1 The Lord showed me these things: I saw two baskets of figs arranged in front of the Temple of the Lord. (I saw this vision after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jehoiachin as a prisoner. Jehoiachin, the son of King Jehoiakim, and all his important officials were taken away from Jerusalem. They were taken to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also took away all the carpenters and metalworkers of Judah.)
2 One basket had very good figs in it, the kind that ripen early in the season. But the other basket had rotten figs. They were too rotten to eat.
3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “I see figs. The good figs are very good, and the rotten figs are very rotten. They are too rotten to eat.”
4 Then the message from the Lord came to me.
5 The Lord, the God of Israel, said, “The people of Judah were taken from their country. Their enemy brought them to Babylon. Those people will be like these good figs. I will be kind to them.