“‘ But there are also bad figs. In fact, they are so bad they can’t be eaten,’ says the Lord.‘ Zedekiah, the king of Judah, is like these bad figs. So are his officials and the people of Jerusalem who are still left alive. I will punish them whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.

耶和华如此说：“我必将犹大王西底家和他的首领，以及剩在这地耶路撒冷的余民，并住在埃及地的犹大人都交出来，好像那极坏、坏得不可吃的无花果。

耶和华如此说：“我必将犹大王西底家和他的众领袖，以及留在这地耶路撒冷剩余的人，并住在埃及地的犹大人都交出来，好像那极坏、坏得不能吃的无花果。

耶和华如此说：“我必将犹大王西底家和他的众领袖，以及留在这地耶路撒冷剩余的人，并住在埃及地的犹大人都交出来，好像那极坏、坏得不能吃的无花果。

至于那些坏得不能吃的无花果，耶和华这样说，‘犹大王西底迦及其官员，以及留在耶路撒冷和埃及的人在我眼中就像坏得不能吃的无花果。我必丢弃他们，

“但耶和华这样说：‘我怎样处置那些坏到不能吃的坏无花果，我也必照样对待犹大王西底家、他的众领袖和耶路撒冷的余民，不论是余剩在这地的，或是住在埃及地的。

耶和華如此說：「我必將猶大王西底家和他的首領，以及剩在這地耶路撒冷的餘民，並住在埃及地的猶大人都交出來，好像那極壞、壞得不可吃的無花果。

耶和華如此說：「我必將猶大王西底家和他的眾領袖，以及留在這地耶路撒冷剩餘的人，並住在埃及地的猶大人都交出來，好像那極壞、壞得不能吃的無花果。

耶和華如此說：「我必將猶大王西底家和他的眾領袖，以及留在這地耶路撒冷剩餘的人，並住在埃及地的猶大人都交出來，好像那極壞、壞得不能吃的無花果。

至於那些壞得不能吃的無花果，耶和華這樣說，『猶大王西底迦及其官員，以及留在耶路撒冷和埃及的人在我眼中就像壞得不能吃的無花果。我必丟棄他們，

“但耶和華這樣說：‘我怎樣處置那些壞到不能吃的壞無花果，我也必照樣對待猶大王西底家、他的眾領袖和耶路撒冷的餘民，不論是餘剩在這地的，或是住在埃及地的。

『但是永恆主這麼說：我必將猶大王西底家和眾首領、以及耶路撒冷的餘民、剩在這地的、和住在埃及地的、都看像那壞的無花果，壞到喫不得的。

至於無花果之劣而不可食者、耶和華曰、此若猶大王西底家、與其牧伯、及耶路撒冷遺民、居於斯土之眾、與旅於埃及者、

惟彼劣果、不堪適口、可比猶大王西底家、以及牧伯、耶路撒冷居民、斯土之遺眾、暨旅於埃及者。

主如是云、惟猶大王西底家、與其牧伯、及耶路撒冷之遺民、尚遺於斯地者、及旅於伊及者、我必使若此劣甚不可食之劣無花果、

“‘ But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,’ says the Lord,‘ so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt.

“ But thus says the Lord: Like the bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten, so will I treat Zedekiah the king of Judah, his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.

“ But the bad figs,” the Lord said,“ represent King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, all the people left in Jerusalem, and those who live in Egypt. I will treat them like bad figs, too rotten to eat.

“ But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible, this is what the LORD says: In this way I will deal with King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem— those remaining in this land or living in the land of Egypt.

‘ But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness,’ indeed, this is what the Lord says,‘ so will I give up Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and the ones who live in the land of Egypt.

‘ And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad’— surely thus says the Lord—‘ so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.

And as the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad, surely thus saith Jehovah, So will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt,

“ But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible, this is what the Lord says: in this way I will deal with king Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem— those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.

And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

“ I, the LORD, also solemnly assert:‘ King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people who remain in Jerusalem or who have gone to live in Egypt are like those bad figs. I consider them to be just like those bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.

“‘ As the bad figs, which can’t be eaten, they are so bad,’ surely Yahweh says,‘ So I will give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the remnant of Jerusalem, who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.

