21, 22. What is signified by dross and diluted beer, and why do Judah’s leaders merit such a description?

²¹ It seems that the leaders among the people are a large part of the problem. Isaiah goes on with his lament: “Your silver itself has become scummy dross. Your wheat beer is diluted with water.

(Isaiah 1:22,

Two vivid word pictures in quick succession set the tone for what must follow. The smith at his forge skims the scummy dross from the molten silver and throws it away. Israel’s princes and judges are like the dross, not the silver. They need to be discarded. They have no more use than beer that has been diluted with water and lost its flavor. Such a beverage is fit only to be poured down the drain!