24 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jeconiah away as his prisoner. Jeconiah was the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. [ a ] Nebuchadnezzar also took all Jeconiah's officers and the workers in Judah who had special skills. He took them all away from Jerusalem to Babylon as his prisoners.
After that happened, the Lord showed me a vision. I saw two baskets of figs. Somebody had put them in front of the Lord 's temple. 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that are ready to eat early in the year. The other basket had very bad figs. They were too bad to eat.
3 Then the Lord asked me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’
I answered, ‘Figs. The good figs are very good. But the bad figs are so bad that nobody can eat them.’
4 Then the Lord gave me this message:
5 ‘The Lord , Israel's God, says, “The people that I sent away from Judah to Babylon as prisoners are like the good figs. I see them as good. 6 I will watch them carefully and I will take care of them. I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and make them strong. I will not knock them down. I will help them to grow in the land, like plants with good roots. I will not pull them up. [ b ] 7 I will cause them to want to know me. They will know that I am the Lord . They will be my people and I will be their God, because they will choose to return to me.”
8 But I, the Lord , also tell you this: “King Zedekiah of Judah and his officers are like the bad figs. That is true of the people who still live in Jerusalem, and those who have run away to Egypt to live there. They are all like the figs that are too bad to eat. 9 I will send great trouble to punish them. It will make everyone afraid. The people of all the kingdoms on the earth will think that they are disgusting. People will insult them. They will use them as an example in proverbs. They will use their name as a curse. That will happen in all the places where I send my people. 10 I will send war, famine and disease to kill them. I will destroy them all. They will disappear from the land that I gave to them and to their ancestors.” ’
24 The Lord showed me these things: I saw two baskets of figs arranged in front of the Temple of the Lord . (I saw this vision after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jehoiachin [ a ] as a prisoner. Jehoiachin, the son of King Jehoiakim, and all his important officials were taken away from Jerusalem. They were taken to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took away all the carpenters and metalworkers of Judah.) 2 One basket had very good figs in it, the kind that ripen early in the season. But the other basket had rotten figs. They were too rotten to eat.
3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I answered, “I see figs. The good figs are very good, and the rotten figs are very rotten. They are too rotten to eat.”
4 Then the message from the Lord came to me. 5 The Lord , the God of Israel, said, “The people of Judah were taken from their country. Their enemy brought them to Babylon. Those people will be like these good figs. I will be kind to them. 6 I will protect them. I will bring them back to the land of Judah. I will not tear them down—I will build them up. I will not pull them up—I will plant them so that they can grow. 7 I will make them want to know me. They will know that I am the Lord . They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will do this because the prisoners in Babylon will turn to me with their whole hearts.”
8 But the Lord also says, “I will treat King Zedekiah of Judah like those figs that are too rotten to eat. Zedekiah, his high officials, all those who are left in Jerusalem, and those people of Judah who are living in Egypt will be like those rotten figs. 9 I will punish them. Their punishment will shock all the people on earth. People will make fun of those people from Judah. People will tell jokes about them and curse them in all the places where I scatter them. 10 I will bring war, famine, and disease against them. I will attack them until they have all been killed. Then they will no longer be on the land that I gave to them and to their ancestors.”
24 The Lord shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord , after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
3 Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
4 Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5 Thus saith the Lord , the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord : and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the Lord , So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.
24 After ( A ) Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and metalworkers from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me: behold, two ( B ) baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord . 2 One basket had very good figs, like ( C ) first-ripe figs, and the other basket had ( D ) very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “ ( E ) What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs: the good figs are very good, and the bad ones , very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “This is what the Lord , the God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard ( F ) as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. 6 For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will ( G ) bring them back to this land; and I will ( H ) build them up and not overthrow them, and I will ( I ) plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will also give them a ( J ) heart to know Me, for I am the Lord ; and they will be ( K ) My people, and I will be their God, for they will ( L ) return to Me wholeheartedly.
8 ‘But like the ( M ) bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness,’ indeed, this is what the Lord says, ‘so will I give up ( N ) Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the ( O ) remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and the ones who live in the land of ( P ) Egypt. 9 I will ( Q ) make them an object of terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a ( R ) disgrace and a proverb, a taunt and a ( S ) curse in all the places where I will scatter them. 10 And I will send the ( T ) sword, the famine, and the plague upon them until they are eliminated from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”
24 After Jehoiachin [ a ] ( A ) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs ( B ) placed in front of the temple of the Lord . 2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; ( C ) the other basket had very bad ( D ) figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
3 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see, ( E ) Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent ( F ) away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. [ b ] 6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back ( G ) to this land. I will build ( H ) them up and not tear them down; I will plant ( I ) them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know ( J ) me, that I am the Lord . They will be my people, ( K ) and I will be their God, for they will return ( L ) to me with all their heart. ( M )
8 “‘But like the bad ( N ) figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord , ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah ( O ) king of Judah, his officials ( P ) and the survivors ( Q ) from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. ( R ) 9 I will make them abhorrent ( S ) and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, ( T ) a curse [ c ] ( U ) and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish ( V ) them. 10 I will send the sword, ( W ) famine ( X ) and plague ( Y ) against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors. ( Z ) ’”
