1. King Jehoiachin was forced to leave Jerusalem. He was the son of Jehoiakim. Jehoiachin was taken to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. The officials and all of the skilled workers were forced to leave with him. After they left, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs. They were in front of his temple.
2. One basket had very good figs in it. They were like figs that ripen early. The other basket had figs that weren't good at all. In fact, they were so bad they couldn't even be eaten.
3. Then the Lord asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good. But the others are so bad they can't be eaten."
4. Then a message came to me from the Lord. He said,
5. "I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I say, 'I consider the people who were forced to leave Judah to be like those good figs. I sent them away from this place. I forced them to go to Babylonia.