Jeremiah 24 - 26, Romans 11, Psalm 106:28-48

The Good and the Rotten Figs

24After ^aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken away into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, Yahweh showed me: behold, two ^bbaskets of figs set before the temple of Yahweh! ²One basket had very good figs, like ^afirst-ripe figs, and the other basket had ^bvery rotten figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. ³Then Yahweh said to me, “^aWhat do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the rotten figs, very rotten, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”

⁴Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, ⁵“Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will recognize ^aas good the exiles of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶‘For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will ^areturn them to this land; and I will ^bbuild them up and not pull them down, and I will ^cplant them and not uproot them. ⁷‘I will give them a ^aheart to know Me, for I am Yahweh; and they will be ^bMy people, and I will be their God, for they will ^creturn to Me with their whole heart.

⁸‘But like the ^arotten figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness—indeed, thus says Yahweh—so I will give over ^bZedekiah king of Judah and his officials and the ^cremnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who inhabit the land of ^dEgypt. ⁹‘I will ^agive them over to be a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a ^breproach and a proverb, a byword and a ^ccurse in all places where I will banish them. ¹⁰‘I will send the ^asword, the famine, and the pestilence upon them until they come to an end from being upon the land which I gave to them and their fathers.’”

Seventy Years of Captivity

25The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the ^afourth year of ^bJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the ^cfirst year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), ²which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the ^apeople of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ³“From the ^athirteenth year of ^bJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, ¹these ^ctwenty-three years the word of Yahweh has come to me, and I have spoken to you, ²^,^drising up early and speaking, but you have not listened. ⁴“And Yahweh has sent to you all His ^aslaves the prophets, rising up early and sending, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, ⁵saying, ‘^aTurn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the ground which Yahweh has given to you and your fathers ^bforever and ever; ⁶and ^ado not walk after other gods to ¹serve them and to ²worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will bring no evil against you.’ ⁷“Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares Yahweh, “in order that you might ^aprovoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own evil demise.

⁸“Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Because you have not listened to My words, ⁹behold, I will ^asend and take all the families of the north,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^bMy servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will ¹devote them to destruction and ^cmake them an object of horror and of hissing and an everlasting waste place. ¹⁰‘Moreover, I will ¹^,^amake the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the ^bsound of the millstones and the light of the lamp, to perish from them. ¹¹‘^aThis whole land will be a waste place and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon ^bseventy years.

Punishment Against Babylon

¹²‘Then it will be ^awhen seventy years are fulfilled, that I will ^bpunish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares Yahweh, ‘for their iniquity, even the land of the Chaldeans; and ^cI will make it an everlasting desolation. ¹³‘I will bring upon that land all My words which I have spoken against it, all that is written in ^athis book which Jeremiah has prophesied against ^ball the nations. ¹⁴‘—¹For ^amany nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will ^brepay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands—’”

¹⁵For thus Yahweh, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this ^acup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. ¹⁶“They will ^adrink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

¹⁷Then I took the cup from the hand of Yahweh and ^amade all the nations to whom Yahweh sent me drink it: ¹⁸^aJerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a waste place, an object of horror, an object of hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; ¹⁹^aPharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people, ²⁰and all the ¹^,^aforeign people, all the kings of the ^bland of Uz, all the kings of the land of the ^cPhilistines (even Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^dAshdod), ²¹^aEdom, ^bMoab, and the sons of ^cAmmon, ²²and all the kings of ^aTyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of ^bthe coastlands which are beyond the sea, ²³and ^aDedan, Tema, ^bBuz, and all who ^ccut ¹the corners of their hair, ²⁴and all the kings of ^aArabia and all the kings of the ¹^,^bforeign people who dwell in the desert, ²⁵and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^aElam, and all the kings of ^bMedia, ²⁶and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and ^aall the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of ¹^,^bSheshach shall drink after them.

²⁷“You shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “^aDrink, be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more because of the ^bsword which I will send among you.”’ ²⁸“And it will be, if they ^arefuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “^bYou shall surely drink! ²⁹“For behold, I am ^abeginning to bring evil against this city which is ^bcalled by My name. But shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for ^cI am calling for a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares Yahweh of hosts.’

³⁰“Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them, ‘^aYahweh will ^broar from on highAnd give forth His voice from His holy habitation;He will roar mightily against His ¹pasture.He will bellow a shout like those who tread the grapes,Against all the inhabitants of the earth.

