Bellows

Narrator: Chris Genthree

Duration: 1min

Instead of “the bellows are burned,” some prefer to translate “the bellows puff, or blow, and the lead is consumed in the fire,” lead being formerly used to purify silver (Jer. 6:29²⁹The 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)). The allusion is that Israel had not been refined by means of judgment: “reprobate silver shall men call them” (Jer. 6:30³⁰Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them. (Jeremiah 6:30)). Bellows are seen on the monuments of Egypt, having two bags on which a man stands; by lifting up each foot alternately, and pulling a string, each bag is inflated, and the wind is forced to the fire as the foot descends.