Jeremiah 24:1-6

Two Baskets of Figs

1 After Jehoiachin^[a] 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.

2 One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; 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, 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 away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.^[b]

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.

Jeremiah 24:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 24

This chapter contains a vision of two baskets of figs, representing the Jews both in captivity, and at Jerusalem. The vision is declared, Jer 24:1-3; where both time and place are pointed at, in which the vision was seen, and the nature of the figs described, and what passed between the Lord and the prophet concerning them. The explication of the vision begins, Jer 24:4; and continues to the end of the chapter. The good figs were an emblem of the good people that were carried captive with Jeconiah into Babylon, which the Lord says was for their good; and he promises to own them, and set his eyes upon them for good, and that they should return to their own land, and have a heart to know him as their God, and return unto him, Jer 24:5-7; the bad figs signify the people that were with Zedekiah at Jerusalem, and those that were in Egypt, who are threatened to be carried captive into all lands, and there live under the greatest reproach and disgrace; or be destroyed in their own land by the sword, famine, or pestilence, Jer 24:8-10.

Cross References

• 1. S 2 Kings 24:16; S 2 Chronicles 36:9; Jeremiah 29:2
• 2. Exodus 23:19; Deuteronomy 26:2; Amos 8:1-2
• 3. S Song of Songs 2:13
• 4. S Isaiah 5:4
• 5. Jeremiah 1:11; Amos 8:2
• 6. Jeremiah 29:4,20
• 7. S Jeremiah 30:3">Dt Jeremiah 30:3; Jeremiah 27:22; Jeremiah 29:10; Jeremiah 30:3; Ezekiel 11:17
• 8. Jeremiah 33:7; Jeremiah 42:10
• 9. S Deuteronomy 30:9; S Jeremiah 1:10; Amos 9:14-15

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "Jeconiah," a variant of "Jehoiachin"
• [b]. Or "Chaldeans"