Heremaia 24

1 I whakakite a Ihowa ki ahau, na, e rua nga kete piki i whakaturia ki mua i te temepara o Ihowa; i muri iho i te whakaraunga a Nepukareha kingi o Papurona i a Hekonia tama a Iehoiakimi kingi o Hura, ratou ko nga rangatira o Hura, ko nga kamura, ko nga parakimete i Hiruharama, i tana kawenga hoki i a ratou ki Papurona.

After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, as well as the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalsmiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.

2 He pai rawa nga piki o tetahi o nga kete, he rite tonu ki nga piki matamua: a he kino rawa nga piki o tetahi o nga kete, kahore e taea te kai, i te kino rawa.

One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early, but the other basket contained very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

3 Katahi a Ihowa ka mea ki ahau, He aha tau e kite na, e Heremaia? Ano ra ko ahau, He piki; ko nga piki pai, he tino pai; a, ko nga mea kino, he tino kino, kahore e taea te kai, i te kino rawa.

“Jeremiah,” the LORD asked, “what do you see?” “Figs!” I replied. “The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten.”

4 Na ka puta mai te kupu a Ihowa ki ahau, i mea ia,

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

5 Ko te kupu tenei a Ihowa, a te Atua o Iharaira; Ka penei i nga piki pai nei toku mohio ki te hunga o Hura i whakaraua nei, i unga atu nei e ahau i tenei wahi ki te whenua o nga Karari, hei pai mo ratou.

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.

6 Ka whakamau tonu atu hoki oku kanohi ki a ratou mo te pai, a ka whakahokia mai ano ratou e ahau ki tenei whenua: ka hanga ano ratou e ahau, e kore hoki e wahia iho; ka whakatokia ratou e ahau, e kore ano e hutia atu.

I will keep My eyes on them for good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.

7 Ka hoatu hoki e ahau he ngakau ki a ratou kia mohio ki ahau, ko Ihowa ahau: a ka waiho ratou hei iwi maku, a ko ahau hei Atua mo ratou: no te mea ka whakapaua o ratou ngakau ki te hoki mai ki ahau.

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 all their heart.

8 Na mo nga piki kino, e kore nei e taea te kai, i te kino rawa; he pono ko te kupu tenei a Ihowa, Ka pena taku hoatutanga i a Terekia kingi o Hura, ratou ko ana rangatira, ko nga morehu o Hiruharama e mahue ki tenei whenua, e noho ana hoki i te wh enua o Ihipa:

But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the LORD, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.

9 Ka tino hoatu hoki ratou e ahau kia poipoia haeretia i roto i nga kingitanga katoa o te whenua, hei he mo ratou; hei hahani, hei whakatauki, hei taunu, hei kanga, i nga wahi katoa e peia atu ai ratou e ahau.

I will make them a horror and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and an object of scorn, ridicule, and cursing wherever I have banished them.

10 Ka unga atu ano e ahau he hoari, te hemokai, te mate uruta ki a ratou, kia poto ra ano ratou i runga i te whenua i hoatu e ahau ki a ratou ko o ratou matua.

And I will send against them sword and famine and plague, until they have perished from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.’”