^24 (A) King Jehoiachin,^[a] son of Jehoiakim,^[b] even if you were the ring I wear as the sign of my royal power, I would still pull you from my finger. ²⁵ I would hand you over to the enemy you fear, to King Nebuchadnezzar^[c] and his army, who want to kill you. ²⁶ You and your mother^[d] were born in Judah, but I will throw both of you into a foreign country, where you will die, ²⁷ longing to return home.

Jeremiah Has a Vision of Two Baskets of Figs

24 ^(A) The Lord spoke to me in a vision after King Nebuchadnezzar^[a] of Babylonia had come to Judah and taken King Jehoiachin,^[b] his officials, and all the skilled workers back to Babylonia. In this vision I saw two baskets of figs in front of the Lord's temple. ² One basket was full of very good figs that ripened early, and the other was full of rotten figs that were not fit to eat.

³ “Jeremiah,” the Lord asked, “what do you see?”

“Figs,” I said. “Some are very good, but the others are too rotten to eat.”

⁴ Then the Lord told me to say:

⁵ People of Judah, the good figs stand for those of you I sent away as exiles to Babylonia, ⁶ where I am watching over them. Then someday I will bring them back to this land. I will plant them, instead of uprooting them, and I will build them up, rather than tearing them down. ⁷ I will give them a desire to know me and to be my people. They will want me to be their God, and they will turn back to me with all their heart.

⁸ The rotten figs stand for King Zedekiah^[c] of Judah, his officials, and all the others who were not taken away to Babylonia, whether they stayed here in Judah or went to live in Egypt. ⁹ I will punish them with a terrible disaster, and everyone on earth will tremble when they hear about it. I will force the people of Judah to go to foreign countries, where they will be cursed and insulted. ¹⁰ War and hunger and disease will strike them, until they finally disappear from the land that I gave them and their ancestors.

Jeremiah's Letter to the People of Judah in Babylonia

29 ^1-2 (A) I had been left in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar^[a] took many of the people of Jerusalem and Judah to Babylonia as prisoners, including King Jehoiachin,^[b] his mother, his officials, and the metal workers and others in Jerusalem who were skilled in making things. So I wrote a letter to the priests, the prophets, the leaders, and the rest of our people in Babylonia.

Jeremiah's Letter to the People of Judah in Babylonia

29 ^1-2 (A) I had been left in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar^[a] took many of the people of Jerusalem and Judah to Babylonia as prisoners, including King Jehoiachin,^[b] his mother, his officials, and the metal workers and others in Jerusalem who were skilled in making things. So I wrote a letter to the priests, the prophets, the leaders, and the rest of our people in Babylonia.