Scripture describes itself as pure. The adjective pure is defined as “not mixed with, or not having in or upon it, anything that defiles, corrupts, or impairs.”[1] To describing Scripture as pure is to speak of Scripture’s divine integrity and authority as God-breathed, Holy Spirit originating, infallible words written by chosen penmen. Scripture attests to its own intrinsic purity. In the eternal state the curse will be removed and there will be no impurity, only holiness. Rev. 21:5, “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” The purity of Scripture is therefore another characteristic that confirms it as a component part of the eternal state. The following section is comprised of an exegetical examination of four verses that speak to the purity of God’s word.
PSALM 12:6
SCRIPTURE’S INTENSIVE PURITY
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.”
אִֽמֲר֣וֹת יְהֹוָה֘ אֲמָר֪וֹת טְהֹ֫ר֥וֹת כֶּ֣סֶף צָ֖רוּף בַּֽעֲלִ֣יל
לָאָ֑רֶץ מְ֜זֻקָּ֗ק שִׁבְעָתָֽיִם:
טְהֹ֫ר֥וֹת: (taw-hore’) – adjective, feminine plural; pure, clean (figurative); pure, unalloyed, cf., Leviticus 14:4; Psalm 12:7.
מְ֝זֻקָּ֗ק (mə·zuq·qāq): Verb, Pual, Participle – masculine singular: to strain, extract, clarify.
Richard Allestree (1673) considers the purity of God’s word “able to pass the strictest test right reason can put them to.” But despite Scripture’s veracity, we are more likely to believe some “trusted” man’s notion and use it against God. Allestree writes,
His Words are pure, even as the silver tried seven times in the fire, Psalm 12. 6, able to pass the strictest test that right reason (truly so called) can put them to. Yet it shews a great perverseness in our nature, that we who so easily resign our understanding to fallible men stand thus upon our guard against God; make him dispute for every inch he gains on us; nor will afford him that we daily grant to any credible man; to receive an affirmation upon trust of his veracity.”[2]
Allestree rightly identifies the perennial temptation to compromise theological precision out of deference to esteemed individuals, even at the cost of distorting the pure words of God. While theological and philosophical systems are meant to cohere logically and doctrinally, the undue elevation of human authority often results in the denial, or even reversal, of the plain teaching of Scripture. Proverbs 30:5 testifies to the extensive purity of Scripture across the canon, while Psalm 12:6 highlights the intensive purity of Scripture at the level of “every word.” Not only are all of God’s words described as pure, but their purity is emphasized by the simile of silver refined seven times, a figure denoting a degree of refinement beyond which no further purification is possible. This distributive purity, applying to each word individually, simultaneously affirms the holistic purity of the entire corpus of Scripture.
Although scholarly debate over Psalm 12:7 often centers on the antecedent of the pronoun “them,” verse 6 stands independently as a decisive witness to the nature of God’s Word. The words of the Lord are declared to be free from any corruption, defect, or error. Regardless of one’s position on the grammatical antecedent, the Holy Spirit’s unqualified assertion of Scriptural purity demands a corresponding integrity in the text itself. Nothing may be added, removed, or altered without compromising that purity. Any deviation from the substantia doctrinae—the substantive doctrinal content—of the original autographs would compromise both the distributive (word-by-word) and collective (whole-text) purity of Scripture.
While verse 7 explicitly affirms providential preservation, verse 6 theologically necessitates it: if the words are to remain pure, they must be preserved. Thus, both verses together support the doctrine of preservation, not merely as a historical corollary to inspiration, but as an essential consequence of the very nature of God’s Word.[3]
PSALM 19:8
SCRIPTURE’S ILLUMINATING PURITY
“The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes.”
פִּקּ֘וּדֵ֚י יְהֹוָ֣ה יְ֖שָׁרִים מְשַׂמְּחֵי־לֵ֑ב מִצְוַ֖ת יְהֹוָ֥ה בָּ֜רָ֗ה
מְאִירַ֥ת עֵינָֽיִם:
בַּר bar — clean, clear, pure.
