Amos 9: 9. I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve.
A part of the process of winnowing grain consisted in the use of a sieve, by which means the particles of earth, and other impurities which clung to the corn during the process of threshing, were separated from the grain. In addition to this text, reference is figuratively made to the sieve in Isaiah 30:28, and Luke 22:31. See also note on Ruth 3:2 (#243) and on Matthew 3:12 (#634).