1After Jehoiachin[1] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the craftsmen of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the Lord.2One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.3Then the Lord asked me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ ‘Figs,’ I answered. ‘The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad that they cannot be eaten.’4Then 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 away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.[2]6My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.7I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.8‘ “But like the bad figs, which are so bad that they cannot be eaten,” says the Lord, “so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.9I will make them abhorrent and an offence to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse[3] and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them.10I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.” ’
Jeremiah 24
English Standard Version
The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
1After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. (2Ki 24:12; 2Ki 24:14; 2Ch 36:10; Jer 22:18; Jer 22:24; Jer 22:28; Jer 29:2; Am 8:1; Mt 1:11)2One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. (Isa 28:4; Jer 29:17)3And the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”4Then the word of the Lord came to me:5“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. (Jer 29:20)6I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. (Jer 1:10; Jer 12:15; Jer 29:10; Jer 31:28; Jer 42:10; Am 9:4; Am 9:15)7I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. (De 30:6; Jer 29:13; Jer 30:22; Jer 31:33; Jer 32:39; Eze 11:19; Eze 36:26; Joe 2:12)8“But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. (Jer 21:1; Jer 24:2; Jer 29:17)9I will make them a horror[1] to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. (De 28:37; 2Ki 22:19; 2Ch 7:20; Ne 2:17; Isa 43:28; Jer 15:4; Jer 25:18; Jer 26:6; Jer 29:18; Jer 29:22; Jer 49:13)10And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.” (Jer 14:12)