Jeremiah 6 · Verse 27

Jeremiah 6:27

I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
Jeremiah 6:27, King James Version

Jeremiah 6:27 in other translations

BSB“I have appointed you to examine My people like ore, so you may know and try their ways.
WEB“I have made you a tester of metals and a fortress among my people, that you may know and try their way.
ASVI have made thee a trier and a fortress among my people; that thou mayest know and try their way.
YLTA watch-tower I have given thee, Among My people a fortress, And thou knowest, and hast tried their way.
DARBYI have set thee among my people as an assayer, a fortress, that thou mayest know and try their way.
BBEI have made you a tester among my people, so that you may have knowledge of their way and put it to the test.
WebsterI have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.

What does Jeremiah 6:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
27. tower ... fortress--(Jr 1:18), rather, "an assayer (and) explorer." By a metaphor from metallurgy in Jr 6:27-30, Jehovah, in conclusion, confirms the prophet in his office, and the latter sums up the description of the reprobate people on whom he had to work. The Hebrew for "assayer" (English Version, "tower") is from a root "to try" metals. "Explorer" (English Version, "fortress") is from an Arabic root, "keen-sighted"; or a Hebrew root, "cutting," that is, separating the metal from the dross [Ewald]. Gesenius translates as English Version, "fortress," which does not accord with the previous "assayer."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress - Dr. Blayney translates, I have appointed thee to make an assay among my people. The words refer to the office of an assayer of silver and gold; and the manner of assaying here intended is by the cupel, a flat broad iron ring filled with the ashes of burnt bones. To separate the alloy from the silver they add a portion of lead; and when all is fused together, and brought into a state of ebullition, the cupel absorbs the lead, and with it the dross or alloy, and the silver is left pure and motionless on the top of the cupel. The people are here represented under the notion of alloyed silver. They are full of impurities; and they are put into the hands of the prophet, the assayer, to be purified. The bellows are placed, the fire is lighted up, but all to no purpose: so intensely commixed is the alloy with the silver, that it can not be separated. The nozzle of the bellows is even melted with the intensity of the fire used to effect the refinement; and the lead is carried off by the action of the heat; and the assayer melteth in vain, for the alloy still continues in union with the metal. The assayer gives up the process, - will not institute one more expensive or tedious - pronounces the mass unfit to be coined, and denominates it reprobate silver, Jer 6:30. Thus, the evil habits and dispositions of the Israelites were so ingrained that they would not yield to either the ordinary or extraordinary means of salvation. God pronounces them reprobate silver, - not sterling, - full of alloy; - having neither the image nor the superscription of the Great King either on their hearts or on their conduct. Thus he gave them up as incorrigible, and their adversaries prevailed against them. This should be a warning to other nations, and indeed to the Christian Church; for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare these.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 6:18-30

God rejects their outward services, as worthless to atone for their sins. Sacrifice and incense were to direct them to a Mediator; but when offered to purchase a license to go on in sin, they provoke God. The sins of God's professing people make them an easy prey to their enemies. They dare not show themselves. Saints may rejoice in hope of God's mercies, though they see them only in the promise: sinners must mourn…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 6:18-30 →

Jeremiah 6:27 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

בָּח֛וֹןba.Chonan assayerH969
נְתַתִּ֥יךָne.ta.Ti.khaI have made youH5414
בְעַמִּ֖יve.'a.Miamong people myH5971
מִבְצָ֑רmiv.TzarfortificationH4013
וְתֵדַ֕עve.te.Da'so you may observeH3045
וּבָחַנְתָּ֖u.va.chan.Taand you will testH974
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
דַּרְכָּֽם\׃dar.Kamconduct theirH1870

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jeremiah 6:27

  • Jeremiah 1:18

    For, 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.

  • Jeremiah 15:20

    And 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.

  • Jeremiah 9:7

    Therefore 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?

  • Ezekiel 3:8-10

    Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

  • Ezekiel 20:4

    Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:

  • Ezekiel 22:2

    Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1:18; 15:20; Eze 3:8-10; 20:4; 22:2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Jeremiah 6:26

    O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

  • Jeremiah 6:27

    I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.

  • Jeremiah 6:28

    They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.

Read all of Jeremiah 6

Jeremiah 6:27 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Por fortaleza te he puesto en mi pueblo, por torre: conocerás pues, y examinarás el camino de ellos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Je t’ai établi comme un essayeur au milieu de mon peuple, une forteresse, afin que tu connaisses et que tu éprouves leur voie.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ich habe dich zum Prüfer unter meinem Volke gesetzt, als eine Feste damit du ihren Weg erkennen und prüfen möchtest.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Probatorem dedi te in populo meo robustum: et scies, et probabis viam eorum.