Two Baskets of Figs

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. 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.

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.”

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “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] 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. 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)

“‘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) 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)’”

Seventy Years of Captivity

25 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(AA) son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar(AB) king of Babylon. So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah(AC) and to all those living in Jerusalem: For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah(AD) son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again,(AE) but you have not listened.(AF)

And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets(AG) to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.(AH) They said, “Turn(AI) now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land(AJ) the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods(AK) to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

“But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused(AL) my anger with what your hands have made,(AM) and you have brought harm(AN) to yourselves.”

Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon(AO) all the peoples of the north(AP) and my servant(AQ) Nebuchadnezzar(AR) king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy[d](AS) them and make them an object of horror and scorn,(AT) and an everlasting ruin.(AU) 10 I will banish from them the sounds(AV) of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,(AW) the sound of millstones(AX) and the light of the lamp.(AY) 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,(AZ) and these nations will serve(BA) the king of Babylon seventy years.(BB)

12 “But when the seventy years(BC) are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon(BD) and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,[e] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate(BE) forever. 13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written(BF) in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved(BG) by many nations(BH) and great kings; I will repay(BI) them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 24:1 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin
  2. Jeremiah 24:5 Or Chaldeans
  3. Jeremiah 24:9 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that they are cursed.
  4. Jeremiah 25:9 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  5. Jeremiah 25:12 Or Chaldeans

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.

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.

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.

Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

25 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;

The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the Lord hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.

And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear.

They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:

And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.

Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt.

Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,

Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.

10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.

11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.

14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.