Two Baskets of Figs
1After Jehoiachin24:1 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of 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. 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.
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.”
4Then 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.24:5 Or 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. 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.
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. 9I will make them abhorrent and an offense to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse24:9 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that they are cursed. and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish 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.’ ”
兩筐無花果的比喻
1巴比倫王尼布甲尼撒從耶路撒冷把約雅敬的兒子猶大王耶哥尼雅、猶大的官員、技工和工匠擄到巴比倫以後，耶和華使我看見兩筐無花果放在祂的殿前。 2一筐無花果極好，好像初熟的果子；另一筐則壞得不能吃。 3耶和華問我：「耶利米啊，你看見什麼？」我回答說：「無花果。好的好極了，壞的壞得不能吃。」
4耶和華便對我說： 5「以色列的上帝耶和華這樣說，『那些從這裡被擄到迦勒底的猶大人在我眼中是好無花果。 6我要眷顧他們，帶他們回到這裡。我要使他們興起，不再毀滅他們；我要栽培他們，不再剷除他們； 7我要賜給他們一顆心，使他們認識我是耶和華。他們要做我的子民，我要做他們的上帝，因為他們必全心全意地歸向我。』 8耶和華又說，『猶大王西底迦及其官員，以及留在耶路撒冷和埃及的人在我眼中就像壞得不能吃的無花果。我必丟棄他們， 9使他們的遭遇令天下萬國驚懼。在我流放他們去的地方，他們必受凌辱、嘲笑、譏諷和咒詛。 10我要使刀劍、饑荒和瘟疫臨到他們，直到他們在我賜給他們和他們祖先的土地上徹底滅亡。』」
