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. 6:29). The allusion is that Israel had not been refined by means of judgment: “reprobate silver shall men call them” (Jer. 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.