Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 9:7

"Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how [else] should I do, because of the daughter of my people?" — Jeremiah 9:7 (ASV)

I will melt them, and try them. —The prophet, speaking in the name of Jehovah, falls back upon the imagery of Jeremiah 6:28-30 and Isaiah 48:10. The evil has come to such a pass that nothing is left but the melting of the fiery furnace of affliction. How else could He act for the daughter of His people? The phrase throws us back upon Jeremiah 8:21-22. The balm of Gilead had proved ineffectual. The disease required a more severe remedy.