Jeremiah 24
English Standard Version
The Good Figs and the Bad Figs
24 (A)After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem (B)Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with (C)the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, (D)two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, (E)like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had (F)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, (G)whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 (H)I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. (I)I will build them up, and not tear them down; (J)I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 (K)I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord, (L)and they shall be my people (M)and I will be their God, (N)for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
8 “But thus says the Lord: Like (O)the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat (P)Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who (Q)dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them (R)a horror[a] to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be (S)a reproach, (T)a byword, (U)a taunt, and (V)a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send (W)sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 24:9 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew horror for evil
Jeremiah 24
New King James Version
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.
8 ‘And as the bad (J)figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’—surely thus says the Lord—‘so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the (K)residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and (L)those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will deliver them to (M)trouble into all the kingdoms of the earth, for their harm, (N)to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they are [b]consumed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’ ”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 24:5 regard
- Jeremiah 24:10 destroyed
Jeremiah 24
1599 Geneva Bible
24 The vision of the baskets of figs, 5 Signifieth that part of the people should be brought again out of captivity. 8 And that Zedekiah and the rest of the people should be carried away.
1 The Lord showed me, and behold, two [a]baskets of figs were set before the Temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babel had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the workmen, and cunning men of Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babel.
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 evil.
3 Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs: the good figs very good, and the naughty very naughty, which 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 know them that are carried away captive of Judah to be good, whom I have sent out of this [b]place, into the land of the Chaldeans.
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 destroy them, and I will plant them, and not root them out.
7 And I will give them [c]an heart to know me, that I am the Lord, and they shall be (A)my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
8 (B)And as the naughty 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 [d]in the land of Egypt:
9 I will even give them for a terrible plague to all the kingdoms of the earth, and for a reproach and for a proverb, for a common talk, and for a curse, in all places where I shall cast them.
10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they be consumed out of the land, that I gave unto them, and to their fathers.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 24:1 The good figs signified them that were gone into captivity, and so saved their life, as Jer. 21:8, and the naughty figs them that remained, which were yet subject to the sword, famine and pestilence.
- Jeremiah 24:5 Whereby he approveth the yielding of Jeconiah and his company, because they obeyed the Prophet, who exhorted them thereunto.
- Jeremiah 24:7 Which declareth that man of himself can know nothing, till God give the heart and understanding.
- Jeremiah 24:8 Which fled thither for succor.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