John Gill makes this observation, writing,
the commandment of the Lord is pure; not only the Scriptures in general may bear this name, because they deliver out the commands of God to men, as those of a moral and ceremonial kind to the Jews under the former dispensation; so the ordinances of Christ, which are his commands under the Gospel dispensation; yea, the Gospel itself may be so called, though, strictly speaking, it has no command in it; because, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, it is made known to all nations for the obedience of faith, Romans 16:25; besides, the commandment is no other than the Word or doctrine, see 1 John 2:7; and as every commandment of the Lord, of what kind soever it is, is pure and holy, so is every Word of God, Proverbs 30:5; being without any mixture of men’s inventions, or the dross of corrupt doctrine, sincere, unadulterated, clear of all chaff and impurity, consistent, uniform, and all of a piece, and which tends to promote purity of heart, life, and conversation;[4]
Lending further support to Gill’s assessment, Keil and Delitzsch comment on this passage making two instructive observations. The first is that the word “pure” refers to “a word that is like to pure gold” referencing Job 28:19, where the word is interpreted “pure gold” and corresponds with Psalm 12:6 “silver…purified seven times.” The metaphor of being free from mixture or dross is clear in these two passages and speaks directly to the absence of anything superfluous or corrupt in Scripture. The second observation is that this purity within the immediate context of Psalm 19:9 is tied with Scripture’s preservation: “therefore עוֹמֶ֪דֶת לָ֫עַ֥ד, enduring for ever in opposition to all false forms of reverencing God, which carry their own condemnation in themselves.”[5] Purity and enduring forever in these two verses contribute further to a clear exegetical case for the eschatological character of Scripture.
PSALM 119:140
SCRIPTURE’S SUPERLATIVE PURITY
“Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it.”
צְרוּפָ֖ה אִמְרָֽתְךָ֥ מְאֹ֑ד וְעַבְדְּךָ֥ אֲהֵבָֽהּ:
מְאֹ֑ד, “very”
Scripture is not only pure, it is very pure, [6] corresponding with the metaphor “as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times,” Psalm 12:6, and, because of Scripture’s purity the psalmist loves it. The purity of Scripture is described in terms of being, unquestionably pure, being pure to the uttermost, and abundantly pure, all descriptions completely in tune with the nature of the eternal state. Keil and Delitzsch comment,
God’s own utterances are indeed without spot, and therefore not to be carped at; it is pure, fire-proved, noblest metal (xviii.31, xii.7), and therefore he loves it.[7]
The purity of Scripture naturally evokes a visceral response of love in the psalmist—a love grounded in the recognition of its flawless integrity. Psalm 119 repeatedly affirms this connection: “Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it” (v. 140). The psalmist’s affection is not arbitrary but arises from the inherent quality of the Word itself. One may argue that a genuine love for Scripture is not only normative for the saint but is a natural and fitting consequence of perceiving its purity—a purity which implies doctrinal integrity, moral clarity, and divine origin. To love the Word is to love what is wholly trustworthy and true.
Moreover, this love for Scripture is rooted in the prior love of Christ: as the Word of the Savior, we love His Word because He first loved us (cf. 1 John 4:19). The purity of Scripture, therefore, is not merely an abstract theological attribute; it speaks to the highest order of veracity and trustworthiness, bearing the self-authenticating witness of God Himself. Such purity compels not only admiration but obedience—obedience not driven by duty alone but impelled by love. To embrace the Word’s purity is to be drawn into deeper fidelity to Christ, whose voice is heard in every preserved and inspired word.
PROVERBS 30:5
SCRIPTURE’S COMPREHENSIVE PURITY
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”
כָּל־אִמְרַ֣ת אֱל֣וֹהַּ צְרוּפָ֑ה מָגֵ֥ן ה֜֗וּא לַֽחֹסִ֥ים בּֽוֹ:
צְרוּפָ֑ה: (ṣə·rū·p̄āh); Verb, Qal Passive Participle – feminine singular: to smelt, refine, test, and therefore to be pure; to be free of impurity, defect, corruption, or error.
