Jeremiah 6:28
“They are all grievous rebels, going around to slander. They are brass and iron. All of them deal corruptly.”
What does Jeremiah 6:28 mean?
Jeremiah is describing a society that has become spiritually hardened and morally broken. The people around him are characterized by rebellion against God, spreading damaging lies about one another, and their hearts have become as unyielding as metal—brass and iron—meaning they've lost the capacity to soften, repent, or change course. This passage comes during a time when Judah ignored God's warnings through the prophets, and Jeremiah is expressing the painful reality of what happens when people collectively choose corruption over righteousness. It's not that they're beyond God's reach, but that they've become resistant and unreceptive to correction. The image of metal suggests how they've hardened themselves through repeated choices to do wrong. For those of us in difficult seasons, this passage reminds us that stubbornness and corruption don't sneak up overnight, they develop gradually through small compromises. At the same time, Jeremiah's honesty about how broken things had become is itself an invitation: recognizing where we've gone wrong is the first step toward turning back.