere only in Hosea 4:18.
Read Cambridge on Isaiah 1 →Albert Barnes1798–1870Barnes' Notes on the BibleThy silver - The sentiment in this verse, as it is explained by the following, is, thy princes and people have become corrupt, and polluted. Silver is used here to denote what should have been more valuable - virtuous princes.
Read Albert Barnes on Isaiah 1 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Your silver has become dross; your fine wine is diluted with water.
Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water.
Your silver has become dross; your fine wine is diluted with water.
Your silver has become scum, your beer is diluted with water.
Tyndale line
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water.
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water.
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
Thy siluer is become drosse: thy wine is mixt with water.
Strictly literal
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine is mixed with water:
Thy silver hath become dross, Thy drink polluted with water.
Your silver has become dross, || Your drink defiled with water.
Thy silver is become dross, thy wine is drugged with water;
Your silver has become impure, your wine mixed with water.
From the Latin
Thy silver is turned into dress: thy wine is mingled with water.
Simplified
Your silver has become worthless waste; your wine has been watered down.
Your silver is no longer true metal, your wine is mixed with water.
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text reads כַּסְפֵּ֖ךְ הָיָ֣ה לְסִיגִ֑ים סָבְאֵ֖ךְ מָה֥וּל בַּמָּֽיִם׃, while the Septuagint aligns closely with the Hebrew in meaning but differs in word order. The Dead Sea Scrolls largely agree with the Masoretic Text, with minor variations in wording. The 1Qisaa scroll preserves six words intact, while the 4Q60 scroll has one word preserved with the rest supplied by an editor.
כַּסְפֵּ֖ךְ הָיָ֣ה לְסִיגִ֑ים סָבְאֵ֖ךְ מָה֥וּל בַּמָּֽיִם׃
4 of the 6 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
כספ׳ך היו לסוגים סבא׳ך מהול במים
6 words on the leather.
כספ׳ך [היה] [לסיגים] [סבא׳ך] [מהול] [במים]
1 word on the leather — 5 supplied entire by an editor.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Isaiah 1:22
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
כֶּ֫סֶף (ke.seph) refers to silver and money, derived from a root meaning 'to be pale.' It encompasses various aspects of silver, including its use as a metal, ornament, and a measure of wealth or value. The term appears in contexts related to payment and price, indicating its significance in transactions.
כֶּ֫סֶף 402 n.m. silver, money
= silver ore, raw silver
silver as bright, shining
silver, as wealth
silver as spoil of war
silver as merchandise
silver as costly gift
silver as material
silver as measure of weight and value
among vbs. and phr.
base
H3701 כֶּ֫סֶף silver, money
3701 keceph keh'-sef
from 3700; silver (from its pale color); by implication,
money:--money, price, silver(-ling).
see HEBREW for 03700
כֶּ֫סֶף (ke.seph) — silver: money.
: money/payment/silver
1) silver, money
1a) silver
1a1) as metal
1a2) as ornament
1a3) as colour
1b) money, shekels, talents
כֶּ֫סֶף (ke.seph) — silver: price.
: price
1) silver, money
1a) silver
1a1) as metal
1a2) as ornament
1a3) as colour
1b) money, shekels, talents
N-ms | Suff — Noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHNcmsc/Sp2fs
The Hebrew word הָיָה (hayah) is a primitive root meaning to exist or become, and it encompasses a range of meanings including to happen, occur, and come to pass. It is often used in narrative contexts, particularly in phrases like "and it came to pass." The word can also denote a state of being or existence, and it appears frequently in various forms throughout the Old Testament.
הָיָה 3570 vb. fall out, come to pass, become, be
Qal
Fall out, happen
occur, take place, come about, come to pass
esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass
וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)
rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה
less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)
Come into being, become
abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come
sq. prep.
become
sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)
sq. pred. adj.
become like
sq. pred. לְ pers.
sq. לְ pred.
oft. c. לְ pred. לְ pers.
with עַל and לְ
sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of
Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming)
exist, be in existence
abide, remain, continue
with word of locality, be in or at a place, be situated, stand, lie
as copula, joining subj. & pred.
