The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.
Parallel translations
- WEB The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed of the fire: in vain do they go on refining; for the wicked are not plucked away.
- KJV The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
- NKJV The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; The smelter refines in vain, For the wicked are not drawn off.
- NASB The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the wicked are not separated.
- NLT The bellows fiercely fan the flames to burn out the corruption. But it does not purify them, for the wickedness remains.
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
The refining fire burns fiercely but cannot purge the wicked, so the effort is in vain. No amount of testing can purify a people who refuse to change.
Overview
The smelting process, meant to separate dross from precious metal, yields nothing usable because the impurity is total. This pictures how God's chastening, intended to purify, has not produced repentance. It points to the deeper truth that only God's transforming grace, not mere external pressure, can change the human heart.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Isa 49:4But 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.”
- Mal 3:2–3But 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.
- Zech 13:9This 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.’”
- 1 Pet 4:12Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.
- Prov 17:3A crucible for silver and a furnace for gold, but the LORD is the tester of hearts.
- Hos 11:7My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them.
- Ezek 24:13Because 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.
- Jer 9:7Therefore 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?
- 1 Pet 1:7so 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 6:29 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.