Yahweh continues his threat to deal with the evils of Jerusalem and Judah. Each line in this verse concludes with the same set of sounds in Hebrew since the second person singular pronominal suffix occurs at the end of each line. This sound effect gives the threat an ominous tone.

I will turn my hand against you means that Yahweh will act against the people (see Good News Translation). In many languages the image of the hand can be kept if the meaning of a threatening action is implied; for example, the line may be rendered “I will raise my hand against you.” Contemporary English Version drops the image, saying “I will punish you terribly,” which is essentially correct.

And will smelt away your dross as with lye: The verb smelt refers to the process of refining metal-rich ore by burning away what is useless and leaving behind the valuable metal. The dross that Yahweh will burn away from Judah is the evil that is so much a part of its life. The present context of judgment implies that pain and suffering will accompany Yahweh’s action. There is plenty of dross in Judah; in fact, it has become that according to verse 22.

The second line makes a comparison between the smelting process that uses fire and a washing process that uses lye to remove what is impure. The full meaning of the line is “I will smelt away your [impure] dross as effectively as dirt is removed with strong soap.” Lye is a kind of salt made of wood ashes and used for washing and especially for making soap. It is very effective in removing all kinds of dirt and stains. For lye Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible use the chemical name “potash,” while Good News Translation and New International Version leave it implied. In a footnote New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh indicates that the Hebrew word rendered as with lye can be changed slightly to read “in a crucible.” This view has been accepted by New American Bible, which has “in the furnace.” However, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project does not mention this variant, and in view of the lack of textual evidence for such a change, we recommend against it. If lye or potash is not familiar to readers, and an expression for it becomes too lengthy and distracting, translators can leave it implicit as Good News Translation has done. Using an alternative such as “fire” is not recommended.

And remove all your alloy: The Hebrew word rendered alloy is translated “tin” in Ezek 27.12. In the present context it seems to refer to the “impurity” (Good News Translation), dross, or “slag” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) that has to be removed to leave behind pure metal. God will purify his people completely, so that all evil will be gone.

In the last two lines of this verse Good News Translation has left out the technical terms dross, lye, and alloy: “I will purify you the way metal is refined, and will remove all your impurity.” In languages where these technical terms are not available, translators may follow this model.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• I will act against you
and remove your dross,
as lye/soap washes away dirt.
I will take away all that is impure.

• I will raise my hand against you.
I will wash away all your impurities
as with soap,
and remove everything that taints you.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .