After aNebuchadnezzar
king
of Babylon
had carried
away
captive
Jeconiah
the son
of Jehoiakim
, king
of Judah
, and the officials
of Judah
with the craftsmen
and smiths
from Jerusalem
and had brought
them to Babylon
, the LORD
showed
me: behold
, two
bbaskets
of figs
set
before
the temple
of the LORD
!
One basket
had very
good
figs
, like afirst-ripe
figs
, and the other
basket
had bvery
bad
figs
which
could not be eaten
due
to rottenness
.
Then the LORD said
to me, " aWhat
do you see
, Jeremiah
?" And I said
, "Figs
, the good
figs
, very
good
; and the bad
figs, very
bad
, which
cannot
be eaten
due
to rottenness
."
Then the word of the LORD
came
to me, saying
,
"Thus says
the LORD
God
of Israel
, `Like these
good
figs
, so
I will regard
aas good
the captives
of Judah
, whom
I have sent
out of this
place
into the land
of the Chaldeans
.
`For I will set My eyes
on them for good
, and I will abring
them again
to this
land
; and I will bbuild
them up and not overthrow
them, and I will cplant
them and not pluck
them up.
`I will give them a aheart
to know
Me, for I am the LORD
; and they will be bMy people
, and I will be their God
, for they will creturn
to Me with their whole
heart
.
`But like the abad figs
which
cannot
be eaten
due
to rottenness
--indeed
, thus
says
the LORD
--so
I will 1abandon
bZedekiah
king
of Judah
and his officials
, and the cremnant
of Jerusalem
who remain
in this
land
and the ones who dwell
in the land
of dEgypt
.
`I will amake them a terror
and an evil
for all
the kingdoms
of the earth
, as a breproach
and a proverb
, a taunt
and a ccurse
in all
places
where
I will scatter
them.
`I will send the asword
, the famine
and the pestilence
upon them until
they are destroyed
from the land
which
I gave
to them and their forefathers
.' "