Jeremiah finished telling the people everything the Lord their God had said. Jeremiah told them everything the Lord had sent him to tell them.After that, Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, spoke to Jeremiah. And all the proud men joined them. They said,“ You are lying! The Lord our God hasn’t sent you to speak to us. He hasn’t told you to say,‘ You must not go to Egypt and make your homes there.’But Baruch, the son of Neriah, is turning you against us. He wants us to be handed over to the Babylonians. Then they can kill us. Or they can take us away to Babylon.”So Johanan, the son of Kareah, disobeyed the Lord’ s command. So did all the other army officers and all the people. They didn’t stay in the land of Judah.Instead Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the other army officers led away all the people who were left in Judah. Those people had returned to Judah from all the nations where they had been scattered.Johanan and the other officers also led away many people Nebuzaradan had left at Mizpah. They included men, women and children. They also included the king’s daughters. Nebuzaradan had left them with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam. They also took Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah along with them. Nebuzaradan was commander of the royal guard. Ahikam was the son of Shaphan.So the Jewish leaders disobeyed the Lord. They took everyone to Egypt. They went all the way to Tahpanhes.In Tahpanhes a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord said,“ Make sure the Jews are watching you. Then get some large stones. Go to the entrance to Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes. Bury the stones in the clay under the brick walkway there.Then tell the Jews,‘ The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says,“ I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. And I will set his throne over these stones that are buried here. He will set up his royal tent over them.He will come and attack Egypt. He will bring death to those I have appointed to die. He will take away as prisoners those I have appointed to be taken away. And he will kill with swords those I have appointed to be killed.He will set the temples of the gods of Egypt on fire. He will burn down their temples. He will take away the statues of their gods. Nebuchadnezzar will be like a shepherd who picks his coat clean of lice. Nebuchadnezzar will pick Egypt clean and then depart.At Heliopolis in Egypt he will smash the sacred pillars to pieces. And he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.” ’ ”A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It was about all the Jews living in Lower Egypt. They were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes and Memphis. It was also about all the Jews living in Upper Egypt.

One basket had very good figs in it. They were like figs that ripen early. The other basket had very bad figs in it. In fact, they were so bad they couldn’t even be eaten.

Suppose you destroy all the armies of Babylon that are attacking you. Suppose only wounded men are left in their tents. Even then they will come out and burn down this city.’ ”

So the Lord says,“ I am about to hand this city over to the armies of Babylon. I will give it to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He will capture it.The armies of Babylon are now attacking this city. They will come in and set it on fire. They will burn it down. They will burn down the houses where the people made me very angry. They burned incense on their roofs to the god named Baal. And they poured out drink offerings to other gods.

So the Lord says,“ You have not obeyed me. You have not set your Hebrew slaves free. So now I will set you free,” announces the Lord.“ I will set you free to be destroyed by war, plague and hunger. I will make all the kingdoms on earth displeased with you.Those people who have broken my covenant will be punished. They have not lived up to the terms of the covenant they made in front of me. When you made that covenant, you cut a calf in two. Then you walked between its pieces. Now I will cut you to pieces.That includes all of you who walked between the pieces of the calf. It includes the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials and the priests. It also includes some of the people of the land.So I will hand over all those people to their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.“ I will hand over King Zedekiah and his officials to their enemies. I will hand them over to those who want to kill them. I will hand them over to the armies of the king of Babylon. They have now pulled back from you.But I am going to give an order,” announces the Lord.“ I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it. They will capture it and burn it down. And I will completely destroy the towns of Judah. No one will be able to live there.”

Zedekiah did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did just as Jehoiakim had done.The enemies of Jerusalem and Judah attacked them because the Lord was angry. In the end he threw them out of his land. Zedekiah refused to obey the king of Babylon.Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. He marched out against Jerusalem. All his armies went with him. It was in the ninth year of the rule of Zedekiah. It was on the tenth day of the tenth month. The armies set up camp outside the city. They set up ladders and built ramps and towers all around it.It was surrounded until the 11th year of King Zedekiah’s rule.By the ninth day of the fourth month, there wasn’t any food left in the city. So the people didn’t have anything to eat.Then the Babylonians broke through the city wall. Judah’s whole army ran away. They left the city at night. They went out through the gate between the two walls that were near the king’s garden. They escaped even though the Babylonians surrounded the city. Judah’s army ran toward the Arabah Valley.But the armies of Babylon chased King Zedekiah. They caught up with him in the plains near Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him. They had scattered in every direction.The king was captured. He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah. Riblah was in the land of Hamath. That’s where Nebuchadnezzar decided how Zedekiah would be punished.At Riblah the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah. He forced him to watch it with his own eyes. Nebuchadnezzar also killed all the officials of Judah.Then he poked out Zedekiah’s eyes. He put him in bronze chains. And he took him to Babylon. There he put Zedekiah in prison until the day he died.

A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,“ These people refuse to obey me. Ask them,‘ Don’t you know what these things mean?’ Tell them,‘ Nebuchadnezzar went to Jerusalem. He was the king of Babylon. He carried off King Jehoiachin and the nobles. He brought them back with him to the city of Babylon.Then Nebuchadnezzar made a peace treaty with Zedekiah. He was a member of Jerusalem’s royal family. Nebuchadnezzar made him promise he would keep the treaty. He also took away the leading men of the land as prisoners.He did it to bring down their kingdom. It would not rise again. In fact, it would be able to last only by keeping his treaty.But Zedekiah turned against him. He sent messengers to Egypt. They went there to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does things like that escape? Can he break the peace treaty and still escape?“‘ Zedekiah will die in Babylon,’ announces the Lord and King.‘ And that is just as sure as I am alive. He will die in the land of King Nebuchadnezzar, who put him on the throne. Zedekiah didn’t keep his promise to Nebuchadnezzar and broke his treaty.So Nebuchadnezzar will build ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. He will set up war machines to destroy many lives. Pharaoh will not be able to help Zedekiah during the war. The huge and mighty army of Egypt will not be of any help.Zedekiah didn’t keep his promise to Nebuchadnezzar and broke his treaty. Zedekiah had made a firm promise to keep it. But he broke it anyway. So he will not escape.“‘ The Lord and King says,“ Zedekiah didn’t keep the promise he made in my name. He broke the treaty. So I will pay him back. And that is just as sure as I am alive.I will spread out my net to catch him. He will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon. I will judge him there because he was not faithful to me.All Zedekiah’s best troops will be killed by swords. Those who are left alive will be scattered to the winds. Then you will know that I have spoken. I am the Lord.”

