Jeremiah 24

1Jehovah showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

1The LORD showed me a vision: I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. This happened after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had taken Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into exile. He took the leaders of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers from Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon.

2One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first-ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

2One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early in the season. But the other basket had very bad figs, so rotten that they could not be eaten.

3Then said Jehovah unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.

3Then the LORD asked me, 'What do you see, Jeremiah?' I answered, 'Figs. The good figs are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.'

4And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

4Then the word of the LORD came to me:

5Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good.

5This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I consider the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians, to be like these good figs. I will look after them for their own good.'

6For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

6'I will watch over 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 pull them up.'

7And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

7'I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, because they will return to me with all their heart.'

8And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad, surely thus saith Jehovah, So will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt,

8'But like the bad figs that are too rotten to eat,' says the LORD, 'that is how I will treat King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the survivors from Jerusalem—those who remain in this land and those who live in Egypt.'

9I will even give them up to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

9'I will make them an object of horror and a symbol of evil to all the kingdoms of the earth. They will be insulted, mocked, ridiculed, and cursed in every place where I scatter them.'

10And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

10'I will send war, famine, and disease against them until they are completely wiped out from the land that I gave to them and their ancestors.'