Jeremiah 6 29

Jeremiah 6:29 kjv

The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.

Jeremiah 6:29 nkjv

The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; The smelter refines in vain, For the wicked are not drawn off.

Jeremiah 6:29 niv

The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out.

Jeremiah 6:29 esv

The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, for the wicked are not removed.

Jeremiah 6:29 nlt

The bellows fiercely fan the flames
to burn out the corruption.
But it does not purify them,
for the wickedness remains.

Jeremiah 6 verses

Jeremiah 6 29 Meaning

Jeremiah 6:29 declares the profound and lamentable spiritual state of Judah: even intense and sustained divine efforts, like the smelting process for refining metal, prove futile in purging their deep-seated wickedness. God, through His prophet, exerted significant pressure and warning (symbolized by the fierce bellows and consumed lead), attempting to purify His people. However, their pervasive corruption and hardened hearts meant the "dross"—their sin and the wicked among them—remained inextricably bound. The verse thus announces a spiritual cul-de-sac, indicating that the people were beyond the point of ordinary refinement, sealing their fate for impending judgment.

Jeremiah 6 29 Context

Jeremiah chapter 6 details God's imminent judgment upon Judah, foretelling the devastating invasion by a northern enemy (Babylon) as punishment for their rampant idolatry, social injustice, and obstinate rejection of His Word. Throughout the chapter, Jeremiah laments Jerusalem's spiritual corruption and its unwillingness to repent despite repeated warnings. Verses 27-30 specifically use the metaphor of refining metal to illustrate the extent of Judah's impurity. God had appointed Jeremiah as a "tester" and "refiner" among His people (v.27), but the nation proved to be "bronze and iron" (v.28), utterly corrupt and rebellious. Verse 29 concludes this painful analogy, declaring the ultimate failure of the refining process because the people's wickedness (dross) was too deeply embedded to be purged. This dire assessment sets the stage for God's declaration in verse 30 that they are "rejected silver" (KJV "reprobate silver"), fit only for divine rejection and impending judgment. Historically, this prophecy occurs during the final decades before Jerusalem's destruction by Babylon, when Judah's sin reached a critical point of no return.

Jeremiah 6 29 Word analysis

• The bellows (מַפֻּחִים - mappuḥim): Plural. These are instruments for forcing air into a fire to intensify its heat. Their mention signifies that the refining process described is not passive but involves vigorous, forceful action and intense effort.
• blow fiercely (נִחָרוּ - niḥaru): From a root meaning "to burn," "be hot." This word emphasizes the extreme heat generated, reflecting a very severe, intensive, and sustained refining attempt. Some interpretations suggest the bellows themselves are burned out from the exertion, underscoring the exhaustive, yet fruitless, effort.
• the lead (עֹפָרֶת - ‘ophereth): Lead was frequently used in ancient cupellation, a smelting process for silver. It served as a flux, designed to absorb impurities (dross) as they rose to the surface, thus helping purify the silver.
• is consumed by the fire (כָּלְתָה מֵאֵשׁ - kaltah me’esh): The verb kalah means "to be consumed," "to be finished," "to be spent." The lead, intended to facilitate purification by binding with impurities, has been entirely used up or burnt away by the fire's intensity. This indicates a prolonged and thorough, but ultimately unavailing, attempt to purify.
• The refiner smelts (צָרַף צָרַף - ṣārap ṣārap): The repetition of the verb ṣārap (an infinitive absolute) dramatically emphasizes the tireless, persistent, and strenuous effort of the refiner. This refers to God Himself, working through His prophet Jeremiah, repeatedly sending warnings and trials to refine His people.
• in vain (לַשָּׁוְא - lashāv’): This adverb signifies "for nothing," "useless," "to no purpose." It's the critical turning point of the verse, declaring that despite all the intense effort and resources expended, the desired outcome was not achieved. The spiritual "smelting" was without positive effect.
• the dross is not removed (וְרָעִים לֹא נִתָּקוּ - vᵉra‘im lo nittaqu): The original Hebrew is more pointed, literally meaning "and the wicked are not torn away" or "not plucked out." Ra‘im here (the wicked ones) are directly identified with the "dross"—the impurities in the metal. The verb nāthaq (to be torn away, to be dislodged) implies a failure of forceful separation. This is the tragic conclusion: the core impurity of sin and wicked individuals remained unyielding, stubbornly fused within the nation, rendering them unpurifiable by conventional means.

Word Group Analysis:

• "The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire.": This entire clause vividly portrays the strenuous and costly nature of the refining process. It highlights that God's attempts to purify Judah were not half-hearted but involved extreme measures, expending significant "resources" and effort, enduring to the point of exhaustion in the metaphor.
• "The refiner smelts in vain.": This phrase captures the profound disappointment and futility. Despite God's sustained and intense application of prophetic warnings, covenant appeals, and providential circumstances, Judah refused to respond with genuine repentance, rendering His work fruitless.
• "the dross is not removed" / "the wicked are not purged out.": This serves as the stark and tragic final verdict. The essential wickedness and rebellion of the people, their spiritual "dross," were so deeply ingrained and resistant that no amount of divine "heat" or "flux" could separate them. It signifies an utter lack of moral transformation, confirming their irreparable corruption.

Jeremiah 6 29 Bonus section

• The metaphor of a refiner was widely understood in the Ancient Near East, providing a powerful, visceral image for Jeremiah's audience regarding purification, testing, and judgment.
• This verse can also subtly reflect Jeremiah's own sense of exhaustion and despair. As the prophet tasked with delivering these intense, unpopular messages, he experienced the failure of his God-given mission to move the people to repentance, a painful reality that mirrors the "refiner smelting in vain."
• The use of "lead" in ancient metallurgy was key for separating impurities from silver. Its "consumption" implies that all available means for assisting purification were utterly spent without success, underlining the complete intransigence of Judah's wickedness.
• The term for "dross" in the Hebrew is the very word for "wicked ones" (רָעִים - ra‘im), making the identification explicit: the wicked people are the impurities that God could not remove.
• This verse starkly contrasts with other biblical passages where God successfully refines His people (e.g., Zech 13:9, Mal 3:2-3). Jeremiah 6:29 highlights the boundaries of God's refining efforts, emphasizing that it requires a receptive heart; obstinate rebellion renders even divine refining ineffective for salvation, shifting its purpose to judgment.

Jeremiah 6 29 Commentary

Jeremiah 6:29 serves as a lament over a nation so deeply steeped in sin that even God's persistent and intense refining processes fail to cleanse them. God, through His prophet Jeremiah, acted as a divine Refiner, using fiery prophecies, warnings, and the looming threat of invasion (the "bellows blowing fiercely" and "lead consumed by fire") to purify His chosen people, Judah. The imagery emphasizes that the effort was thorough and severe. However, the spiritual impurities ("dross") within the people—their widespread wickedness, idolatry, and social injustice—were too ingrained. Their hearts remained hardened, resisting all calls to repentance. Thus, the refiner's persistent work proved "in vain." This verse signifies a spiritual turning point where God's typical methods of grace and refinement have been exhausted on an unyielding people. It's a poignant declaration of a nation's intractable depravity, ultimately paving the way for the unavoidable and catastrophic judgment of the Babylonian exile, a judgment rooted not in God's caprice but in Judah's unpurifiable rebellion. The people, in effect, chose to remain dross rather than become pure silver.