Jeremiah Chapter 24
Two Baskets of Figs
1 Nebuchadrezzar/Nebuchadnezzar took to Babylon Jeconiah/Jehoiachin Ben-Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials in Judah along with the craftsmen and artisans. Then Yahveh showed me two baskets of figs sitting in front of the Temple. 2 One basket had nice figs in it, like first-ripe ones; the other basket held rotten ones.
3 He said, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
I said, “Figs, really good ones and really bad ones you can’t eat because they’re rotten.”
Jer 24:1-3
4 Then his message came to me:
5 “Yahveh God of Israel says, ‘Like those good figs, I’ll treat as good the captives of Judah that I’ve sent out to Babylonia. 6 I’ll tend to them and bring them back. I’ll build them up, not tear them down; plant them, not pull them up. 7 I’ll give them a heart to know me because I’m Yahveh. They’ll be my people, and I’ll be their God. They’ll come back to me with all their heart.
8 ‘But like those bad figs, I’ll treat Zedekiah, his officials, the remnant in Jerusalem, and the ones living in Egypt. 9 I’ll make them something every kingdom can see: a disgrace, a byword, a taunt, a curse wherever I scatter them. 10 I’ll send them sword, famine, and disease till they’re gone from the land I gave them and their ancestors.’”
Jer 24:4-10