Bible Strands
Jeremiah 6:29
The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah pronounces this oracle to Judah during a period of national rebellion and impending judgment. The prophet addresses a community the surrounding verses describe as hardened rebels and corrupt bronze and iron.
The words — The Hebrew verb נָחַ֣ר (na.char) denotes the bellows blowing fiercely, while עֹפָ֑רֶת ('o.fa.ret) identifies the lead being subjected to fire. The phrase לַשָּׁוְא (la.sha) states the refining process ends in futility because the wicked are not purged.
The thread — The imagery connects to Jeremiah 9:7, where God declares He will refine and test the people, and to Isaiah 49:4, which records prophetic labor described as spent in futility. The immediate context in Jeremiah 6:28 and 6:30 frames the failed refining as the direct reason the people are labeled rejected silver.
Why it lands — The text asserts that external purification methods cannot cleanse a heart that refuses to yield. It leaves the reader to confront the reality that divine correction reaches its limit only when the subject remains unyielding.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 17:3 A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
- Isaiah 49:4 But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.”
- Jeremiah 9:7 Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people?
- Ezekiel 24:13 Because of the indecency of your uncleanness I tried to cleanse you, but you would not be purified from your filthiness. You will not be pure again until My wrath against you has subsided.
- Hosea 11:7 My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them.
- Zechariah 13:9 This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’”
- Malachi 3:2 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
- 1 Peter 4:12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- 1 Peter 1:7 so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.