H1961 הָיָה fall out, come to pass, become, be .. . . Fall out, happen
. occur, take place, come about, come to pass
. esp. & very oft., come about, come to pass . . וַיְהִי and it came to pass that, most often (c. 292 t.)
. rarely also Pf. c. וְ conj. וְהָיָה
. less oft. וְהָיָה Pf. consec. and it shall come to pass, or frequentat. came to pass (repeatedly, etc.)
. Come into being, become . . abs., in lively narrative, arise, appear, come
. sq. prep.
. become . sq. pred. noun (to be viewed as implicit accus.)
. sq. pred. adj.
. become like
. sq. pred. + לְ pers.
. sq. לְ pred.
. oft. c. לְ pred. + לְ pers.
. with עַל and לְ
. sts. c. לְ pers. only = became the property of, come into the possession of
. Be (often with subbordinate idea of becoming) . exist, be in existence
. abide, remain, continue
1961 hayah haw-yaw
a primitive root (compare 1933); to exist, i.e. be or become,
come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or
auxiliary):--beacon, X altogether, be(-come), accomplished,
committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint,
fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit
(one-)self, require, X use.
see HEBREW for 01933
הָיָה (ha.yah) — to be.
1) to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out
1a) (Qal)
1a1) ---
1a1a) to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come to pass
1a1b) to come about, come to pass
1a2) to come into being, become
1a2a) to arise, appear, come
1a2b) to become
1a2b1) to become
1a2b2) to become like
1a2b3) to be instituted, be established
1a3) to be
1a3a) to exist, be in existence
1a3b) to abide, remain, continue (with word of place or time)
1a3c) to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated (with word of locality)
1a3d) to accompany, be with
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to occur, come to pass, be done, be brought about
1b2) to be done, be finished, be gone
V-Qal-Perf-3ms — Verb · Qal · perfect third person masculine singularHVqp3ms
be-kum':
(1) Greek ginomai, used in New Testament for a change of state, corresponding to Hebrew hayah of Old Testament. Compare Mt 18:3 with De 27:9.
(2) For what is fitting, suitable, proper, in New Testament: "prepei" (Mt 3:15; Eph 5:3; 1Ti 2:10); in Old Testament, na'awah, na'ah, Ps 93:5: "Holiness becometh thy house." in this sense, the adverb "becomingly" must be interpreted: "Walk becomingly toward them that are without" (1Th 4:12), i.e. in a way that is consistent with your profession.
סִיג (sig) refers to both a movement away and dross, particularly in the context of metals like silver. The word is derived from a root meaning refuse or scoria, and it appears in Ezekiel 22:18. The lexicons consistently emphasize its meanings related to both physical movement and the impurities found in metal.
סִיג, שִׂיג n.[m.] 1. a moving back or away. 2. dross
base
H5509 סִיג, שִׂיג 1. a moving back or away. 2. dross
5509 ciyg seeg
or cuwg (Ezek. 22:18) {soog}; from 5472 in the sense of
refuse; scoria:--dross.
see HEBREW for 05472
סִיג (sig) — dross.
1) a moving back or away
2) dross (usually of silver)
Prep | N-mp — Preposition · noun common masculine plural absoluteHR/Ncmpa
dros (sigh): The refuse of smelting of precious metal (Pr 25:4; 26:23); used figuratively of what is base or worthless (Isa 1:22,25; Eze 22:18,19; Ps 119:119).
Dross
The impurities of silver separated from the one in the process of melting (Prov. 25:4; 26:23; Ps. 119:119). It is also used to denote the base metal itself, probably before it is smelted, in Isa. 1:22, 25.
