Jeremiah 24 records a vision of two baskets of figs set before the temple of the LORD after Nebuchadnezzar had deported King Jeconiah (Jehoiachin), the officials, the craftsmen, and the smiths from Jerusalem to Babylon. One basket contains very good figs, like early-ripening figs; the other contains figs so rotten they cannot be eaten. God interprets the vision: the good figs represent the exiles in Babylon, toward whom God will turn with favor, bring back to the land, and give a heart to know him. The bad figs represent King Zedekiah and those remaining in Jerusalem or fleeing to Egypt — they will be made a horror, a reproach, and a byword, pursued by sword, famine, and plague until they are consumed.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
This short chapter overturns the common assumption that those who remained in Jerusalem after 597 BCE were the fortunate ones and the exiles were the cursed. Jeremiah reverses this entirely: the future belongs to the deportees, not the survivors. The promise to the exiles — 'I will give them a heart to know me' (v. 7) — anticipates the new covenant language of 31:33-34, where God will write his torah on their hearts. The vision format places this chapter alongside the great visionary passages of Amos (7:1-9, 8:1-3) and Zechariah (1-6), where God shows the prophet an ordinary object and then reveals its deeper meaning. The fig baskets are not symbolic props but real agricultural produce near the temple, transformed by divine interpretation into a theological judgment on the entire nation's future.
Translation Friction
The phrase te'enim hashskoqadot (v. 2) posed a lexical question — we rendered it as 'early figs' since bikkurah figs ripen first and are considered the choicest (cf. Hosea 9:10, Micah 7:1). The word sha'arurah (v. 9) also appeared in 23:14 and we maintained consistency by rendering it 'horror.' The covenant promise in verse 7 — 'they will be my people and I will be their God' — is the bilateral covenant formula, and we rendered it identically to its occurrence in 11:4 and throughout the project. The phrase leqelalah ('as a curse-word') in verse 9 required care: it does not mean God curses them but that their name becomes an expression others use when pronouncing curses.
Connections
The deportation of Jeconiah (597 BCE) is narrated in 2 Kings 24:10-17. The vision of figs connects to the fig tree as a symbol of Israel and Judah elsewhere (Hosea 9:10, Joel 1:7, Micah 7:1). The promise 'I will give them a heart to know me' (v. 7) anticipates the new covenant of 31:31-34 and connects to Ezekiel's parallel promise of a new heart (Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26). The judgment formula of sword, famine, and plague (v. 10) is one of Jeremiah's most characteristic triads, recurring throughout the book (14:12, 21:7, 27:8, 29:17-18, 32:24, 34:17, 38:2). The fate of those who flee to Egypt anticipates the narratives of chapters 42-44, where a remnant disobeys Jeremiah and flees to Egypt despite this warning.
The LORD showed me a vision: two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the LORD. This was after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, along with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the metalworkers from Jerusalem, and brought them to Babylon.
KJV The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The vision formula hir'ani YHWH ('the LORD showed me') establishes this as a divinely initiated vision, not a natural observation. The word dudaei ('baskets') refers to containers used for carrying fruit, likely woven. The deportation described here is the 597 BCE exile under Jehoiachin/Jeconiah (the same king under two names — Jeconiah is the shortened form). The charash ('craftsman') and masger ('metalworker, locksmith') were specifically targeted for deportation because of their military utility — Babylon stripped Jerusalem of its skilled labor force. We use 'Nebuchadnezzar' as the standard English form, though the Hebrew here reads Nevukhadretsar.
One basket had very good figs, like early-ripening figs, and the other basket had very bad figs — so bad they could not be eaten.
KJV One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The comparison to bikkurot ('early-ripening figs, firstfruits') marks the good figs as premium quality. Early figs ripen in June, before the main August harvest, and were prized as a delicacy (cf. Isaiah 28:4, Hosea 9:10, Micah 7:1). The Hebrew emphasizes the extreme quality contrast with tovot me'od ('very good') and ra'ot me'od ('very bad') — there is no middle category. The phrase lo te'akhalnah mero'a ('they could not be eaten because of their rottenness') describes figs beyond salvage, a metaphor that will prove devastating in its application.
Then the LORD said to me, 'What do you see, Jeremiah?' And I said, 'Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad figs are very bad — too rotten to eat.'
KJV Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The question-and-answer format ('What do you see?') is the standard prophetic vision dialogue, paralleling Amos 7:8, 8:2 and Zechariah 4:2, 5:2. God asks not because he needs information but to draw the prophet into active participation in the revelation. Jeremiah's answer is deliberately plain — he reports exactly what he sees without interpretation. The interpretation belongs to God (vv. 4-10).
