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

JEREMIAH 6:28KJV
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Jeremiah 6:28 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 6:28 mean?

Jeremiah 6:28 describes the people as stubborn rebels who constantly spread harmful talk and are compared to hard metals like brass and iron, showing that they are deeply corrupt. The verse paints a picture of a community that is resistant to change and full of moral decay.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah about the people of Jerusalem and Judah. The situation is one of warning: Jeremiah is describing how the people have turned away from what is right, not just occasionally, but as a pattern of life. The comparison to brass and iron highlights their hardness and unwillingness to be refined or improved, underlining how deeply their corruption runs.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 6:28

  • "grievous" (סָרֵי, sarei; H5493) means "turned aside" or "obstinate," emphasizing that the people are not just making mistakes but are willfully rebellious.
  • "revolters" (סָרָרִים, sararim; H5637) refers to those who stubbornly refuse to obey, reinforcing the idea of deliberate resistance.
  • "slanders" (רָכִיל, rakhil; H7400) means "malicious gossip" or "slander," showing that their wrongdoing includes harmful speech, not just actions.
  • "brass" (נְחֹשֶׁת, nechoshet; H5178) and "iron" (בַּרְזֶל, barzel; H1270) both refer to hard metals, symbolizing how the people's hearts are tough and unyielding, not easily shaped or corrected.
  • "corrupters" (מַשְׁחִיתִים, mashchitim; H7843) means "those who destroy" or "corrupt," making clear that their influence is not neutral but actively harmful.

Why Jeremiah 6:28 matters

  • This verse clears up the idea that the people's problem was just minor mistakes; it shows their rebellion was deep and willful.
  • The use of metal imagery stresses how difficult it would be to change or reform these people, connecting to the broader theme of judgment in Jeremiah.
  • Understanding the specific words for "slander" and "corrupt" highlights that the people's sin involved both their speech and their actions, giving a fuller picture of their moral state.

Where else these words appear

“slanders” Hebrew H7400 · used in 6 verses

  • Leviticus 19:16 Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD.
  • Proverbs 11:13 A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
  • Jeremiah 9:4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.

“revolters” Hebrew H5637 · used in 16 verses

  • Deuteronomy 21:18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
  • Psalms 68:18 Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them.
  • Isaiah 65:2 I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;

“iron” Hebrew H1270 · used in 70 verses

  • Genesis 4:22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
  • 2 Samuel 23:7 But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place.
  • Psalms 107:10 Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron;

“brass” Hebrew H5178 · used in 119 verses

  • Genesis 4:22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
  • Deuteronomy 8:9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.
  • 1 Chronicles 22:16 Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee.