Jeremiah 24:1-3
The Voice
24 The day came when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jeconiah (son of Jehoiakim), king of Judah, into exile along with the princes of Judah and the artisans and skilled laborers from Jerusalem. Sometime after they arrived in Babylon, the Eternal showed me a vision: I looked and saw two baskets of figs placed in front of His temple. 2 One basket was filled with very good figs, freshly ripened, while the other was filled with very bad figs, too rotten to eat.
In 597 b.c. the dreaded King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has Jehoiachin, king of Judah, deported to Babylon. Along with the king, he takes many skilled laborers and craftsmen to help with the great building projects of his empire. While the loss of powerful and talented men is a tragedy, it will not be the end of Judah’s troubles. The prevailing thought of those who remain in Jerusalem is that they have indeed avoided God’s judgment while those in exile are being punished. This shortsighted perspective is corrected by a vision given to Jeremiah.
Eternal One: 3 Jeremiah, what do you see?
Jeremiah: Figs, both good and bad. The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so rotten they cannot be eaten.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