³¹‘A rumbling has come to the end of the earthBecause Yahweh has ^aa contention against the nations.He is entering into ^bjudgment with all flesh;As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,’ declares Yahweh.”

³²Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Behold, evil is going forthFrom ^anation to nation,And a great ^bstorm is being stirred upFrom the remotest parts of the earth.

³³“Those ^aslain by Yahweh on that day will be from one end of the earth to the ¹other. They will ^bnot be lamented, gathered, or buried; they will be like ^cdung on the face of the ground.

³⁴“Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;And ^aroll yourselves in ashes, you masters of the flock;For the days of your ^bslaughter and your scatterings are being fulfilled,And you will fall like a desirable vessel.³⁵“^aRefuge will perish from the shepherdsAnd escape from the mighty ones of the flock.³⁶“Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,And the wailing of the mighty ones of the flock!For Yahweh is destroying their pasture,³⁷And the peaceful ^apastures are made silentBecause of the ^bburning anger of Yahweh.³⁸“He has forsaken His hiding place ^alike the lion;For their land has become an object of horrorBecause of the burning desire of ¹the oppressorAnd because of His burning anger.”

The Words of Yahweh Against Judah

26In the beginning of the reign of ^aJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from Yahweh, saying, ²“Thus says Yahweh, ‘^aStand in the court of the house of Yahweh, and you shall speak to all the cities of Judah who have ^bcome to worship in the house of Yahweh ^call the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. ^dDo not take away a word! ³‘^aPerhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that ^bI may ¹relent of the evil which I am devising to ²bring against them because of the evil of their deeds.’ ⁴“And you will say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “^aIf you will not listen to Me, to ^bwalk in My law which I have given before you, ⁵to listen to the words of ^aMy slaves the prophets, whom I have been sending to you, rising up early and sending, but you have not listened, ⁶then I will make this house like ^aShiloh, and this city I will make a ^bcurse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

Plot to Murder Jeremiah

⁷The ^apriests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Yahweh. ⁸Now it happened that when Jeremiah finished speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “^aYou must surely die! ⁹“Why have you prophesied in the name of Yahweh saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be ^alaid waste, without inhabitant’?” And ^ball the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh.

¹⁰When the ^aofficials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of Yahweh and sat in the ^bentrance of the New Gate of the house of Yahweh. ¹¹Then the priests and the prophets ^aspoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A ^bjudgment of death for this man! For he has prophesied ^cagainst this city as you have heard in your hearing.”

¹²Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “^aYahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. ¹³“So now, ^amake good your ways and your deeds and listen to the voice of Yahweh your God; and Yahweh will ¹relent of the evil demise which He has spoken against you. ¹⁴“But as for me, behold, ^aI am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your eyes. ¹⁵“Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring ^ainnocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on its inhabitants; for truly Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

Jeremiah Spared from Death

¹⁶Then the officials and all the people ^asaid to the priests and to the prophets, “No ^bjudgment of death for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God.” ¹⁷Then ^asome of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, ¹⁸“¹^,^aMicah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus Yahweh of hosts has said, “^bZion will be plowed as a field,And Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,And the ^cmountain of the house will become ²the high places of a forest.”’

¹⁹“Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not ^afear Yahweh and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and ^bYahweh ¹relented of the evil demise which He had spoken against them? But we are ^ccommitting a great evil against ourselves.”

²⁰Indeed, there was also a man who prophesied in the name of Yahweh, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from ^aKiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah. ²¹And King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the officials heard his words. So the ^aking sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard it, and he was afraid and ^bfled and went to Egypt. ²²Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: ^aElnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him went into Egypt. ²³And they brought Uriah out from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who ^astruck him down with a sword and cast his dead body into the ¹burial place of the ²common people.

²⁴But the hand of ^aAhikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was ^bnot given into the hands of the people to put him to death.

God Has Not Rejected Israel

11I say then, has God ^arejected His people? ^bMay it never be! For ^cI too am an Israelite, a seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ²¹^,^aGod has not rejected His people whom He ^bforeknew. ^cOr do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? ³“Lord, ^athey have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” ⁴But what does the divine response say to him? “^aI have left for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵In this way then, at the present time, ^aa remnant according to God’s ¹gracious choice has also come to be. ⁶But ^aif it is by grace, it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

⁷What then? What ^aIsrael is seeking, it has not obtained, but the chosen obtained it, and the rest were ^bhardened; ⁸just as it is written, “¹^,^aGod gave them a spirit of stupor,Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,Down to this very day.”

