I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
Parallel translations
- WEB “I have made you a tester of metals and a fortress among my people; that you may know and try their way.
- BSB “I have appointed you to examine My people like ore, so you may know and try their ways.
- NKJV “I have set you as an assayer and a fortress among My people, That you may know and test their way.
- NASB ¶“I have made you an assayer and an examiner among My people, So that you may know and put their way to the test.”
- NLT “Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals, that you may determine the quality of my people.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God appoints Jeremiah as an assayer to test the people and reveal what they are truly made of. The prophet's ministry exposes the real condition of hearts.
Overview
Using metallurgy imagery, God makes Jeremiah a 'tester of metals' to assess Judah's worth. His preaching functions like a refiner's test, revealing whether there is any pure metal among them. This sets up the verdict of the following verses that the people are corrupt through and through.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Jer 1:18For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
- Jer 15:20And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
- Jer 9:7Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
- Ezek 3:8–10Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
- Ezek 20:4Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:
- Ezek 22:2Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 6:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.