Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



One basket contained very good figs like the first figs that ripen on the tree. The other basket contained very bad figs that were too bad to be eaten. The LORD told me, "What do you see?" I replied, "Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad figs are very bad. They're too bad to be eaten." Then this message from the LORD came to me: read more.
"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "Like these good figs, so I'll regard as good the exiles of Judah whom I sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I'll look at them with good intentions, and I'll bring them back to this land. I'll build them up. I won't tear them down; I'll plant them and not rip them up. I'll give them the ability to know me, for I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God when they return to me with all their heart. ""Like the bad figs that are too bad to be eaten for this is what the LORD says so I'll give up on Zedekiah king of Judah, along with his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem that is left in this land, and those living in the land of Egypt.


I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you will no longer be their slaves, since I've broken their oppressive yoke upon you to make you walk upright." "But if you won't listen to me and obey all these commands, and if you refuse my statutes, loathe my ordinances, and fail to carry out all of my commands, thereby breaching my covenant, read more.
then I will certainly do this to you: I'll appoint sudden terror to infect you like tuberculosis and fever. Your eyes will fail and your life will waste away. You'll plant in vain, because your enemies will consume what you plant. I'll set my face against you so that you'll be defeated before your enemies. Those who hate you will have dominion over you and you'll keep fleeing even when no one is pursuing you. "If, despite all of this, you still don't listen to me, then I'll punish you seven times more on account of your sins. I'll break your mighty pride. I'll make the heavens to be like iron and the ground like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your land won't yield its produce and the trees of the land won't yield their fruit. "If you live life contrary to me and remain unwilling to listen to me, then I'll add to your wounds seven times more on account of your sins. I'll send wild beasts against you from the open country to deprive you of your children, destroy your cattle, and decrease your number so that your roads become desolate. "If, despite these things, you still won't return to me, but live life contrary to me, then I'll certainly oppose you. I'll take vengeance against you seven fold on account of your sins. I'll bring the sword against you to execute the vengeance of my covenant. When you gather in your cities, I'll send a pestilence. As a result, you'll be delivered into the control of your enemies.

"But if you don't obey the LORD your God and faithfully carry out all his commands and statutes that I'm giving you today, then all these curses will come upon you and overwhelm you: "Cursed will you be in the city and cursed will you be in the country. "Cursed will be your grain basket and your kneading bowl. read more.
"Cursed will your children be, as well as the produce of your land, the offspring of your beasts and cattle, and the offspring of your flock. "Cursed will you be in your comings and goings." "The LORD will send the curse among you, will confuse you, and will rebuke you in everything you undertake until you are destroyed and perish quickly because of your evil deeds, since you will have forsaken him. The LORD will cause you to be ill with long-lasting diseases until you are wiped out from the land that you are entering to possess.

After Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had taken Jehoiakim's son Jeconiah, king of Judah, along with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the smiths from Jerusalem into exile, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed right in front of the Temple of the LORD. One basket contained very good figs like the first figs that ripen on the tree. The other basket contained very bad figs that were too bad to be eaten. The LORD told me, "What do you see?" I replied, "Figs. The good figs are very good, and the bad figs are very bad. They're too bad to be eaten." read more.
Then this message from the LORD came to me: "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "Like these good figs, so I'll regard as good the exiles of Judah whom I sent from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I'll look at them with good intentions, and I'll bring them back to this land. I'll build them up. I won't tear them down; I'll plant them and not rip them up. I'll give them the ability to know me, for I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God when they return to me with all their heart. ""Like the bad figs that are too bad to be eaten for this is what the LORD says so I'll give up on Zedekiah king of Judah, along with his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem that is left in this land, and those living in the land of Egypt. I'll make them into a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth; into a cause for contempt, into a byword, into a taunt, and into a curse in all the places to which I drive them. I'll send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they're completely destroyed from the land which I gave them and their ancestors.'"

"I afflicted you with blight and fungus; and the locust swarm devoured the harvest of your gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees, but you have not returned to me," declares the LORD. "I sent plagues among you as I did with Egypt. I killed your choicest young men with the sword. I took your horses away from you. I filled your noses with the stench of your encampments, but you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.


""Like the bad figs that are too bad to be eaten for this is what the LORD says so I'll give up on Zedekiah king of Judah, along with his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem that is left in this land, and those living in the land of Egypt.


