Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

New Century Version

Jeremiah 24:3

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."

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."
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."
Contemporary English Version
"Jeremiah," the Lord asked, "what do you see?" "Figs," I said. "Some are very good, but the others are too rotten to eat."
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 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon captured Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim and king of Judah, his officers, and all the craftsmen and metalworkers of Judah. He took them away from Jerusalem and brought them to Babylon. It was then that the Lord showed me two baskets of figs arranged in front of the Temple of the Lord . 2 One of the baskets had very good figs in it, like figs that ripen early in the season. But the other basket had figs 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, but the rotten figs are too rotten to eat." 4 Then the Lord spoke his word to me: 5 "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘I sent the people of Judah out of their country to live in the country of Babylon. I think of those people as good, like these good figs. 6 I will look after them and bring them back to the land of Judah. I will not tear them down, but I will build them up. I will not pull them up, but I will plant them so they can grow. 7 I will make them want to know me, that I am the Lord . They will be my people, and I will be their God, because they will return to me with their whole hearts. 8 "‘But the bad figs are too rotten to eat.' So this is what the Lord says: ‘Zedekiah king of Judah, his officers, and all the people from Jerusalem who are left alive, even those who live in Egypt, will be like those rotten figs. 9 I will make those people hated as an evil people by all the kingdoms of the earth. People will make fun of them and tell jokes about them and point fingers at them and curse them everywhere I scatter them. 10 I will send war, hunger, and disease against them. I will attack them until they have all been killed. Then they will no longer be in the land I gave to 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 6:2
When the sons of God saw that these girls were beautiful, they married any of them they chose.
Genesis 6:4
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days and also later. That was when the sons of God had sexual relations with the daughters of human beings. These women gave birth to children, who became famous and were the mighty warriors of long ago.
Genesis 14:19
and blessed Abram, saying, "Abram, may you be blessed by God Most High, the God who made heaven and earth.
Genesis 14:22
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I make a promise to the Lord , the God Most High, who made heaven and earth.
Genesis 21:23
So make a promise to me here before God that you will be fair with me and my children and my descendants. Be kind to me and to this land where you have lived as a stranger—as kind as I have been to you."
Genesis 24:3
Make a promise to me before the Lord , the God of heaven and earth. Don't get a wife for my son from the Canaanite girls who live around here.
Genesis 24:4
Instead, go back to my country, to the land of my relatives, and get a wife for my son Isaac."
Genesis 24:14
I will say to one of them, ‘Please put your jar down so I can drink.' Then let her say, ‘Drink, and I will also give water to your camels.' If that happens, I will know she is the right one for your servant Isaac and that you have shown kindness to my master."
Genesis 24:15
Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, came out of the city. (Bethuel was the son of Milcah and Nahor, Abraham's brother.) Rebekah was carrying her water jar on her shoulder.
Genesis 24:17
The servant ran to her and said, "Please give me a little water from your jar."

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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