What Does Jeremiah 12:2 Mean?
You have planted them, and indeed they have taken root. They grow, and indeed they bring forth fruit. You are near in their mouth, and far from their kidneys.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.THE KEY
A life can be planted, deeply rooted, and fruitful while its innermost self remains far from God.
THE MEANING
The verse sees a life that looks settled and productive while its hidden center remains distant from God. Words can place God near the mouth without bringing the inner self near. Both the visible fruit and the concealed distance are held in view at once.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A fruitful life and God-language do not, by themselves, prove that the inward self is near God.
THE ROOT
רָחוֹק
raḥoq
GROWS FROM
רחק
raḥaq
to be distant or move away
The distance is located in the hidden center, not in geography: the mouth speaks nearness while the reins remain far. The same root appears in Isaiah’s image of a heart moved far from God, exposing the gap beneath the words.
ALSO GROWS
raḥaq: to be distant
רָחַק
This verb shows that “far” names an active relational distance, not just a measurement.
hirḥiq: to move or put far away
הִרְחִיק
This form makes the separation feel like a movement away from nearness.
שָׁרְשׁוּ
sharshu
GROWS FROM
שרש
sharash
root; take root
The people are not merely planted; they have taken root and bear fruit. The verse holds that visible establishment together with inward distance, so fruitfulness alone cannot reveal where the hidden self stands.
ALSO GROWS
shoresh: root
שֹׁרֶשׁ
The noun names the unseen foundation beneath the visible growth.
sharash: to take root
שָׁרַשׁ
This verb shows that the growth has become established, sharpening the contrast with the inward distance.
קָרוֹב
qarov
GROWS FROM
קרב
qarav
to approach or draw near
Nearness here is relational approach, yet the verse locates it in the mouth and contrasts it with distance in the reins. The same root gives qorban, “drawing near,” so nearness carries the sense of an approach, not merely words spoken nearby.
ALSO GROWS
qarav: to approach; draw near
קָרַב
This verb makes the verse’s nearness a movement toward someone.
qorban: drawing near; an offering
קָרְבָּן
This branch preserves the sense of approach within the word for an offering.
THE PATTERN
God sees the concealed center even when outward speech or appearance suggests nearness.
A good human brings out good from the good treasure of the heart, and an evil human brings out evil from the evil treasure of the heart, for from the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks.Every way of a man is straight in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts.THE THREAD
And the Lord says, Because this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips give me weight, but their heart has gone far from me, and their awe of me is a command of men, trained.Isaiah uses the same רחק (raḥaq) root for the heart moved far from God. Its parallel between a near mouth and a distant inner center opens Jeremiah’s “reins” as the concealed place where nearness is disclosed.
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