OET interlinear PRO 17:3

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun

מַצְרֵ֣ף לַ֭⁠כֶּסֶף וְ⁠כ֣וּר לַ⁠זָּהָ֑ב

crucible for_the,silver and,furnace for_the,gold

The terms The smelting-pot, the silver, the furnace, and the gold represent these things in general, not any specific things. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use more natural expressions. Alternate translation: “Any smelting-pot is for silver and any furnace is for gold”

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

מַצְרֵ֣ף

crucible

A smelting-pot is a container in which metals are melted at a very high temperature so that impurities may be discovered and removed from the metal. Since the second clause mentions tests, most likely Solomon is referring to using the pot to discover impurities. If your readers would not be familiar with this type of container, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: “The pot used for testing and refining metal”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מַצְרֵ֣ף לַ֭⁠כֶּסֶף וְ⁠כ֣וּר לַ⁠זָּהָ֑ב

crucible for_the,silver and,furnace for_the,gold

Solomon assumes that his readers will understand that the smelting-pot and furnace are used to refine and test the purity of silver and gold. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: “The smelting-pot is for testing and refining the silver, and the furnace is for testing and refining the gold”

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-words-phrases

וּ⁠בֹחֵ֖ן לִבּ֣וֹת יְהוָֽה

and,tests hearts YHWH

Solomon uses and here to indicate that he is making a comparison between the first clause and the second clause. How Yahweh tests hearts is similar to how The smelting-pot and furnace are used to test silver and gold to see how pure they are. If this connection is not clear, you may want to use a connecting word to show how this statement relates to what came before it. Alternate translation: “likewise, Yahweh tests hearts”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וּ⁠בֹחֵ֖ן לִבּ֣וֹת יְהוָֽה

and,tests hearts YHWH

Here Solomon speaks of Yahweh evaluating what people think as if their hearts were metal that he was testing to discover impurities. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: “Yahweh evaluates peoples’ hearts”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

לִבּ֣וֹת

hearts

See how you translated the same use of “heart” in [2:2](../02/02.md).