to give · verb, qal perfect, 1st person common singular + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
tower
בָּח֛וֹןba.Chon
H969
an assayer or metals · noun, common masculine singular absolute
fortress
מִבְצָ֑רmiv.Tzar
H4013
a fortification · noun, common masculine singular absolute
people
בְעַמִּ֖יve.'a.Mi
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
know
וְתֵדַ֕עve.te.Da'
H3045
to know (properly · conjunction + verb, qal, 2nd person masculine singular
try
וּבָחַנְתָּ֖u.va.chan.Ta
H974
to test (especially metals) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular
way
דַּרְכָּֽםdar.Kam
H1870
a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
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 Ju…
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…
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.
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.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 6:18–end
Here, I. God appeals to all the neighbours, nay, to the whole world, concerning the equity of his proceedings against Judah and Jerusalem (Jer 6:18, Jer 6:19): "Hear, you nations, and know particularly, O congregation of the mighty, the great men of the nations, that take cognizance of the affairs of states about you and make remarks upon them. Observe now what is doing among those of Judah and Jerusalem; you hear of the desolations brought upon them, the earth rings of it, trembles under it; you all wonder that I should bring evil upon this people, that are in covenant with me, that profess relation to me, that have worshipped me, and been highly favoured by me; you are ready to ask, Wheref…
tower . . . fortress-- (Jer 1:18), rather, "an assayer (and) explorer." By a metaphor from metallurgy in Jer 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."
John Gill on Jeremiah 6:27
I have set thee for a tower,.... Or "in" one (d); in a watch tower, to look about and observe the actions of the people, their sins and transgressions, and reprove them for them; as well as to descry the enemy, and give notice of danger; see Habakkuk 2:1 or, "for a trier"; since the word used comes from one which signifies to "try" metals, as gold and silver; and the rather this may be thought to be the meaning here, since the verb is made use of in this sense in the text; and the metaphor is carried on in the following words; though the word is used for towers in Isaiah 23:13 and may well enough be understood of a watchtower, agreeably with the office of the prophet; who is here addressed a…
(Verse 27 and following) I have appointed you as a strong tester among my people, and you will know and prove their ways. All these leaders are turning away (or disobedient), walking deceitfully (or perversely). Bronze and iron are all corrupted, the bellows in the fire have failed (which the Greeks more significantly call a 'puffer'), the lead is consumed, the refiner has vainly blown (or the moneylender). For their wickedness is not consumed: call them reprobate silver, for the Lord has rejected them. The prophet is given as a strong proof to an unbelieving people, which is called Mabsar in Hebrew, which either means fortified, according to Aquila, or enclosed and surrounded, according to Symmachus and the Septuagint, like a very strong city, so that it fears no treachery from any people; and when you have proven and understood the way of a sinful people, then you will understand that silver mixed with copper cannot be purged in any way. For just as lead is mixed with metals that are adulterated and corrupted, so that the foreign material can be separated, and if perhaps it has not been purified, all the lead is consumed and reduced to nothing: in the same way, every discourse of teachings and prophetic speech perishes in those who scorn to listen (Psalm 57). Let us speak also about those who, like deaf asps, plug their ears so as not to hear the voices of those who enchant. For the mint worker and the metal smelter have labored in vain: their wickedness has not been consumed. Therefore, they are called not silver, but reprobate silver, because the Lord has rejected them. And the princes are those who turn away from the Lord, who walk perversely and deceitfully.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Fortresses · Illustrative of: Protection afforded to ministers — Illustrative of: Protection afforded to ministers
Sins, National · Denunciations against — Denunciations against
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Jeremiah 6:27
Jeremiah 6:27
27. I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
27. Arcem posui to in populo meo, munitionem (vel, propagnaculum) ut cognoscas et probes vias ipsorum (viam ipsorum.)
The Prophet says, that he was set by God as a watchtower, which was also fortified, that he might observe the wickedness of the people. In order to gain more authority for his prophecy, he introduces God as the speaker. He had spoken hitherto in his own person; but now God himself comes forth, and says, I have made thee a citadel. Jerome renders the last word "probation." The verb vchn, becken, means to prove; and Jeremiah uses the verb in this verse, "tha…
Sorest affliction will seize the inhabitants of Jerusalem. As to "daughter of my people," cf. Jer 4:11; on "gird thee with sackcloth," cf. Jer 4:8. To bestrew the head with ashes is a mode of expressing the greatest affliction; cf. Eze 27:30; Mic 1:10. אבל as in Amo 8:10; Zac 12:10.
The closing verses of this discourse (Jer 6:27-30) are regarded by Hitz. as a meditation upon the results of his labours. "He was to try the people, and he found it to be evil." But in this he neglects the connection of these verses with the preceding. From the conclusion of Jer 6:30, "Jahveh hath rejected them," we may see that they stand connected in matter with the threatening of the spoiler; and the fact is p…
The Lord interrupted Jeremiah’s lamentation and brought him back to his commissioned task. God depicted the prophet as a silversmith working with raw ore. The refining process was going to reveal that the silver content of the ore was so small as to be worthless.
6:27 Jeremiah’s prophetic task was at odds with the empathy that he felt for his people. Like a metalworker, he was to direct the fire of criticism on the people to determine their quality in the light of God’s standards.
Rashi on Jeremiah 6:27
I have made you the strong one This was said to Jeremiah. I have made you the strong one in their midst, and you shall know and test their way, that he tested them and they will not heed. בחון is an expression of strength. Comp. (Isa. 32:14) “rampart and tower (בחן),” also (ibid. 23:13) “they erected its towers (בחוניו).”