But here is what the Lord says about the king who now sits on David’s throne. He also says it about all the people who remain in this city. And he says it about all those who did not go with you to Babylon.The Lord who rules over all says,“ I will send war, hunger and plague against them. I will make them like bad figs. They are so bad they can’t be eaten.I will hunt them down with war, hunger and plague. I will make all the kingdoms on earth displeased with them. They will use their name in a curse. All the nations where I drive them will be shocked at them. They will make fun of them. And they will bring shame on them.

“ I am the Lord, the God of Israel. I say,‘ I consider the people who were forced to leave Judah to be like these good figs. I sent them away from this place. I forced them to go to Babylon.

Then King Zedekiah sent for him. King Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to the palace. There the king spoke to him in private. The king asked,“ Do you have a message from the Lord for me?”“ Yes,” Jeremiah replied.“ You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”

But listen to the Lord’ s message. Listen, all you Jews living in Egypt.‘ I make a promise by my own great name,’ says the Lord.‘ Here is what I promise.“ No one from Judah who lives anywhere in Egypt will ever again pray in my name. None of them will ever make this promise. They will never say,‘ You can be sure that the Lord and King is alive.’ ”I am watching over them to do them harm and not good. The Jews in Egypt will die of war and hunger until all of them are destroyed.Some will not be killed. They will return to Judah from Egypt. But they will be very few. Then all the people of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know the truth. They will know whether what I say or what they say will come true.“‘ I will give you a sign that I will punish you in this place,’ announces the Lord.‘ Then you can be sure that my warnings of harm against you will come true.’The Lord says,‘ I am going to hand over Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt. I will hand him over to his enemies who want to kill him. In the same way, I handed over King Zedekiah to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He was the enemy who wanted to kill Zedekiah.’ ”

But what if you do not give yourself up to them? Then this city will be handed over to the Babylonians. They will burn it down. And you yourself will not escape from them.’ ”King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah,“ I’m afraid of some of the Jews. They are the ones who have gone over to the side of the Babylonians. The Babylonians might hand me over to them. And those Jews will treat me badly.”“ They won’t hand you over to them,” Jeremiah replied.“ Obey the Lord. Do what I tell you to do. Then things will go well with you. Your life will be spared.Don’t refuse to give yourself up. The Lord has shown me what will happen if you do.All the women who are left in your palace will be brought out. They’ll be given to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you,“‘ Your trusted friends have tricked you. They have gotten the best of you. Your feet are sunk down in the mud. Your friends have deserted you.’“ All your wives and children will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself won’t escape from them. You will be captured by the king of Babylon. And this city will be burned down.”

I have decided to do this city harm and not good,” announces the Lord.“ It will be handed over to the king of Babylon. And he will destroy it with fire.” ’

“ The prince among them will put his things on his shoulder and leave. He will do this at sunset. Someone will dig a hole in the city wall for him to go through. He will cover his face so he can’t see the land.I will spread out my net to catch him. He will be caught in my trap. I will bring him to Babylon. It is the land where the Chaldeans live. But he will not see it. He will die there.I will scatter to the winds all those around him. I will scatter his officials and all his troops. And I will chase them with a sword that is ready to strike them down.“ They will know that I am the Lord when I scatter them among the nations. I will send them to other countries.But I will spare a few of them. I will save them from war, hunger and plague. In those countries they will admit they have done all kinds of evil things. I hate those things. They will know that I am the Lord.”

The city wall was broken through. It happened on the ninth day of the fourth month. It was in the 11th year of Zedekiah’s rule.All the officials of the king of Babylon came. They took seats near the Middle Gate. Nergal- Sharezer from Samgar was there. Nebo- Sarsekim, a chief officer, was also there. So was Nergal- Sharezer, a high official. And all the other officials of the king of Babylon were there too.King Zedekiah and all the soldiers saw them. Then they ran away. They left the city at night. They went by way of the king’s garden. They went out through the gate between the two walls. And they headed toward the Arabah Valley.But the armies of Babylon chased them. They caught up with Zedekiah in the plains near Jericho. They captured him there. And they took him to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He was at Riblah in the land of Hamath. That’s where Nebuchadnezzar decided how Zedekiah would be punished.The king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah. He forced Zedekiah to watch it with his own eyes. He also killed all the nobles of Judah.Then he poked out Zedekiah’s eyes. He put him in bronze chains. And he took him to Babylon.The Babylonians set the royal palace on fire. They also set fire to the houses of the people. And they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.Nebuzaradan was commander of the royal guard. Some people still remained in the city. But he took them away to Babylon as prisoners. He also took along those who had gone over to his side. And he took the rest of the people.