Yeremia 4:3
Konteks4:3 Yes, 1 the Lord has this to say
to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground,
you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning;
just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted,
you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives. 2
Yeremia 12:2
Konteks12:2 You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. 3
They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. 4
They always talk about you,
but they really care nothing about you. 5
[4:3] 1 tn The Hebrew particle is obviously asseverative here since a causal connection appears to make little sense.
[4:3] 2 tn Heb “Plow up your unplowed ground and do not sow among the thorns.” The translation is an attempt to bring out the force of a metaphor. The idea seems to be that they are to plow over the thorns and make the ground ready for the seeds which will produce a new crop where none had been produced before.
[12:2] 3 tn Heb “You planted them and they took root.”
[12:2] 4 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.
[12:2] 5 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.”