New International Version | International Standard Version |
1After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. | 1After Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken Jehoiakim's son Jeconiah, king of Judah, along with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the smiths from Jerusalem into exile, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed right in front of the Temple of the LORD. |
2One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten. | 2One basket contained very good figs like the first figs that ripen on the tree. The other basket contained very bad figs that were too bad to be eaten. |
3Then the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten." | 3The LORD told me, "What do you see?" I replied, "Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad figs are very bad. They're too bad to be eaten." |
4Then the word of the LORD came to me: | 4Then this message from 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 away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. | 5"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: 'Like these good figs, so I'll regard as good the exiles of Judah whom I sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. |
6My 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. | 6I'll look at them with good intentions, and I'll bring them back to this land. I'll build them up. I won't tear them down; I'll plant them and not rip them up. |
7I 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. | 7I'll give them the ability to know me, for I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God when they 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 from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. | 8"'Like the bad figs that are too bad to be eaten—for this is what the LORD says—so I'll give up on Zedekiah king of Judah, along with his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem that is left in this land, and those living in the land of Egypt. |
9I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them. | 9I'll make them into a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth; into a cause for contempt, into a byword, into a taunt, and into a curse in all the places to which I drive them. |
10I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.'" | 10I'll send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they're completely destroyed from the land which I gave them and their ancestors.'" |
New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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