24 The LORD showed me two baskets of figs, placed in front of the Temple of the LORD. This was after King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon had exiled King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah, and the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon. 2One basket contained very good figs, like first-ripened figs, and the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.
3And the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I answered, “Figs—the good ones are very good, and the bad ones very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.”
4Then the word of the LORD came to me:
5Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: As with these good figs, so will I single out for good the Judean exiles whom I have driven out from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6I will look upon them favorably, and I will bring them back to this land; I will build them and not overthrow them; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7And I will give them the understanding to acknowledge Me, for I am the LORD. And they shall be My people and I will be their God, when they turn back to Me with all their heart.
8And like the bad figs, which are so bad that they cannot be eaten— thus said the Lord—so will I treat King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials and the remnant of Jerusalem that is left in this land, and those who are living in the land of Egypt: 9I will make them a horror—an evil—to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and a proverb, a byword and a cursea in all the places to which I banish them. 10I will send the sword, famine, and pestilence against them until they are exterminated from the land that I gave to them and their fathers.
25 The word which came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, which was the first year of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon. 2This is what the prophet Jeremiah said to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
3From the thirteenth year of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah, to this day—these twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me. I have spoken to you persistently, but you would not listen. 4Moreover, the LORD constantly sent all his servants the prophets to you, but you would not listen or incline your ears to hear 5when they said, “Turn back, every one, from your evil ways and your wicked acts, that you may remain throughout the ages on the soil which the LORD gave to you and your fathers. 6Do not follow other gods, to serve them and worship them. Do not vex Me with what your own hands have made,a and I will not bring disaster upon you.” 7But you would not listen to Me—declares the LORD— but vexed Me with what your hands made, to your own hurt.
8Assuredly, thus said the LORD of Hosts: Because you would not listen to My words, 9I am going to send for all the peoples of the north— declares the LORD—and for My servant, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, and bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all those nations roundabout. I will exterminate them and make them a desolation, an object of hissingb—ruins for all time. 10And I will banish from them the sound of mirth and gladness, the voice of bridegroom and bride, and the sound of the mill and the light of the lamp. 11This whole land shall be a desolate ruin.
And those nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12When the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation and the land of the Chaldeans for their sins—declares the LORD— and I will make it a desolation for all time. 13And I will bring upon that land all that I have decreed against it, all that is recorded in this book— that which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14For they too shall be enslaved by many nations and great kings; and I will requite them according to their acts and according to their conduct.
15For thus said the LORD, the God of Israel, to me: “Take from My hand this cup of wine—of wrath—and make all the nations to whom I send you drink of it. 16Let them drink and retch and act crazy, because of the sword that I am sending among them.”
17So I took the cup from the hand of the LORD and gave drink to all the nations to whom the LORD had sent me: 18Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, and its kings and officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an object of hissing and a cursec—as is now the case; 19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his courtiers, his officials, and all his people; 20all d-the mixed peoples;-d all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what is left of Ashdod; 21Edom, Moab, and Ammon; 22all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Sidon, and all the kings of the coastland across the sea; 23Dedan, Tema, and Buz, and all those who have their hair clipped; 24all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of d- the mixed peoples-d who live in the desert; 25all the kings of Zimrid and all the kings of Elam and all the kings of Media; 26all the kings of the north, whether far from or close to each other—all the d-royal lands which are on the earth.-d And last of all, the king of Sheshache shall drink.
27Say to them: “Thus said the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Drink and get drunk and vomit; fall and never rise again, because of the sword that I send among you.” 28And if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, say to them, “Thus said the LORD of Hosts: You must drink! 29If I am bringing the punishment first on the city that bears My name, do you expect to go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning the sword against all the inhabitants of the earth— declares the LORD of Hosts.”
30You are to prophesy all those things to them, and then say to them:
The LORD roars from on high,
He makes His voice heard from His holy dwelling;
He roars aloud over His [earthly] abode;
He utters shouts like the grape-treaders,
Against all the dwellers on earth.
31Tumult has reached the ends of the earth,
For the LORD has a case against the nations,
He contends with all flesh.
He delivers the wicked to the sword
—declares the LORD.
32Thus said the LORD of Hosts:
Disaster goes forth
From nation to nation;
A great storm is unleashed
From the remotest parts of earth.
33In that day, the earth shall be strewn with the slain of the LORD from one end to the other. They shall not be mourned, or gathered and buried; they shall become dung upon the face of the earth.
34Howl, you shepherds, and yell,
Strew [dust] on yourselves, you lords of the flock!
For the day of your slaughter draws near.
d-I will break you in pieces,-d
And you shall fall like a precious vessel.
35Flight shall fail the shepherds,
And escape, the lords of the flock.
36Hark, the outcry of the shepherds,
And the howls of the lords of the flock!
For the LORD is ravaging their pasture.
37The peaceful meadows shall be wiped out
By the fierce wrath of the LORD.
38Like a lion, He has gone forth from His lair;
The land has become a desolation,
Because of the oppressived wrath,
Because of His fierce anger.
26 At the beginning of the reign of King Jehoiakim son of Josiah of Judah, this word came from the LORD:
2“Thus said the LORD: Stand in the court of the House of the LORD, and speak to [the men of] all the towns of Judah, who are coming to worship in the House of the LORD, all the words which I command you to speak to them. Do not omit anything. 3Perhaps they will listen and turn back, each from his evil way, that I may renounce the punishment I am planning to bring upon them for their wicked acts.
4“Say to them: Thus said the LORD: If you do not obey Me, abiding by the Teaching that I have set before you, 5heeding the words of My servants the prophets whom I have been sending to you persistently—but you have not heeded—6then I will make this House like Shiloh, and I will make this city a cursea for all the nations of earth.”
7The priests and prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the House of the LORD. 8And when Jeremiah finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people,
