Jeremiah 24

The Good Figs and the Bad Figs

1 After 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.2 One 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.3 And 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."

4 Then 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.6 I 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 uproot them.7 I 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.

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.9 I will make them a horrort 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.10 And 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."

Jeremiah 24

Good Figs and Bad Figs

1 The Lord showed me two baskets of figs sitting before his temple. This happened after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deported Jehoiakim’s son, King Jeconiah of Judah. He deported him and the leaders of Judah, along with the craftsmen and metal workers, and took them to Babylon.s2 One basket had very good-looking figs in it. They looked like those that had ripened early.s The other basket had very bad-looking figs in it, so bad they could not be eaten.

3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see figs. The good ones look very good. But the bad ones look very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
4 The Lord said to me,t5 “I, the Lord, the God of Israel, say: ‘The exiles whom I sent away from here to the land of Babylont are like those good figs. I consider them to be good.6 I will look after their welfaret and will restore them to this land. There I will build them up and will not tear them down. I will plant them firmly in the landt and will not uproot them.s

7 I will give them the desire to acknowledge that It am the Lord. I will be their God and they will be my people. For they will wholeheartedlyt return to me.’
8 “I, the Lord, also solemnly assert: ‘King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people who remain in Jerusalems or who have gone to live in Egypt are like those bad figs. I consider them to be just like those bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.t9 I will bring such disaster on them that all the kingdoms of the earth will be horrified. I will make them an object of reproach, a proverbial example of disaster. I will make them an object of ridicule, an example to be used in curses.ts That is how they will be remembered wherever I banish them.t

10 I will bring war, starvation, and diseases on them until they are completely destroyed from the land I gave them and their ancestors.’”t