Keil and Delitzsch make a powerful observation in their commentary on this passage, observing,
In the dependent relation of Proverbs 30:5 to Psalm 18:31 (2 Samuel 22:31), and of Proverbs 30:6 to Deuteronomy 4:2, there is no doubt the self-testimony of God given to Israel, and recorded in the book of the Tôra, is here meant. כּל־אמרת is to be judged after πᾶσα γραφή, 2 Timothy 3:16.[8]
That “every word” here corresponds to “all Scripture” in 2 Timothy 3:16 speaks to the verbal, plenary purity of inspired Scripture and the absolute importance of every word. ‘Every” relates to the inspiration and the purity in a distributive sense in reference to the purity of individual words. “All” relates to the inspiration and purity in a collective sense in reference to the purity of the canon. The theological significance of canonical purity identified in this passage is noted by John Trapp in his 1650 comment on Proverbs 30:5 when he writes,
Albeit all the sacred sentences contained in this blessed book are pure, precious and profitable, yet as one star in heaven outshineth another, so doth one Proverb another, and this is among the rest, velut inter stellas luna minore, and eminent sentence often recorded in Scripture, and far better worthy than ever Pindarus his seventh Ode was, to be written in letters of gold. Every Word of God is pure, purer than gold tried in the fire, Rev. 3:17, purer than silver tried in a furnace of earth, and seven times purified, Psalm 12:6, 7.[9]
Keil and Delitzsch continue,
צרוּף signifies solid, pure, i.e., purified by separating: God’s word is, without exception, like pure, massive gold.[10]
Every word, all Scripture, is pure. Without exception the part, the words, and the whole, the canon is pure, separate from any falsehood, corruption, or error. Purity in this passage deals with comprehensive, extensive, canonical purity.
[1] Note that the Authorized Version is the only English text that translated the Hebrew צְרוּפָ֑ה “pure.” The idea of “refined” is less robust or definitive as the word “pure.” “Refined” standing alone can refer to degrees of refinement. For an even more distant interpretation see Duane A. Garrett, “Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs,” vol. 14 of The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1993), 237. Garrett renders this “stood the test” rather than “flawless,” a functional rather than essential interpretation of צְרוּפָ֑ה. Psalm 12:6 says the words of the Lord are pure “refined seven times” speaking of complete refinement and purity. Here צְרוּפָ֑ה refers to the complete refinement and purity, no longer capable of further refinement. The word of God is absolutely pure.
[2] Richard Allestree, The Lively Oracles Given to us or The Christian’s Birth-right and Duty, in the custody and use of the Holy Scripture. By the Author of the Whole Duty of Man (At the Theater in Oxford, 1678), 9.
[3] James Franklin Lambert, Luther’s Hymns (Philadelphia: General Council Publication House, 1917), 52. Ach Gott bom Himmel sieh barein — “Look down, O Lord, from heaven behold” — Salvum me fac, Domine — “Lord, Save me!” Title: The Word of God, and the Church. “The Silver seven times tried is pure, From all adulteration; So, through God’s Word, shall men endure, Each trial and temptation: Its worth gleams brighter through the cross, And, purified from human dross, It shines through every nation. Thy truth thou wilt preserve, O Lord, From this vile generation, Make us to lean upon thy Word, With calm anticipation. The wicked walk on every side. When, ‘mid thy flock, the vile abide, In power and exaltation.”
[4] https://biblehub.com/commentaries/psalms/19-8.htm
[5] Keil and Delitzsch, Psalms, 287.
[6] Jamesson, Fauset, and Brown, Commentary, 384: very pure – lit., refined, shown pure by trial.
[7] Keil and Delitzsch, Psalms, 260.
[8] C. F. Keil, F. Delitzsch, “Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon,” Commentary on the Old Testament in Ten Volumes, vol. VI, translated from the German by James Martin (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), 278-79.
[9] John Trapp, Solomonis PANAPETOS: or, A Commentarie Upon the Books of PROVERBS, ECCLESIASTES, and the Song of Songs (London: Printed by T.R. and E.M. John Bellamie, and are to be sold at his shop at the three golden Lyons in Corn-hil near the R. Exchange, 1650), 350. velut inter stellas luna minores, “as if among the stars the moon is smaller.”
[10] Keil, Delitzsch, “Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon,” 279.
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