“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.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Yahweh, the God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good.
- KJV 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.
- BSB “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.
- NKJV “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans.
- NASB “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God identifies the good figs as the exiles of Judah sent to Babylon, whom He regards for good. The deportation, far from rejection, serves His gracious purpose for them.
Overview
Contrary to expectation, the LORD declares the Babylonian captives to be the good figs whom He has sent away 'for good.' Their exile is part of God's disciplinary mercy, not abandonment. This reframes suffering and displacement as a sphere in which God works redemptively for His people's ultimate benefit (cf. Rom 8:28).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Zech 13:9I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them like gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say, ‘It is my people;’ and they will say, ‘Yahweh is my God.’”
- Nah 1:7Yahweh is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and he knows those who take refuge in him.
- Ps 94:12–14Blessed is the man whom you discipline, Yah, and teach out of your law;
- Deut 8:16who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers didn’t know; that he might humble you, and that he might prove you, to do you good at your latter end:
- 1 Cor 8:3But if anyone loves God, the same is known by him.
- Rev 3:19As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.
- Gal 4:9But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, why do you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental principles, to which you desire to be in bondage all over again?
- Ps 119:71It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.
- Ps 119:67Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I observe your word.
- Heb 12:5–10and you have forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children, “My son, don’t take lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him;
- Matt 25:12But he answered, ‘Most certainly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
- John 10:27My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
- 2 Tim 2:19However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.”
- Rom 8:28We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 24:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.