< Jeremiah 24 >

1 The Lord shewed me, and beholde, two baskets of figges were set before the Temple of the Lord, after that Nebuchad-nezzar King of Babel had caryed away captiue Ieconiah ye sonne of Iehoiakim King of Iudah, and the princes of Iudah with the workemen, and cunning men of Ierusalem, and had brought them to Babel.
The Lord gave me a vision, and I saw two baskets full of figs put in front of the Temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, had taken prisoner Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the chiefs of Judah, and the expert workmen and metal-workers from Jerusalem, and had taken them to Babylon.
2 One basket had verie good figges, euen like the figges that are first ripe: and the other basket had verie naughtie figges, which could not be eaten, they were so euill.
One basket had very good figs, like the figs which first come to growth: and the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they were of no use for food.
3 Then saide the Lord vnto mee, What seest thou, Ieremiah? And I said, Figges: ye good figges verie good, and the naughtie verie naughtie, which cannot be eaten, they are so euill.
Then the Lord said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs are very good, and the bad very bad, and of no use for food, they are so bad.
4 Againe the worde of the Lord came vnto me, saying,
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 Thus sayeth the Lord, the God of Israel, Like these good figges, so will I knowe them that are caryed away captiue of Iudah to bee good, whome I haue sent out of this place, into the land of the Caldeans.
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said: Like these good figs, so in my eyes will be the prisoners of Judah, whom I have sent from this place into the land of the Chaldaeans for their good.
6 For I wil set mine eyes vpon them for good, and I will bring them againe to this lande, and I will build them, and not destroy them, and I will plant them, and not roote them out,
For I will keep my eyes on them for good, and I will take them back again to this land, building them up and not pulling them down, planting them and not uprooting them.
7 And I will giue them an heart to knowe me, that I am the Lord, and they shalbe my people, and I wil be their God: for they shall returne vnto mee with their whole heart.
And I will give them a heart to have knowledge of me, that I am the Lord: and they will be my people, and I will be their God: for they will come back to me with all their heart.
8 And as the naughtie figges which can not bee eaten, they are so euill (surely thus saith the Lord) so wil I giue Zedekiah the King of Iudah, and his princes, and the residue of Ierusalem, that remaine in this lande, and them that dwell in the lande of Egypt:
And like the bad figs which are so bad that they are of no use for food, so I will give up Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his chiefs and the rest of Jerusalem who are still in this land, and those who are in the land of Egypt:
9 I will euen giue them for a terrible plague to all the kingdomes of the earth, and for a reproche, and for a prouerbe, for a common talke, and for a curse, in all places where I shall cast them.
I will give them up to be a cause of fear and of trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth; to be a name of shame and common talk and a cutting word and a curse in all the places wherever I will send them wandering.
10 And I will sende the sworde, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they bee consumed out of the land, that I gaue vnto them and to their fathers.
And I will send the sword, and need of food, and disease, among them till they are all cut off from the land which I gave to them and to their fathers.

< Jeremiah 24 >