The Good Figs and the Bad Figs

Jeremiah 24

1 j After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem k Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with l the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metal workers, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: behold, m two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, n like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had o 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, p whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 q I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. r I will build them up, and not tear them down; s I will plant them, and not uproot them. 7 t I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord, u and they shall be my people u and I will be their God, v for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

8 "But thus says the Lord: Like w the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat x Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who y dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them z a horror 1 to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a a reproach, b a byword, a a taunt, and c a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send d sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land that I gave to them and their fathers."

  1. Cross References
    2 Kings 24:12
    And Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign
    2 Chronicles 36:10
    In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of the Lord, and made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.
  2. Cross References
    Matthew 1:11
    And Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
    Jeremiah 22:18
    Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: "They shall not lament for him, saying, 'Ah, my brother!' or 'Ah, sister!' They shall not lament for him, saying, 'Ah, lord!' or 'Ah, his majesty!
    Jeremiah 22:24
    As I live, declares the Lord, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off
    Jeremiah 22:28
    Is this man Coniah a despised, broken pot, a vessel no one cares for? Why are he and his children hurled and cast into a land that they do not know?
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:2
    This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem.
    2 Kings 24:12
    And Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign
    2 Kings 24:14
    He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land.
  4. Cross References
    Amos 8:1 - 2
    This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit.
  5. Cross References
    Isaiah 28:4
    And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first-ripe fig before the summer: when someone sees it, he swallows it as soon as it is in his hand.
  6. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:17
    Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten.
  7. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:20
    Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles whom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
  8. Cross References
    Amos 9:4
    And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 12:15
    And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land.
    Jeremiah 29:10
    For thus says the Lord : When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
  10. Cross References
    Jeremiah 31:28
    And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord.
    Jeremiah 42:10
    If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you.
    Jeremiah 1:10
    See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.
    Amos 9:15
    I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them," says the Lord your God.
  11. Cross References
    Jeremiah 32:39
    I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.
    Deuteronomy 30:6
    And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
    Ezekiel 11:19
    And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh.
    Ezekiel 36:26 - 27
    And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
  12. Cross References
    Jeremiah 30:22
    And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
    Jeremiah 31:33
    But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord : I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 30:22
    And you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
    Jeremiah 31:33
    But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord : I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
  14. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:13
    You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
    Joel 2:12 - 13
    Yet even now," declares the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 24:2
    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.
    Jeremiah 29:17
    Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten.
  16. Cross References
    Jeremiah 21:1
    This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying.
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 43:1 - 44:1
    When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them.
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 15:4
    And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:18
    I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them.
    Jeremiah 49:13
    For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.
    Nehemiah 2:17
    Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.
    Isaiah 43:28
    Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.
  20. Cross References
    Jeremiah 29:18
    I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them.
    Jeremiah 49:13
    For I have sworn by myself, declares the Lord, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.
    Nehemiah 2:17
    Then I said to them, "You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.
    Isaiah 43:28
    Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary, and deliver Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.
  21. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 28:37
    And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where the Lord will lead you away.
    2 Chronicles 7:20
    Then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
  22. Cross References
    Jeremiah 25:18
    Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day.
    Jeremiah 26:6
    Then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.'
    Jeremiah 29:22
    Because of them this curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: "The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire.
    2 Kings 22:19
    Because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord.
  23. Cross References
    Jeremiah 14:12
    Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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