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. ² 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.

³ 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.”

⁴ Then 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^(F) away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.^{[b] 6} 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. ⁷ 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)

⁸ “‘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) 9} 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. ² So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah^(AC) and to all those living in Jerusalem: ³ 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)

⁴ 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) 5} 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. ⁶ 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.”

⁷ “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.”

⁸ Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, ⁹ 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.”

Boasting About Tomorrow

¹³ Now listen,^(A) you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”^{(B) 14} Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.^{(C) 15} Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will,^(D) we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.^{(E) 17} If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.^(F)