Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Contemporary English Version

Jeremiah 24:3

"Jeremiah," the Lord asked, "what do you see?" "Figs," I said. "Some are very good, but the others are too rotten to eat."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Fig Tree;   Israel, Prophecies Concerning;   Righteous;   Symbols and Similitudes;   Thompson Chain Reference - Jeremiah;   The Topic Concordance - Covenant;   Israel/jews;   Pestilence;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Fig-Tree, the;   Saints, Compared to;  

Dictionaries:

- Fausset Bible Dictionary - Ezekiel;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Jeremiah;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Evil;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Apocalyptic Literature;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Captivity;   Jehoiachin;   Zedekiah (2);  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
Hebrew Names Version
Then said the LORD to me, What see you, Yirmeyahu? I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that can't be eaten, they are so bad.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
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 American Standard Bible
Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs: the good figs are very good, and the bad ones, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness."
New Century Version
The Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I answered, "I see figs. The good figs are very good, but the rotten figs are too rotten to eat."
Amplified Bible
Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, so rotten that they cannot be eaten."
World English Bible
Then said Yahweh to me, What see you, Jeremiah? I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that can't be eaten, they are so bad.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then saide the Lorde vnto mee, What seest thou, Ieremiah? And I said, Figges: ye good figges verie good, & the naughtie verie naughtie, which cannot be eaten, they are so euill.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Yahweh said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs, the good figs, very good; and the rotten figs, very rotten, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness."
Berean Standard Bible
"Jeremiah," the LORD asked, "what do you see?" "Figs!" I replied. "The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten."
Complete Jewish Bible
Then Adonai asked me, "Yirmeyahu, what do you see?" I answered, "Figs — the good figs are very good; but the bad ones are very bad, so bad they are inedible."
Darby Translation
And Jehovah said unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs: the good figs very good; and the bad very bad, which cannot be eaten for badness.
Easy-to-Read Version
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."
George Lamsa Translation
Then the LORD said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, so that they cannot be eaten because they are so bad.
Good News Translation
Then the Lord said to me, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" I answered, "Figs. The good ones are very good, and the bad ones are very bad, too bad to eat."
Lexham English Bible
And Yahweh asked me, "What are you seeing, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs—the good figs, very good, and the bad figs, very bad, that cannot be eaten because of their bad quality."
Literal Translation
And Jehovah said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad are very bad, so that they cannot be eaten from their badness.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde the LORDE vnto me: what seist thou Ieremy? I sayde: fyges, where of some be very good, and some so euel, that no man maye eate them.
American Standard Version
Then said Jehovah unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.
Bible in Basic English
Then the Lord said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs are very good, and the bad very bad, and of no use for food, they are so bad.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then said the LORD unto me: 'What seest thou, Jeremiah?' And I said: 'Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.'
King James Version (1611)
Then said the Lord vnto me; What seest thou Ieremiah? and I said: Figges: the good figges, very good and the euill, very euill, that cannot be eaten, they are so euill.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then sayd the Lord vnto me: What seest thou Ieremie? I sayde, figges, whereof some be very good, and some so euyll that no man may eate them.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the Lord said to me, What seest thou, Jeremias? and I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, for their badness.
English Revised Version
Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And the Lord seide to me, Jeremye, what thing seest thou? And Y seide, Figis, goode figis, ful goode, and yuele figis, ful yuele, that moun not be etun, for tho ben yuele figis.
Update Bible Version
Then Yahweh said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that can't be eaten, they are so bad.
Webster's Bible Translation
Then said the LORD to me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? and I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, that cannot be eaten, they are so bad.
New English Translation
The Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I answered, "I see figs. The good ones look very good. But the bad ones look very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten."
New King James Version
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."
New Living Translation
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."
New Life Bible
Then the Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten."
New Revised Standard
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."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then said Yahweh unto me, - What canst thou see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs: the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, for badness.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the Lord said to me: What seest thou, Jeremias? And I said: Figs, the good figs, very good: and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten because they are bad.
Revised Standard Version
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."
Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith unto me, `What art thou seeing, Jeremiah?' and I say, `Figs, the good figs [are] very good, and the bad [are] very bad, that are not eaten for badness.'
THE MESSAGE
God said to me, "Jeremiah, what do you see?" "Figs," I said. "Excellent figs of the finest quality, and also rotten figs, so rotten they can't be eaten."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness."

