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24 Hashem showed me, and, hinei, two baskets of figs were set in front of the Heikhal Hashem; after that Nevuchadretzar Melech Bavel had carried away into the Golus Melech Yehudah Yechanyah ben Y’hoyakim, and the sarim (princes) of Yehudah, with the craftsmen and artisans, from Yerushalayim, and had brought them to Babylon.

One basket had figs tovot me’od, even like the figs that are early ripening; and the other basket had figs ra’ot me’od, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

Then said Hashem unto me, What seest thou, Yirmeyah? And I answered, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that cannot be eaten they are so bad.

Again the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,

Thus saith Hashem Elohei Yisroel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that of Yehudah are carried away unto the Golus, whom I have sent out of this place into the Eretz Kasdim (Chaldeans) for their good.

For I will set mine eyes over them for tovah, and I will bring them again to ha’aretz hazot; and I will build them up, and not tear them down; and I will plant them, and not uproot them.

And I will give them a lev to have da’as of me, that I am Hashem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their Elohim; for they shall return unto Me with all their lev.

And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad, surely thus saith Hashem, So will I give Tzidkiyah Melech Yehudah, and his sarim (princes), and the she’erit Yerushalayim, that remain in ha’aretz hazot, and them that dwell in Eretz Mitzrayim;

And I will deliver them for abhorrence, for an offense to kol mamlechot ha’aretz to be a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a kelalah (curse) in all places where I shall drive them.

10 And I will send the cherev, the ra’av (famine), and the dever (pestilence), among them, until they are consumed from off ha’aretz that I gave unto them and to their avot.

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)’”

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.