Discovery BoxJeremiah 7:20 
Context7:20 So,” the Lord God 1 says, “my raging fury will be poured out on this land. 2 It will be poured out on human beings and animals, on trees and crops. 3 And it will burn like a fire which cannot be extinguished.”
Jeremiah 12:2
Context12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. 4
They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. 5
They always talk about you,
but they really care nothing about you. 6
Jeremiah 46:22
Context46:22 Egypt will run away, hissing like a snake, 7
as the enemy comes marching up in force.
They will come against her with axes
as if they were woodsmen chopping down trees.
1 tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.” The translation follows the ancient Jewish tradition of substituting the Hebrew word for God for the proper name Yahweh.
2 tn Heb “this place.” Some see this as a reference to the temple but the context has been talking about what goes on in the towns of Judah and Jerusalem and the words that follow, meant as a further explanation, are applied to the whole land.
3 tn Heb “the trees of/in the field and the fruit of/in the ground.”
4 tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”
5 tn Heb “they grow and produce fruit.” For the nuance “grow” for the verb which normally means “go, walk,” see BDB 232 s.v. חָלַךְ Qal.I.3 and compare Hos 14:7.
6 tn Heb “You are near in their mouths, but far from their kidneys.” The figure of substitution is being used here, “mouth” for “words” and “kidneys” for passions and affections. A contemporary equivalent might be, “your name is always on their lips, but their hearts are far from you.”
7 tn Or “Egypt will rustle away like a snake”; Heb “her sound goes like the snake,” or “her sound [is] like the snake [when] it goes.” The meaning of the simile is debated. Some see a reference to the impotent hiss of a fleeing serpent (F. B. Huey, Jeremiah, Lamentations [NAC], 382), others the sound of a serpent stealthily crawling away when it is disturbed (H. Freedman, Jeremiah [SoBB], 297-98). The translation follows the former interpretation because of the irony involved.
sn Several commentators point out the irony of the snake slithering away (or hissing away) in retreat. The coiled serpent was a part of the royal insignia, signifying its readiness to strike. Pharaoh had boasted of great things (v. 8) but was just a big noise (v. 17); now all he could do was hiss as he beat his retreat (v. 22).
