Jeremiah 24

Two Baskets of Figs

1The LORD showed me, and look, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD. This was after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away into exile Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, along with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon. 2One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten. 3The LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad are very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten.”

The Good Figs

4Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard for good the exiles of Judah whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6I will set my eyes upon them for good and bring them back to this land. I will build them and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

The Bad Figs

8“But like the bad figs that cannot be eaten because they are so bad,” says the LORD, “so I will make Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who live in the land of Egypt. 9I will make them a horror, a disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and proverb, a taunt and curse, in all the places where I drive them. 10I will send against them sword, famine, and plague until they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and to their ancestors.”