NET Bible
"The LORD’s message came to me,"
— Jeremiah 24:4, NET Bible
“Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,”
“And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, ”
“The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,”
“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:”
“And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,”
“Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,”
Good Figs and Bad Figs The LORD showed me two baskets of figs sitting before his temple. This happened after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deported Jehoiakim’s son, King Jeconiah of Judah. He deported him and the leaders of Judah from Jerusalem, along with the craftsmen and metal workers, and took them to Babylon.
One basket had very good-looking figs in it. They looked like those that had ripened early. The other basket had very bad-looking figs in it, so bad they could not be eaten.
The LORD said to me,“What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered,“I see figs. The good ones look very good. But the bad ones look very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
The LORD’s message came to me,
“I, the LORD, the God of Israel, say:‘The exiles of Judah whom I sent away from here to the land of Babylon are like those good figs. I consider them to be good.
I will look after their welfare and will restore them to this land. There I will build them up and will not tear them down. I will plant them firmly in the land and will not uproot them.
I will give them the desire to acknowledge that I am the LORD. I will be their God and they will be my people. For they will wholeheartedly return to me.’