Jeremiah 6:27-29

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

²⁷I have made you a tester and a refiner^[a] among my people
    so that you may know and test their ways.
²⁸They are all stubbornly rebellious,
    going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron;
    all of them act corruptly.^(A)
²⁹The bellows blow fiercely;
    the lead is consumed by the fire;^[b]
in vain the refining goes on,
    for the wicked are not removed.