Commentary for Proverbs 25:4

Remove dross from silver Heb. הגו, draw away, as in (II Sam. 20:13): “When he was removed (הגה) from the highway.” Just as the silver vessel does not emerge for the work of the refiner until the copper dross is removed from it, similarly, the community cannot be freed from punishment until they remove the wicked from their midst and execute judgment upon them.