Jeremiah 24 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

Yahweh showed me a vision: two baskets of figs had been set out in front of Yahweh's temple. This was after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, along with the officials of Judah and the craftsmen and metalworkers, away from Jerusalem into exile in Babylon.

One basket had very good figs, like figs that ripen early in the season. The other basket had very bad figs — so bad they couldn't be eaten.

Then Yahweh asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad figs are very bad — too bad to eat."

Then Yahweh's message came to me:

"This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, I will look with favor on the exiles from Judah whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.

I will keep my eyes on them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.

I will give them a heart that knows me — that I am Yahweh. They will be my people and I will be their God, because they will return to me with their whole heart.

"But like the bad figs — so bad they can't be eaten — yes, this is what Yahweh says: That is how I will deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and whatever is left of Jerusalem — whether they stayed in this land or settled in Egypt.

I will make them an object of horror and a cautionary tale to every kingdom on earth — a target for mockery, ridicule, cursing, and disgust everywhere I scatter them.

I will send war, famine, and disease against them until they are completely wiped out from the land I gave to them and their ancestors."