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Jeremiah 24

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The Vision of the Two Baskets of Figs 1–3

1
Jehovah showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of Jehovah, after that Nebuchadrezzar 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
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
Then said Jehovah unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.

The Good Figs: Promise of Restoration 4–7

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And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
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Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good. ​
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For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. ​
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And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. ​

The Bad Figs: Judgment on the Remnant 8–10

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And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad, surely thus saith Jehovah, So will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt, ​
9
I will even give them up to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth for evil; to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. ​
10
And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 24

Verse 1

two baskets of figs — Set 'before the temple of the LORD' after the king of Babylon took Jeconiah, who is also called Coniah (22:24) and Jehoiachin (2 Kgs 24:12), with 'all the craftsmen and smiths' (2 Kgs 24:14). 'The LORD shewed me' is the form of vision in Amos 8:1, 'a basket of summer fruit', and the explanation comes by question and answer (v.3).

Verse 2

very naughty figs — 'Naughty' is the older English for worthless; the Hebrew is ra', bad or evil, the word rendered 'evil figs' in v.8. The good basket holds bakkurah, figs 'first ripe', a word found in just three verses: here, Hos 9:10 and Mic 7:1. Hos 9:10 uses the early fig for Israel at the start: 'I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time'.

Verse 5

for their good — The LORD says he 'sent' (shalach) the exiles to Babylon, and that he will 'acknowledge' (nakar, to look closely at and recognise) them. 'Good' (tov) is the word used of the figs and of the purpose. What he sent them to do is in the letter of 29:4–5: 'Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens'.

Verse 6

build them, and not pull them down — The verbs of Jeremiah's own call: 'to root out, and to pull down… to build, and to plant' (1:10), now given in the second half. The offer is made again to the remnant in the land: 'then will I build you, and not pull you down' (42:10). 'Mine eyes upon them for good' reverses Amos 9:4, 'for evil, and not for good'.

Verse 7

an heart to know me — The heart is given, not found in them: 'I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts' (31:33); 'A new heart also will I give you' (Ezek 36:26). 'They shall be my people, and I will be their God' is the covenant formula (30:22). The return 'with their whole heart' answers 29:13, 'search for me with all your heart'.

Verse 8

the evil figs — The word is ra', as in v.2, now of King Zedekiah, his princes, the residue in Jerusalem and those in Egypt. The last group is reached in 44:12: 'I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt… and they shall all be consumed', after being told 'Go ye not into Egypt' (42:19).

Verse 9

a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse — Four words: cherpah, mashal, shininah, qelalah. They carry out the warning of Deut 28:37, 'an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee' (cf. 1 Kgs 9:7). 'Removed into all kingdoms of the earth' repeats 15:4, which names Manasseh's deeds as the cause.

Verse 10

the sword, the famine, and the pestilence — The three judgments that Jeremiah names together (14:12; 21:7, 9) and that Ezek 5:12 divides among a city in thirds: pestilence and famine, sword, and scattering. 'Consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers' sets the loss against the gift the land was.