Jeremiah 36
1 This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
Now it came about in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
2 Get a scroll and write down everything I've told you condemning Israel, Judah, and all the other nations, from the time I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah right up till now.
Take a book and put down in it all the words I have said to you against Israel and against Judah and against all the nations, from the day when my word came to you in the days of Josiah till this day.
3 Maybe when the people of Judah hear about all the disasters I plan to bring down on them, everyone will stop their evil ways. Then I will forgive their guilt and sin.
It may be that the people of Judah, hearing of all the evil which it is my purpose to do to them, will be turned, every man from his evil ways; so that they may have my forgiveness for their evil-doing and their sin.
4 So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah to come, and while Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote down on a scroll everything that the Lord had told Jeremiah.
Then Jeremiah sent for Baruch, the son of Neriah; and Baruch took down from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which he had said to him, writing them in a book.
5 Then Jeremiah gave Baruch these instructions: “I'm a prisoner here so I can't go into the Lord's Temple.
And Jeremiah gave orders to Baruch, saying, I am shut up, and am not able to go into the house of the Lord:
6 So you have to go to the Lord's Temple on a day when people are fasting, and read to them the Lord's messages from the scroll I dictated to you. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns.
So you are to go, reading there from the book, which you have taken down from my mouth, the words of the Lord, in the hearing of the people in the Lord's house, on a day when they go without food, and in the hearing of all the men of Judah who have come out from their towns.
7 Maybe they will come and ask the Lord for forgiveness, and all of them will stop their evil ways, for the Lord is threatening terrible anger against them.”
It may be that their prayer for grace will go up to the Lord, and that every man will be turned from his evil ways: for great is the wrath and the passion made clear by the Lord against this people.
8 Baruch son of Neriah did exactly what Jeremiah the prophet had told him to do. He went and read the Lord's message from the scroll in the Temple.
And Baruch, the son of Neriah, did as Jeremiah the prophet gave him orders to do, reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord's house.
9 This is how it happened. A fast to honor the Lord was declared involving all the people of Jerusalem and everyone who had come there from the towns of Judah. This was in the ninth month of the fifth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah.
Now it came about in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that it was given out publicly that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem, were to keep from food before the Lord.
10 Baruch read from the scroll what Jeremiah had dictated so that everyone could hear. He read it from the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe. This was in the upper Temple courtyard at the New Gate entrance.
Then Baruch gave a public reading of the words of Jeremiah from the book, in the house of the Lord, in the room of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher square, as one goes in by the new doorway of the Lord's house, in the hearing of all the people.
11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the Lord's messages read from the scroll,
And Micaiah, the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, after hearing all the words of the Lord from the book,
12 he went down to the royal secretary's room in the king's palace, where all the officials had gathered. Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were there.
Went down to the king's house, to the scribe's room: and all the rulers were seated there, Elishama the scribe and Delaiah, the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah, the son of Hananiah, and all the rulers.
13 Micaiah gave them a report of everything he'd heard Baruch read from the scroll to the people.
Then Micaiah gave them an account of all the words which had come to his ears when Baruch was reading the book to the people.
14 The officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, to summon Baruch, telling him, “Bring the scroll that you read to the people, and come here.” So Baruch went to see them taking the scroll with him.
So all the rulers sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the book from which you have been reading to the people and come. So Baruch, the son of Neriah, took the book in his hand and came down to them.
15 “Please sit down and read it to us,” they said. So Baruch read it to them.
Then they said to him, Be seated now, and give us a reading from it. So Baruch did so, reading it to them.
16 After they'd heard everything, they were frightened and looked at each other. They said to Baruch, “We've got to tell the king about all this.”
Now it came about that, after hearing all the words, they said to one another in fear, We will certainly give the king an account of all these words.
17 Then they asked Baruch, “Now tell us, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it to you?”
And questioning Baruch, they said, Say now, how did you put all these words down in writing from his mouth?
18 “Yes, he dictated it,” Baruch replied. “I wrote down in ink on the scroll everything he told me.”
Then Baruch, answering, said, He said all these things to me by word of mouth, and I put them down with ink in the book.
19 The officials told Baruch, “You and Jeremiah are going to have to hide. Don't tell anyone where you are.”
Then the rulers said to Baruch, Go and put yourself in a safe place, you and Jeremiah, and let no man have knowledge of where you are.
20 Then the officials went to see the king in the courtyard. They had kept the scroll safe in Elishama the secretary's room while they gave a full report to the king.
Then they went into the open square to the king; but the book they put away in the room of Elishama the scribe; and they gave the king an account of all the words.
21 The king sent Jehudi to fetch the scroll. He went and got it from Elishama the secretary's room. Then Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who were there standing next to him.
So the king sent Jehudi to get the book, and he took it from the room of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi gave a reading of it in the hearing of the king and all the rulers who were by the king's side.
22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in front of a fire in his winter quarters.
Now the king was seated in the winter house, and a fire was burning in the fireplace in front of him.
23 Whenever Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, Jehoiakim would chop them off with a scribe's knife and toss them into the fire. Eventually the whole scroll was completely burned up.
And it came about that whenever Jehudi, in his reading, had got through three or four divisions, the king, cutting them with his penknife, put them into the fire, till all the book was burned up in the fire which was burning in the fireplace.
24 Despite hearing all these messages, the king and his attendants weren't frightened and didn't tear their clothes in remorse.
But they had no fear and gave no signs of grief, not the king or any of his servants, after hearing all these words.
25 Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he refused to listen to them.
And Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made a strong request to the king not to let the book be burned, but he would not give ear to them.
26 In fact the king ordered Jerahmeel, one of the princes, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to go and arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the Lord hid them.
And the king gave orders to Jerahmeel, the king's son, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the Lord kept them safe.
27 After the king burned the scroll Jeremiah had dictated to Baruch, a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:
Then after the book, in which Baruch had put down the words of Jeremiah, had been burned by the king, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,
28 Get another scroll and write everything out that was on the first scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.
Take another book and put down in it all the words which were in the first book, which Jehoiakim, king of Judah, put into the fire.
29 Regarding Jehoiakim king of Judah announce that this is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll and asked, “Why did you write that the king of Babylon is going to come and destroy this country and kill all its people and animals?”
And about Jehoiakim, king of Judah, you are to say, This is what the Lord has said: You have put this book into the fire, saying, Why have you put in it that the king of Babylon will certainly come, causing the destruction of this land and putting an end to every man and beast in it?
30 So this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He won't have anyone to succeed him as king, sitting on David's throne. His body will be thrown out to lie in the heat of the day and the cold of the night.
For this reason the Lord has said of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, He will have no son to take his place on the seat of David: his dead body will be put out to undergo the heat of the day and the cold of the night.
31 I'm going to punish him and his descendants and officials for their sins. I will bring down on them and on the people living in Jerusalem and Judah, all the disasters I warned them about but they refused to listen.
And I will send punishment on him and on his seed and on his servants for their evil-doing; I will send on them and on the people of Jerusalem and the men of Judah, all the evil which I said against them, but they did not give ear.
32 Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to Baruch. Jeremiah dictated everything that was in the scroll that Jehoiakim had burned in the fire and Barcuh wrote it down. Even more messages of a similar kind were added.
Then Jeremiah took another book, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who put down in it, from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of the book which had been burned in the fire by Jehoiakim, king of Judah: and in addition a number of other words of the same sort.