Jeremiah 24:4
וַיְהִ֥י דְבַר־יְהוָ֖ה אֵלַ֥י לֵאמֹֽר׃
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
KJV Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The standard prophetic reception formula marks the transition from vision to interpretation. The le'mor ('saying') is rendered as a colon introducing direct speech, consistent with project conventions.
This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, so I will regard the exiles of Judah — whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans — with favor.
KJV Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb akkir ('I will regard, acknowledge, recognize') means more than neutral observation — it implies favorable recognition, choosing to look upon with goodwill. The startling claim is that God himself 'sent' (shillachti) the exiles to Babylon — the deportation was not merely Nebuchadnezzar's political act but God's purposeful relocation of his people. The phrase letovah ('for good, for their benefit') reframes exile as a divine act of preservation rather than punishment. This reversal of expectations — exile as grace — is the theological core of the chapter.
I will set my eyes on them for good and bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
KJV For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The five divine promises cascade: (1) favorable attention, (2) return to the land, (3) building, (4) planting, and (5) permanence (the negatives 'not tear down, not uproot'). The verbs 'build' (banah) and 'plant' (nata) echo Jeremiah's original commission in 1:10, where God appointed him 'to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.' Here the destructive phase gives way to the constructive. The phrase 'set my eyes on them for good' (samti eini alehem letovah) uses the intimate language of personal attention — God watching over the exiles with active benevolence.
I 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 their whole heart.
KJV And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
Notes & Key Terms
2 terms
Key Terms
לֵבlev
"heart"—heart, mind, will, inner person, seat of thought and decision
In Hebrew anthropology the heart is the center of intellect and will, not merely emotion. A 'heart to know God' means a transformed capacity to perceive, understand, and respond to the divine presence and purpose.
שׁוּבshuv
"return"—return, turn back, repent, restore, go back
The signature verb of Jeremiah used here positively — the exiles will genuinely turn back to God. This is the repentance that the false prophets prevented (23:14, 22) now made possible by a divinely given heart.
Translator Notes
This verse is the theological climax of the chapter, foreshadowing the new covenant of 31:31-34. The verb natatti ('I will give') makes the heart a divine gift, not a human achievement — God himself enables the knowing. The bilateral covenant formula 'they will be my people and I will be their God' (vehayu li le'am ve'anokhi ehyeh lahem le'lohim) appears throughout the Pentateuch and prophets as the definition of covenant relationship (Exodus 6:7, Leviticus 26:12, Deuteronomy 26:17-18, Jeremiah 11:4, 30:22, 31:33, 32:38, Ezekiel 36:28). The verb yashuvu ('they will return') is the key Jeremiah verb shuv — the return is both physical (from exile) and spiritual (to God). The phrase bekhol libbam ('with their whole heart') contrasts with the sheririut lev ('stubbornness of heart') that characterized the earlier generation.
But like the bad figs, so bad they cannot be eaten — this is what the LORD says — so I will treat Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, as well as those living in the land of Egypt.
KJV And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The condemned group includes three categories: (1) Zedekiah and his court, (2) those remaining in Jerusalem, and (3) those who fled to Egypt. All three groups chose to avoid or escape Babylon, yet it was precisely the Babylonian exile that God designated as the path to renewal. The mention of Egypt is significant — fleeing to Egypt represents a return to the place of original bondage, a theological regression. The word she'erit ('remnant') here carries no positive connotation — unlike its usual usage as a term of hope, these are merely leftovers, not a faithful core.
I will make them a horror and a disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth — a disgrace, a byword, a taunt, and a curse-word in every place where I drive them.
KJV And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, for a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Five terms of shame accumulate: za'avah ('horror, object of trembling'), cherpah ('disgrace, reproach'), mashal ('byword, proverb used as a cautionary tale'), sheninah ('taunt, sharp saying'), and qelalah ('curse-word' — their name becomes a formula used in cursing, as in 'May you become like Jerusalem'). The phrase sha'arurah (rendered 'horror') appeared also in 23:14 describing the false prophets of Jerusalem — the same word now describes the destiny of those who listened to them. The scope 'all the kingdoms of the earth' universalizes the disgrace.
I will send sword, famine, and plague against them until they are consumed from the land that I gave to them and their ancestors.
KJV And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The triad cherev, ra'av, dever ('sword, famine, plague') is Jeremiah's signature judgment formula, recurring more than a dozen times throughout the book (14:12, 21:7, 27:8, 29:17-18, 32:24, 34:17, 38:2, 42:17, 22, 44:13). These three represent the comprehensive destruction of war: violence, deprivation, and disease. The verb tummam ('until they are consumed, until their complete end') signals total removal, not mere suffering. The land that was given (natatti) as covenant promise now becomes the ground from which they are expelled — the gift revoked. The word adamah ('soil, ground, land') rather than erets ('land, country') emphasizes the agricultural, intimate connection between people and their particular soil, making the loss more personal.