Jeremiah 24
The full text of Jeremiah 24 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried off into exile Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, together with the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and artisans of Jerusalem, and had taken them to Babylon — the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD.
2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that ripen early; but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
3 Then the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good, and the bad ones are very bad — so bad they cannot be eaten."
4 Then the word of the LORD came to me:
5 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles of Judah whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.
6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
7 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 "'But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,' says the LORD, 'so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors of Jerusalem — whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.
9 I will make them abhorrent and an evil example to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, wherever I banish them.
10 I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors."'
Translation notes (6)
- Jeremiah 24:1a The Hebrew phrase wayyarʾēnî YHWH means 'the LORD caused me to see,' indicating a vision rather than a symbolic action. Jeconiah is another name for King Jehoiachin, who was exiled in 597 BC. The 'craftsmen' (ḥārāš) and 'smiths' refer to the skilled elite of Judah.
- Jeremiah 24:2a Heb. tᵉʾēnîm ṭōbôt mᵉʾōd kᵉtᵉʾēnê habikkûrôt — 'good figs like the early-ripening figs'; the first-ripe figs were a delicacy (cf. Isa 28:4; Hos 9:10).
- Jeremiah 24:5a The Hebrew phrase kattᵉʾēnîm haṭṭōbôt hāʾēlleh means 'like these good figs.' This refers to the exiles of 597 BC who were already in Babylon, identifying them as the 'good figs.' This is counterintuitive because, for this group, exile is presented as God's gift rather than a punishment.
- Jeremiah 24:6a The Hebrew verbs wᵉbānîtî ('I will build'), wᵉlōʾ 'ehĕrōs ('and not tear down'), wᵉnāṭaʿtî ('I will plant'), and wᵉlōʾ 'ettōš ('and not uproot') are the four verbs from 1:10, now used positively to describe the future of the exiles. They signify both architectural and agricultural restoration.
- Jeremiah 24:7a The Hebrew phrase wᵉnātattî lāhem lēb lādaʿat ʾōtî means 'I will give them a heart to know me.' This anticipates the new covenant described in 31:33, where God's law will be written on the heart. The phrase da'at YHWH refers to an intimate, covenantal knowing of God.
- Jeremiah 24:9a The Hebrew terms lᵉzaʿwāh, lᵉrāʿāh, lᵉḥerpāh, lᵉmāšāl, liš'nînāh, and wᵉliqᵉlālāh are six words used to describe contempt and infamy. This represents an extreme accumulation of vocabulary related to shame.
About this translation
The Trinity Bible Version (TBV) is Trinity Bible's own modern English translation, worked directly from the original Hebrew and honest to the earliest manuscripts. It was completed in 2026 — the most modern English Bible translation — and is exclusive to Trinity Bible. Every chapter, including all of Jeremiah, is free to read here on the web.
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