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.
The LORD. Hebrew. Jehovah. App-4 .
shewed me = made me see.
behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 .
baskets. Hebrew. dudim. Still used for fruit in Jerusalem.
the temple. See note on Jeremiah 26:2 .
carpenters and smiths = craftsmen (or artificers) and armourers.
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.
naughty = worth naught.
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.
evil. Hebrew. raa'. App-44 . Compare Jeremiah 29:17 .
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
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.
Jeremiah's Fifteenth Prophecy (see book comments for Jeremiah).
the LORD, the God of Israel = Jehovah Elohim of Israel. See note on Jeremiah 11:3 and App-4 .
acknowledge = own. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Cause), App-6 , for regard, or care for.
for . . . good. Connect this with "acknowledge", not with "sent out".
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.
For I will set Mine eyes = And I will set Mine eye. Some codices, with Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "eyes" (plural) with Authorized Version.
build . . . plant. Compare Jeremiah 1:10 ; Jeremiah 18:7-9 .
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.
I will give, &c. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 30:6 ).
they shall be My People. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:12 ).
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:
And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
to be removed into = to be tossed to and fro among.
be removed. Reference to Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 28:25 ). App-92 .
for their hurt. Hebrew. raa'. App-44 . Compare Jeremiah 25:6 ; Jeremiah 38:4 .
to be a reproach = [I will deliver them to be] a reproach.
a taunt. Reference to Pentateuch. Some codices, with two early printed editions, Aramaean, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulg, read "and a", thus completing the Figure of speech Polysyndeton ( App-6 ).
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.
the sword, the famine, and the pestilence. Reference to Pentateuch (Leviticus 26:25 , Leviticus 26:26 . Deuteronomy 28:21-24 ). App-92 .
the famine. Some codices, with one early printed edition, Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read "and famine", thus completing the Figure of speech Polysyndeton .
land = soil, or ground. Hebrew. 'adamah.
