Yeremia 24:5

24:5 “I, the Lord, the God of Israel, say: ‘The exiles whom I sent away from here to the land of Babylon ¹  are like those good figs. I consider them to be good.

Yeremia 29:17

29:17 The Lord who rules over all ²  says, ‘I will bring war, ³  starvation, and disease on them. I will treat them like figs that are so rotten ⁴  they cannot be eaten.

[24:5]  ¹ tn Heb “the land of the Chaldeans.” See the study note on 21:4.

[29:17]  ² tn Heb “Yahweh of armies.” See the study note on 2:19 for explanation of this title.

[29:17]  ³ tn Heb “the sword.”

[29:17]  ⁴ tn The meaning of this word is somewhat uncertain. It occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. BDB 1045 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the noun “horrible thing” (translated “something shocking”) in Jer 5:30; 23:14 and defines it as “horrid, disgusting.” HALOT 1495 s.v. שֹׁעָר relates it to the same noun and define it as “rotten; corrupt.” That nuance is accepted here.

[29:17]  sn Compare Jer 24:8-10 in its context for the figure here.