Jeremiah’s Letter to the Captives

29 Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were ^(A)carried away captive—to the priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon.

²⁰ And Mordecai wrote these things and sent letters to all the Jews, near and far, who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus,

²² And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words.

²³ They wrote this letter by them:

The Loveless Church

2 “To the ^[a]angel of the church of Ephesus write,

‘These things says ^(A)He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, ^(B)who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: ^2 (C)“I know your works, your labor, your ^[b]patience, and that you cannot ^[c]bear those who are evil. And ^(D)you have tested those ^(E)who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; ³ and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have ^(F)not become weary.

⁸ For even if I made you ^(A)sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; ^(B)though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.

⁴ And I will bring back to this place ^[a]Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’ ”

The Sign of Two Baskets of Figs

24 The ^(A)Lord showed me, and there were two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar ^(B)king of Babylon had carried away captive ^(C)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. ² One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so ^(D)bad. ³ Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”

⁴ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁵ “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I ^[a]acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶ For I will set My eyes on them for good, and ^(E)I will bring them back to this land; ^(F)I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. ⁷ Then I will give them ^(G)a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be ^(H)My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me ^(I)with their whole heart.