""Like the bad figs that are too bad to be eaten for this is what the LORD says so I'll give up on Zedekiah king of Judah, along with his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem that is left in this land, and those living in the land of Egypt.


"This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "This is what you are to say to the king of Judah who sent you to me to inquire of me, "Look, Pharaoh's army that has come to help will go back to its own land of Egypt, and then the Chaldeans will come back to fight against this city, to capture it, and burn it with fire."' "This is what the LORD says: "Don't deceive yourselves by saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," "for they won't go. read more.
Indeed, even if you defeated the entire Chaldean army that is fighting against you, and they had only wounded men left in their tents, they would get up and burn this city with fire.'"'"

He practiced what the LORD his God considered to be evil and never humbled himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the LORD.

where Zedekiah had confined him. Zedekiah had said, "Why did you prophesy and say these things? You said, "This is what the LORD says: "I'm about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah, king of Judah, won't escape from the Chaldeans, for he has surely been given over to the king of Babylon. He will speak to him face to face and look at him eye to eye. The king of Babylon will take Zedekiah to Babylon and there he will stay until I judge him," declares the LORD. "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you won't succeed."'"

""Like the bad figs that are too bad to be eaten for this is what the LORD says so I'll give up on Zedekiah king of Judah, along with his officials, the remnant of Jerusalem that is left in this land, and those living in the land of Egypt. I'll make them into a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms of the earth; into a cause for contempt, into a byword, into a taunt, and into a curse in all the places to which I drive them. I'll send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they're completely destroyed from the land which I gave them and their ancestors.'"

I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah using words like these: "Bring your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him and his people, and you will live! Why should you and your people die by the sword, by famine, and by plague as the LORD has decreed about the nation that does not serve the king of Babylon? Don't listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, "You won't serve the king of Babylon.' Indeed, they're prophesying a lie to you. read more.
For I didn't send them," declares the LORD, "and they're falsely prophesying in my name, so I will drive both you and the prophets who prophesy to you out of the land." Then I spoke to the priests and all of the people: "This is what the LORD says: "Don't listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you: "The vessels from the Temple are about to be returned from Babylon very soon now." Indeed, they're prophesying a lie to you. Don't listen to them! Serve the king of Babylon and you'll live. Why should this city become a ruin? If they're prophets, and if they have a message from the LORD, let them plead with the LORD of the Heavenly Armies so that the utensils that remain in the LORD's Temple, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem might not be taken to Babylon. For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says about the pillars, the bronze sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that remain in this city that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon didn't take when he took Jehoiakim's son Jeconiah, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem from Jerusalem into exile to Babylon For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel says about the vessels that remain in the LORD's Temple, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, "They'll go into Babylon and there they'll remain until the time I take note of them," declares the LORD. "Then I'll bring them up and return them to this place."'"

Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him. The king questioned him secretly in his house: "Is there a message from the LORD?"

King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to him at the third entrance to the LORD's Temple. The king told Jeremiah, "I'm going to ask you something, and don't hide anything from me." Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "When I tell you, you will surely put me to death, won't you? And when I give you advice, you don't listen to me." Then King Zedekiah, in secret, swore an oath to Jeremiah: "As surely as the LORD lives, who gave us this life to live, I won't have you put to death, nor will I hand you over to these men who are seeking to kill you." read more.
So Jeremiah told Zedekiah, "This is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "If you will immediately surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, and this city won't be burned with fire. Both you and your family will live. But if you don't surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given to the Chaldeans, and they'll burn it with fire. You won't escape from their hands.'" Then King Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "I'm afraid of the Judeans who have gone over to the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans may turn me over to them, and they may treat me harshly." Jeremiah said, "They won't turn you over. Obey the LORD in what I'm telling you, and it will go well for you and you will live. But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has shown me: Look, all the women who are left in the house of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon, and will say, "These friends of yours have mislead you and overcome you. Your feet have sunk down into the mire, but they have turned away.' "They'll bring all your women and children out to the Chaldeans, and you won't escape from their hand. Indeed, you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire." Then Zedekiah told Jeremiah, "Don't let anyone know about these words and you won't die. If the officials hear that I've spoken with you, and they come to you and say, "Tell us what you told the king, and what the king told you; don't hide it from us, and we won't put you to death,' then you are to say to them, "I was presenting my request to the king that I not be taken back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'" When all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him, he replied to them exactly as the king had ordered him. So they stopped speaking with him because the conversation had not been overheard. Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard until the day Jerusalem was captured.