Jeremiah

The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, 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 carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

1The LORD showed me something. Two baskets of figs were sitting in front of the LORD's temple. This was after Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken King Jeconiah of Judah away as a prisoner. Jeconiah was the son of Jehoiakim. The king of Babylon also took away the leaders of Judah, along with the woodworkers and metalworkers, from Jerusalem to Babylon.

Note"Carpenters and smiths" means skilled workers in wood and metal. Babylon took the trained craftsmen so Judah could not rebuild or make weapons.

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

2One basket held very good figs, like the ones that ripen early in the season. The other basket held very bad figs. They were so rotten that no one could eat them.

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

3Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "Figs. The good ones are very good. The bad ones are very bad, too rotten to eat."

4Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

4Then the LORD spoke to me again. He said:

5Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

5"This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I think of the people of Judah who were taken away to Babylon the way you think of these good figs. I sent them away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans, and it was for their good.

NoteThe Chaldeans were the people who ruled Babylon, so "the land of the Chaldeans" means Babylon.

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.

6I will watch over them and treat them well. 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 an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

7I will give them a heart that knows me, so they understand that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, because they will come back to me with their whole heart.

8And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give 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:

8But the bad figs are so rotten that no one can eat them. The LORD says: That is how I will treat Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his officials. That includes the people of Jerusalem who are still left in this land, and those who now live in Egypt.

9And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

9I will make them a horror to every kingdom on earth, and harm will come to them. People will shame them, mock them, laugh at them, and curse them, everywhere I scatter them.

Note"A proverb" here means a byword: their name becomes the example people use when they talk about disaster.

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.

10I will send war, hunger, and deadly sickness against them. This will go on until they are all gone from the land I gave to them and to their fathers."