⁹And David says, “^aLet their table become a snare and a trap,And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.

¹⁰“^aLet their eyes be darkened to see not,And bend their backs forever.”

Gentiles Grafted In

¹¹^aI say then, did they stumble so as to fall? ^bMay it never be! But by their transgression ^csalvation has come to the Gentiles, to ^dmake them jealous. ¹²Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their ¹^,^afullness be! ¹³But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^aI am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, ¹⁴if somehow I might ^amove to jealousy ^bmy ¹fellow countrymen and ^csave some of them. ¹⁵For if their rejection is the ^areconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but ^blife from the dead? ¹⁶And if the ^afirst piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.

¹⁷But if some of the ^abranches were broken off, and ^byou, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became a partaker with them of the ¹rich root of the olive tree, ¹⁸do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast against them, remember that ^ait is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹^aYou will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰Quite right! They were broken off for their unbelief, but you ^astand by your faith. ^bDo not be haughty, but fear, ²¹for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. ²²Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s ^akindness, ^bif you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also ^cwill be cut off. ²³And they also, ^aif they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

All Israel Will Be Saved

²⁵For ^aI do not want you, brothers, to be uninformed of this ^bmystery—so that you will not be ^cwise in your own estimation—that a partial ^dhardening has happened to Israel until the ^efullness of the Gentiles has come in; ²⁶and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “^aThe Deliverer will come from Zion,He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”

²⁷“^aAnd this is ¹My covenant with them,^bWhen I take away their sins.”

²⁸¹From the standpoint of the gospel they are ^aenemies for your sake, but ²from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for ^bthe sake of the fathers; ²⁹for the gifts and the ^acalling of God ^bare irrevocable. ³⁰For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, ³¹so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. ³²For ^aGod has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

³³Oh, the depth of ^athe riches and ^bwisdom and knowledge of God! ^cHow unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! ³⁴For ^awho has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? ³⁵Or ^awho has first given to Him ¹that it might be repaid to him? ³⁶For ^afrom Him and through Him and to Him are all things. ^bTo Him be the glory ¹forever. Amen.

²⁸They then ^ajoined themselves to ¹Baal-peor,And ate ^bsacrifices offered to the dead.²⁹Thus they ^aprovoked Him to anger with their actions,And the plague broke out among them.³⁰Then Phinehas ^astood up and interceded,And so the ^bplague was checked.³¹And it was ^acounted to him for righteousness,From generation to generation forever.³²They also ^aprovoked Him to wrath at the waters of ¹Meribah,So that it ^bwent badly with Moses on their account;³³Because they ^awere rebellious against ¹His Spirit,He spoke rashly with his lips.³⁴They ^adid not destroy the peoples,As ^bYahweh commanded them,³⁵But ^athey mingled with the nationsAnd learned their works,³⁶And ^aserved their idols,^bWhich became a snare to them.³⁷They ^asacrificed their sons and their daughters to the ^bdemons,³⁸And they shed ^ainnocent blood,The blood of their ^bsons and their daughters,Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;And the land was ^cpolluted with the blood.³⁹Thus they became ^aunclean in their works,And ^bplayed the harlot in their actions.⁴⁰So the ^aanger of Yahweh was kindled against His peopleAnd He ^babhorred His ¹^,^cinheritance.⁴¹Then ^aHe gave them into the hand of the ¹nations,And those who hated them ruled over them.⁴²Their enemies ^aoppressed them,And they were subdued under their hand.⁴³Many times He would ^adeliver them;But they were rebellious in their ^bcounsel,And so they ^csank down in their iniquity.⁴⁴Nevertheless He looked upon their distressWhen He ^aheard their cry of lamentation;⁴⁵And He ^aremembered for them His covenant,And ¹^,^brelented ^caccording to the abundance of His lovingkindness.⁴⁶He also made them ^aobjects of compassionIn the presence of all their captors.⁴⁷^aSave us, O Yahweh our God,And ^bgather us from among the nations,To give thanks to Your holy nameAnd ^crevel in Your praise.⁴⁸^aBlessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,From everlasting to everlasting.And let all the people say, “Amen.”¹Praise Yah!