New Living Translation
Jeremiah 24:3
3Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I replied, “Figs, some very good and some very bad, too rotten to eat.”
Jeremiah 24:3 in other versions
- King James Version (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.
- New International Version (NIV)Then 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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And the Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad.”
Context of Jeremiah 24:3
1After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon along with the officials of Judah and all the craftsmen and artisans, the Lord gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem. 2One basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs, while the other was filled with bad figs that were too rotten to eat. Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I replied, “Figs, some very good and some very bad, too rotten to eat.” 4Then the Lord gave me this message: 5“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians.
Read all of Jeremiah 24Jeremiah 24:3 word by word
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֵלַ֗י מָֽה־אַתָּ֤ה רֹאֶה֙ יִרְמְיָ֔הוּ וָאֹמַ֖ר תְּאֵנִ֑ים הַתְּאֵנִ֤ים הַטֹּבוֹת֙ טֹב֣וֹת מְאֹ֔ד וְהָֽרָעוֹת֙ רָע֣וֹת מְאֹ֔ד אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־תֵאָכַ֖לְנָה מֵרֹֽעַ׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- unto me, What seestרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- thou, Jeremiahיִרְמְיָ֫הוּyirmeyâh yirmeyâhû · JeremiahH3414
- Figsתְּאֵנָהte'ên te'ênâh · figH8384
- the goodטוֹבţôb · pleasantH2896
- veryמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966
- and the evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: harmfulH7451
- that cannot be eatenאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- they are so evilרֹעַrôa‛ · evilH7455
Cross-references for Jeremiah 24:3
- Jeremiah 1:11Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”
- 1 Samuel 9:9(In those days if people wanted a message from God, they would say, “Let’s go and ask the seer,” for prophets used to be called seers.)
- Amos 7:8And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” I answered, “A plumb line.” And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins.
- Amos 8:2“What do you see, Amos?” he asked. I replied, “A basket full of ripe fruit.” Then the Lord said, “Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again.
- Zechariah 4:2“What do you see now?” he asked. I answered, “I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl of oil on top of it. Around the bowl are seven lamps, each having seven spouts with wicks.
- Zechariah 5:2“What do you see?” the angel asked. “I see a flying scroll,” I replied. “It appears to be about 30 feet long and 15 feet wide.”
- Matthew 25:32All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 24:3
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-10This section discusses the meaning of the exile in 597 BC. Some people said it was God's way of removing the bad figs from the basket(Jerusalem) so the good figs could survive. Jeremiah argued the opposite. The good figs were taken out of the basket (into exile) so the bad figs would not destroy them.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-101. Lord showed me--Am 7:1, 4, 7; 8:1, contains the same formula, with the addition of "thus" prefixed. carried ... captive Jeconiah--(Jr 22:24; 2Ki 24:12, &c.; 2Ch 36:10). carpenters, &c.--One thousand artisans were carried to Babylon, both to work for the king there, and to deprive Jerusalem of their services in the event of a future siege (2Ki 24:16).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 24:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New Living Translation — © 1996, 2004, 2015 Tyndale House Foundation
Commentaries