3:2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, 2 like a launderer’s soap.
1 sn The word table, here a synonym for “altar,” has overtones of covenant imagery in which a feast shared by the covenant partners was an important element (see Exod 24:11). It also draws attention to the analogy of sitting down at a common meal with the governor (v. 8).
2 sn The refiner’s fire was used to purify metal and refine it by melting it and allowing the dross, which floated to the top, to be scooped off.