Jeremiah 24:2-8

New International Version

² One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early;^(A) the other basket had very bad^(B) figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

³ Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see,^(C) Jeremiah?”

“Figs,” I answered. “The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are 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 from Judah, whom I sent^(D) away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.^{[a] 6} My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back^(E) to this land. I will build^(F) them up and not tear them down; I will plant^(G) them and not uproot them. ⁷ I will give them a heart to know^(H) me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people,^(I) and I will be their God, for they will return^(J) to me with all their heart.^(K)

⁸ “‘But like the bad^(L) figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord, ‘so will I deal with Zedekiah^(M) king of Judah, his officials^(N) and the survivors^(O) from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.^(P)