Jeremiah 12:2

You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. ¹  They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. ²  They always talk about you, but they really care nothing about you. ³ 

Isa 29:13; Jer 11:17; Jer 45:4; Eze 17:5-10; Eze 19:10-13; Eze 33:31; Mt 15:8; Mr 7:6; Tit 1:16

¹ tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”

² 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.

³ 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.”