ירמיהו, פרק כ״ד, פסוק ג׳

When responding to God's inquiry, Jeremiah goes beyond a simple, surface-level description of his vision. Instead, he highlights the striking and extreme contrast between the two types of figs [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The figs are not merely presented as good and bad in a relative sense, where one is simply better or worse than the other. Rather, their condition is absolute and extreme in its own right [מצודת דוד].

This extreme disparity is the direct result of when the fruit was harvested. The good figs reached an exceptional level of quality because they were picked the exact moment they became ripe. In contrast, the bad figs suffered from severe neglect. Because they were left on the tree and not harvested on time, their condition deteriorated drastically until they rotted and became completely inedible [מלבי״ם].