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:
And these are the words of the book which Jeremias sent from Jerusalem to the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the false prophets, even an epistle to Babylon for the captivity, and to all the people;
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.
(after the departure of Jechonias the king and the queen, and the eunuchs, and every freeman, and bondman, and artificer, out of Jerusalem; )
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.
by the hand of Eleasan son of Saphan, and Gamarias son of Chelcias, (whom Sedekias king of Juda sent to the king of Babylon to Babylon) saying,
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.
Thus said the Lord God of Israel concerning the captivity which I caused to be carried away from Jerusalem;
5 Then Jeremiah gave Baruch these instructions: “I'm a prisoner here so I can't go into the Lord's Temple.
Build ye houses, and inhabit [them]; and plant gardens, and eat the fruits thereof;
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.
and take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, and be multiplied, and be not diminished.
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.”
And seek the peace of the land into which I have carried you captive, and ye shall pray to the Lord for the people: for in its peace ye shall [have] peace.
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.
For thus saith the Lord; Let not the false prophets that are among you persuade you, and let not your diviners persuade you, and hearken not to your dreams which ye dream.
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.
For they prophesy to you unrighteous [words] in my name; and I sent them not.
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.
For thus said the Lord; When seventy years shall be on the point of being accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, and will confirm my words to you, to bring back your people to this place.
11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the Lord's messages read from the scroll,
And I will devise for you a device of peace, and not evil, to bestow upon you these [good things].
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.
And do ye pray to me, and I will hearken to you: and do ye earnestly seek me, and ye shall find me;
13 Micaiah gave them a report of everything he'd heard Baruch read from the scroll to the people.
for ye shall seek me with your whole heart.
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.
And I will appear to you:
15 “Please sit down and read it to us,” they said. So Baruch read it to them.
whereas ye said, The Lord has appointed for us prophets in Babylon:
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.”
17 Then they asked Baruch, “Now tell us, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it to you?”
18 “Yes, he dictated it,” Baruch replied. “I wrote down in ink on the scroll everything he told me.”
19 The officials told Baruch, “You and Jeremiah are going to have to hide. Don't tell anyone 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.
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.
Thus saith the Lord concerning Achiab, and concerning Sedekias; Behold, I [will] deliver them into the hands of the king of Babylon; and he shall smite them in your sight.
22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in front of a fire in his winter quarters.
And they shall make of them a curse in all the captivity of Juda in Babylon, saying, The Lord do to thee as he did to Sedekias, and as he did to Achiab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire;
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.
because of the iniquity which they wrought in Israel, and [because] they committed adultery with the wives of their fellow-citizens; and spoke a word in my name, which I did not command them [to speak], and I am witness, saith the Lord.
24 Despite hearing all these messages, the king and his attendants weren't frightened and didn't tear their clothes in remorse.
And to Samaeas the Aelamite thou shalt say,
25 Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he refused to listen to them.
I sent thee not in my name: and to Sophonias the priest the son of Maasaeas say thou,
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.
The Lord has made thee priest in the place of Jodae the priest, to be ruler in the house of the Lord over every prophet, and to every madman, and thou shalt put them in prison, and into the dungeon.
27 After the king burned the scroll Jeremiah had dictated to Baruch, a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah:
And now wherefore have ye reviled together Jeremias of Anathoth, who prophesied to you?
28 Get another scroll and write everything out that was on the first scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.
Did he not send for this purpose? for in the course of this month he sent to you to Babylon, saying, It is far off: build ye houses, and inhabit [them]; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
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 Sophonias read the book in the ears of Jeremias.
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.
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying,
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.
Send to the captivity, saying, Thus saith the Lord concerning Samaeas the Aelamite, Since Samaeas has prophesied to you, and I sent him not, and he has made you to trust in iniquity,
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.
therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will visit Samaeas, and his family: and there shall not be a man of them in the midst of you to see the good which I will do to you: they shall not see [it].
