Year of the Bible
Jeremiah 24
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Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 24:
Babylon has struck the capital city and taken King Jeconiah and various prominent men of the nation captive (see 20:4-6). Jeremiah has a vision of two baskets of figs, one good and one bad. God explains that the good figs are those people who have been taken into exile yet remain faithful. God promises to bring them back to their land, build them up, and plant them (see 1:10) because they are going to return to God with their whole hearts. The bad figs, on the other hand, are the successor King Zedekiah and his court. During Zedekiah’s reign the land of Judah will be completely lost as it suffers from war, famine, and pestilence, and the remaining people will be driven from the land.
The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 24:
Two Baskets: Good and Bad Figs
1 After Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, together with the princes of Judah, the craftsmen, and the smiths, and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me this vision: Behold, two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. 2 One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3 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.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will set my eyes upon them for 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. 7 I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
8 “But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a byword, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I shall drive them. 10 And I will send sword, famine, and pestilence upon them, until they shall be utterly destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their fathers.”
*Daily Lectio Divina Question:
God Blesses the "good figs" and builds them up. Lord, what are you asking me to do that will bear good fruit for your Kingdom?
Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan, an adult faith formation apostolate. cbsmich.org/join
Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
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Jeremías 24
24 1 El Señor me mostró dos cestos
de higos, colocados delante del
Templo del Señor. Fue después de que
Nabucodonosor, rey de Babilonia, deportara
a Jeconías, hijo de Yoyaquim,
rey de Judá, a los nobles de Judá, a los
artesanos y los herreros, y los llevara a
Babilonia. 2 Un cesto era de higos muy
buenos, como brevas; el otro, de higos
tan malos, que no se podían comer.
3El Señor me dijo:
–¿Qué es lo que ves, Jeremías?
Y respondí:
–Higos. Los higos buenos son excelentes,
y los malos, tan malos, que no se
pueden comer.
4 La palabra del Señor se dirigió a mí
diciendo:
5 –Esto dice el Señor, Dios de Israel:
«Como a estos higos buenos, así preferiré
a los desterrados de Judá, a los que
expulsé de este lugar a la tierra de los
caldeos. 6 Pondré mis ojos en ellos con
benevolencia y los haré volver a este
país; los reedificaré y no los destruiré,
los plantaré y no los arrancaré. 7 Les daré
un corazón para que me conozcan, pues
Yo soy el Señor. Ellos serán mi pueblo, y
Yo seré su Dios, porque se convertirán a
Mí de todo corazón. 8 Pero, como a esos
higos malos, que no se pueden comer
de malos que son –esto dice el Señor–,
así trataré Yo a Sedecías, rey de Judá, a
sus nobles, y al resto de Jerusalén que
se queden en esta tierra y a los que se
asienten en la tierra de Egipto. 9 Haré de
ellos un espanto, un escarmiento, para
todos los reinos de la tierra; un oprobio,
un proverbio, una burla, una maldición
en cuantos lugares los disperse. 10 Enviaré
contra ellos la espada, el hambre y la
peste, hasta que sean eliminados de la
tierra que les di a ellos y a sus padres».
Pregunta de Lectio Divina del día de hoy
Dios bendice a los "buenos higos" y los edifica. Mi Señor, ¿qué eme estás pidiendo que haga que produzca buen fruto para tu Reino?
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