The bellows fiercely fan the flames to burn out the corruption. But it does not purify them, for the wickedness remains.
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.
- BSB The bellows blow fiercely, blasting away the lead with fire. The refining proceeds in vain, for the wicked are not purged.
- 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.
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 vain for nothing; yet surely the justice due to me is with Yahweh, and my reward with my God.”
- Mal 3:2–3“But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap;
- Zech 13:9I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say, ‘It is my people;’ and they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’”
- 1 Pet 4:12Beloved, don’t be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you.
- Prov 17:3The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Yahweh tests the hearts.
- Hos 11:7My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to the Most High, he certainly won’t exalt them.
- Ezek 24:13In your filthiness is lewdness: because I have cleansed you and you weren’t cleansed, you shall not be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest.
- Jer 9:7Therefore Yahweh of Armies says, “Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how should I deal with the daughter of my people?
- 1 Pet 1:7that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to 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.