Contextual Overview

1 The Lord spoke to me in a vision after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia had come to Judah and taken King Jehoiachin, his officials, and all the skilled workers back to Babylonia. In this vision I saw two baskets of figs in front of the Lord 's temple. 2 One basket was full of very good figs that ripened early, and the other was full of rotten figs that were not fit to eat. 3 "Jeremiah," the Lord asked, "what do you see?" "Figs," I said. "Some are very good, but the others are too rotten to eat." 4 Then the Lord told me to say: 5 People of Judah, the good figs stand for those of you I sent away as exiles to Babylonia, 6 where I am watching over them. Then someday I will bring them back to this land. I will plant them, instead of uprooting them, and I will build them up, rather than tearing them down. 7 I will give them a desire to know me and to be my people. They will want me to be their God, and they will turn back to me with all their heart. 8 The rotten figs stand for King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and all the others who were not taken away to Babylonia, whether they stayed here in Judah or went to live in Egypt. 9 I will punish them with a terrible disaster, and everyone on earth will tremble when they hear about it. I will force the people of Judah to go to foreign countries, where they will be cursed and insulted. 10 War and hunger and disease will strike them, until they finally disappear from the land that I gave them and their ancestors.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

What: Jeremiah 1:11-14, 1 Samuel 9:9, Amos 7:8, Amos 8:2, Zechariah 4:2, Zechariah 5:2, Zechariah 5:5-11, Matthew 25:32, Matthew 25:33

Cross-References

Genesis 6:4
The children of the supernatural beings who had married these women became famous heroes and warriors. They were called Nephilim and lived on the earth at that time and even later.
Genesis 14:19
and said to Abram: "I bless you in the name of God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth.
Genesis 14:22
Abram answered: The Lord God Most High made the heavens and the earth. And I have promised him
Genesis 21:23
Now I want you to promise in the name of God that you will always be loyal to me and my descendants, just as I have always been loyal to you in this land where you have lived as a foreigner."
Genesis 24:3
in the name of the Lord , who rules heaven and earth, that you won't choose a wife for my son Isaac from the people here in the land of Canaan.
Genesis 24:4
Instead, go back to the land where I was born and find a wife for him from among my relatives."
Genesis 24:14
and I'll ask one of them for a drink. If she gives me a drink and then offers to get some water for my camels, I'll know she is the one you have chosen and that you have kept your promise to my master.
Genesis 24:15
While he was still praying, a beautiful unmarried young woman came by with a water jar on her shoulder. She was Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Abraham's brother Nahor and his wife Milcah. Rebekah walked past Abraham's servant, then went over to the well, and filled her water jar. When she started back,
Genesis 24:17
Abraham's servant ran to her and said, "Please let me have a drink of water."
Genesis 24:19
After he had finished, she said, "Now I'll give your camels all the water they want." She quickly poured out water for them, and she kept going back for more, until his camels had drunk all they wanted.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said the Lord unto me, what seest thou, Jeremiah?.... This question is put, in order that, upon his answer to it, he might have an explication of the vision:

and I said, figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil,

that cannot be eaten, they are so evil; or "so bad", or "because of badness" b; which may be applied to mankind in general; who may be distinguished into good and bad: those that are good, who are made so by the grace of God; for none are so by nature, or of themselves; they are very good: they have many good things in them; they have a good heart, a new and a clean heart, and a right spirit created in them; they have a good understanding of spiritual things; they have a good will to that which is good, and good affections for God and Christ, and divine things; they have the good Spirit of God and his graces in them, and Christ and his word dwelling in them: and they do good things, and are prepared for every good work; they are good to others; pleasantly and acceptably good to God through Christ; and profitably good to their fellow saints and fellow creatures. On the other hand, those that are bad are exceeding bad; as they are by nature children of wrath, unclean, corrupt, loathsome, and abominable in the sight of God; so they are from their youth upward, and continue so, and are never otherwise; all in them, and that comes from them, are evil; their hearts are desperately wicked, the thoughts and imaginations of their hearts are evil continually; their words are idle, corrupt, and filthy, and all their actions sinful; there is no good in them, nor any done by them; they are good for nothing; they are of no use to God, to themselves, or others; sin has made them like itself, exceeding sinful: and now between these two sorts there is no medium; though all sins are not alike; and some in a comparative sense may be called greater or lesser sinners; yet all are exceeding bad, even the least: they are all of the same nature, and have the same wicked hearts; though some may be outwardly righteous before men; and hypocrites and formal professors are worst of all. There never were but two sorts of persons in the world; the seed of the woman, and the seed of the serpent; the children of God, and the children of the devil; and so things will appear hereafter at the great day; the one will be placed at Christ's right hand as good and righteous men, the other at his left hand as wicked, and will have separate states to all eternity: and so those figs are explained in the Talmud c; the good figs, they are the perfect righteous; the bad figs, they are the perfect wicked.

b מרע "prae pravitate", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius "prae malitia", Schmidt. c T. Bab. Erubim, fol. 21. 2.


 
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