Jeremiæ 24

1 Ostendit mihi Dominus: et ecce duo calathi pleni ficis, positi ante templum Domini, postquam transtulit Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis Jechoniam filium Joakim, regem Juda, et principes ejus, et fabrum, et inclusorem, de Jerusalem, et adduxit eos in Babylonem.

The Lord revealed to me, and behold, two baskets full of figs were set before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, carried away Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and his leaders, and the craftsmen and engravers of Jerusalem, and led them into Babylon.

2 Calathus unus ficus bonas habebat nimis, ut solent ficus esse primi temporis: et calathus unus ficus habebat malas nimis, quæ comedi non poterant eo quod essent malæ.

One basket had exceedingly good figs, like the figs usually found early in the season, and the other basket had exceedingly bad figs, which could not be eaten because they were so bad.

3 Et dixit Dominus ad me: Quid tu vides, Jeremia? Et dixi: Ficus, ficus bonas, bonas valde: et malas, malas valde, quæ comedi non possunt eo quod sint malæ.

And the Lord said to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said: “Figs: the good figs are very good, and the bad figs are very bad and cannot be eaten because they are so bad.”

4 Et factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens:

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

5 Hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israël: Sicut ficus hæ bonæ, sic cognoscam transmigrationem Juda, quam emisi de loco isto in terram Chaldæorum, in bonum.

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Just like these good figs, so will I regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent from this place into the land of the Chaldeans.

6 Et ponam oculos meos super eos ad placandum, et reducam eos in terram hanc: et ædificabo eos, et non destruam: et plantabo eos, et non evellam.

And I will set my eyes upon them, so as to be pleased. And I will lead them back into this land. And I will build them up, and I will not tear them down. And I will plant them, and I will not uproot them.

7 Et dabo eis cor ut sciant me, quia ego sum Dominus: et erunt mihi in populum, et ego ero eis in Deum, quia revertentur ad me in toto corde suo.

And I will give them a heart, so that they may know me, that I am the Lord. And they will be my people, and I will be their God. For they shall return to me with their whole heart.

8 Et sicut ficus pessimæ quæ comedi non possunt eo quod sint malæ, hæc dicit Dominus: Sic dabo Sedeciam regem Juda, et principes ejus, et reliquos de Jerusalem, qui remanserunt in urbe hac, et qui habitant in terra Ægypti.

And just like the very bad figs, which cannot be eaten because they are so bad, thus says the Lord: so will I regard Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his leaders, and the rest of Jerusalem, those who have remained in this city, and those who are living in the land of Egypt.

9 Et dabo eos in vexationem, afflictionemque omnibus regnis terræ, in opprobrium, et in parabolam, et in proverbium, et in maledictionem in universis locis ad quæ ejeci eos.

And I will give them over, with upheaval and affliction, to all the kingdoms of the earth: to be a disgrace, and a parable, and a proverb, and a curse in all the places to which I have cast them out.

10 Et mittam in eis gladium, et famem, et pestem, donec consumantur de terra quam dedi eis et patribus eorum.

And I will send among them the sword, and famine, and pestilence: until they have been worn away from the land, which I gave to them and to their fathers.”