→ FIGURATIVE Ps 119:119; Pr 25:4; 26:23; Isa 1:22; Eze 22:18,19
סֹ֫בֶא (cobe') refers to drink or liquor, particularly wine. It is derived from a root meaning to drink and encompasses both the act of drinking and the substance consumed. The entries consistently highlight its association with alcoholic beverages.
[סֹ֫בֶא] n.m. drink, liquor
base
H5435 סֹ֫בֶא drink, liquor
5435 cobe' so'-beh
from 5433; potation, concretely (wine), or abstractly
(carousal):--drink, drunken, wine.
see HEBREW for 05433
סֹ֫בֶא (so.ve) — liquor.
drink, liquor, wine
N-ms | Suff — Noun common masculine singular construct · suffixHNcmsc/Sp2fs
מָהַל (mahal) is a Hebrew verb meaning to circumcise or weaken. It conveys the idea of cutting down or reducing, with implications of adulteration. The primary biblical reference is found in Isaiah 1:22, where it is used figuratively.
[מָהַל] vb. circumcise, weaken;—only fig. Qal Is 1:22
ref
H4107 מָהַל circumcise, weaken
4107 mahal maw-hal'
a primitive root; properly, to cut down or reduce, i.e. by
implication, to adulterate:--mixed.
מָהַל (ma.hal) — to weaken.
1) to circumcise, weaken, cut down
1a) (Qal) weakened (participle)
V-Qal-Inf-c — Verb · Qal · participle (passive) masculine singularHVqsmsa
מַי (mayim) is a Hebrew word meaning 'water' and is used in the plural form. It encompasses various meanings, including literal water, urine, and metaphorical uses related to refreshment or danger. The entries indicate it is derived from a primitive noun and is primarily referenced in contexts involving water.
[מַי] 580 n.m. only pl. מַ֫יִם waters, water
base
H4325 מַי only pl. מַ֫יִם waters, water
4325 mayim mah'-yim
dual of a primitive noun (but used in a singular sense);
water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen:--+
piss, wasting, water(-ing, (-course, -flood, -spring)).
מַי (ma.yim) — water.
1) water, waters
1a) water
1b) water of the feet, urine
1c) of danger, violence, transitory things, refreshment (fig.)
מַי (ma.yim) — Water (Gate).
This name means water, refreshment
Prep | N-mp — Preposition · noun common masculine plural absoluteHRd/Ncmpa
wo'-ter (mayim; hudor):
(1) The Greek philosophers believed water to be the original substance and that all things were made from it. The Koran states, "From water we have made all things." In the story of the creation (Ge 1:2) water plays an elemental part.
(2) Because of the scarcity of water in Palestine it is especially appreciated by the people there. They love to go and sit by a stream of running water. Men long for a taste of the water of their native village (1Ch 11:17). A town or village is known throughout the country for the quality of its water, which is described by many adjectives, such as "light," "heavy," etc.
(3) The rainfall is the only source of supply of water for Palestine. The moisture is carried up from the sea in clouds and falls on the hills as rain or snow.…
See CISTERN and WELLS.
In Isa 35:7, the Hebrew word for "parched ground" that shall become a pool of water, is the same with the Arabic term for the mirage, a peculiar optical illusion by which travelers in hot and dry deserts think they see broad lakes and flowing waters; they seem to discern the very ripple of the waves, and the swaying of tail trees on the margin in the cool breeze; green hills and houses and city ramparts rise before the astonished sight, recede as the traveler advances, and at length melt away in the hot haze. Not so the blessings of the gospel; they are no alluring mockery, but real waters of everlasting life, Isa 55:1 Joh 4:14 Re 22:1. Compare
→ Creation of Ps 148:4,5
→ Covered the whole earth Ge 1:9
→ Daily allowance of Eze 4:11
→ City waterworks 2Ki 20:20
→ Vision of, by Ezekiel Eze 47:1-5
→ Of separation Nu 19:2-22