[1] After Nebuchadrez'zar king of Babylon had taken into exile from
Jerusalem Jeconi'ah the son of Jehoi'akim, king of Judah, together with the
princes of Judah, the craftsmen, and the smiths, and had brought them to
Babylon, the LORD showed me this vision: Behold, two baskets of figs placed
before the temple of the LORD. [2] One basket had very good figs, like
first-ripe figs, but the other basket had 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, whom I have sent away from
this place to the land of the Chalde'ans. [6] I will set my eyes upon them
for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up,
and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not uproot them. [7] I will
give them a heart to know that I am the LORD; and they shall be my people
and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole
heart. [8] "But thus says the LORD: Like the bad figs which are so bad they
cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedeki'ah the king of Judah, his princes,
the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in
the land of Egypt. [9] I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the
earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places
where I shall drive them. [10] And I will send sword, famine, and
pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land
which I gave to them and their fathers."
