Jeremiah 24

1 The Lord schewide to me, and lo! twei panyeris ful of figys weren set bifor the temple of the Lord, aftir that Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, translatide Jeconye, the sone of Joachym, the kyng of Juda, and the princes of hym, and a sutil crafti man, and a goldsmith fro Jerusalem, and brouyte hem in to Babiloyne.

The LORD showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs were set before the LORD’s temple, after Nebuchadnezzar 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.

2 And o panyere hadde ful good figis, as figis of the firste tyme ben wont to be; and o panyere hadde ful yuel figis, that miyten not be etun, for tho weren yuel figis.

One 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.

3 And the Lord seide to me, Jeremye, what thing seest thou? And Y seide, Figis, goode figis, ful goode, and yuele figis, ful yuele, that moun not be etun, for tho ben yuele figis.

Then the LORD asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad are very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”

4 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,

The LORD’s word came to me, saying,

5 and seide, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, As these figis ben goode, so Y schal knowe the transmygracioun of Juda, which I sente out fro this place in to the lond of Caldeis, in to good.

“The LORD, the God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, as good.

6 And Y schal sette myn iyen on hem to plese, and Y schal brynge hem ayen in to this lond; and Y schal bilde hem, and Y schal not distrie hem; and Y schal plaunte hem, and Y schal not drawe vp bi the roote.

For I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land. I will build them, and not pull them down. I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

7 And Y schal yyue to hem an herte, that thei knowe me, for Y am the Lord; and thei schulen be in to a puple to me, and Y schal be in to God to hem, for thei schulen turne ayen to me in al her herte.

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; for they will return to me with their whole heart.

8 And as the worste figis ben, that moun not be etun, for tho ben yuele figis, the Lord seith these thingis, So Y schal yyue Sedechie, the kyng of Juda, and the princes of hym, and other men of Jerusalem, that dwelliden in this citee, and that dwellen in the lond of Egipt.

“‘As the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad,’ surely the LORD says, ‘So I will give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.

9 And Y schal yyue hem into trauelyng and turment in alle rewmes of erthe, in to schenschipe, and in to parable, and in to a prouerbe, and in to cursyng, in alle places to whiche Y castide hem out.

I will even give them up to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places where I will drive them.

10 And Y schal sende in hem a swerd, and hungur, and pestilence, til thei be wastid fro the lond which Y yaf to hem, and to the fadris of hem.

I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, until they are consumed from off the land that I gave to them and to their fathers.’”