Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G MessageEvery one of them is a hardened rebel, trafficking in slander—they are bronze and iron, base metal through and through, all of them corrupt.'
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.GAll of them are rebels of the stubbornest kind, going about as slanderers—bronze and iron, every last one of them corrupt.'
KJV
King James VersionThey are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleAll are hardened rebels, walking around as slanderers. They are bronze and iron; all of them are corrupt.
Footnotes
נְחֹשֶׁת וּבַרְזֶל (nechoshet u-varzel): 'bronze and iron.' In the ancient metallurgical hierarchy, silver and gold were the noble metals—the metals of covenant value, purity, and beauty. Bronze and iron were baser, harder, and far less refineable. To call this people 'bronze and iron' is the refiner's preliminary diagnosis: these are not the silver YHWH seeks—they are intractable base metal that resists and outlasts the fire. The assessment anticipates the failed smelting of v.29 and the final verdict of v.30. FOG retains 'bronze and iron' for its material specificity; FOG Message adds 'base metal through and through' to make the metallurgical hierarchy and its implications explicit.