Jeremias 36
1 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;
And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying:
2 (after the departure of Jechonias the king and the queen, and the eunuchs, and every freeman, and bondman, and artificer, out of Jerusalem; )
'Take to thee a roll of a book, and thou hast written on it all the words that I have spoken unto thee concerning Israel, and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day;
3 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,
if so be the house of Israel do hear all the evil that I am thinking of doing to them, so that they turn back each from is evil way, and I have been propitious to their iniquity, and to their sin.'
4 Thus said the Lord God of Israel concerning the captivity which I caused to be carried away from Jerusalem;
And Jeremiah calleth Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch writeth from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah, that He hath spoken unto him, on a roll of a book.
5 Build you houses, and inhabit [them]; and plant gardens, and eat the fruits thereof;
And Jeremiah commandeth Baruch, saying, 'I am restrained, I am not able to enter the house of Jehovah;
6 and take you 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.
but thou hast entered — and thou hast read in the roll that thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah, in the ears of the people, in the house of Jehovah, in the day of the fast, and also in the ears of all Judah who are coming in from their cities thou dost read them;
7 And seek the peace of the land into which I have carried you captive, and you shall pray to the Lord for the people: for in its peace you shall [have] peace.
if so be their supplication doth fall before Jehovah, and they turn back each from his evil way, for great [is] the anger and the fury that Jehovah hath spoken concerning this people.'
8 For thus says the Lord; Let not the false prophets that are among you persuade you, and let not your diviners persuade you, and listen not to your dreams which you dream.
And Baruch son of Neriah doth according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, to read in the book the words of Jehovah in the house of Jehovah.
9 For they prophesy to you unrighteous [words] in my name; and I sent them not.
And it cometh to pass, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah have all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who are coming in from cities of Judah to Jerusalem;
10 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.
and Baruch readeth in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the opening of the new gate of the house of Jehovah, in the ears of all the people.
11 And I will devise for you a device of peace, and not evil, to bestow upon you these [good things].
And Michaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heareth all the words of Jehovah from off the book,
12 And do you pray to me, and I will listen to you: and do you earnestly seek me, and you shall find me;
and he goeth down [to] the house of the king, unto the chamber of the scribe, and lo, there are all the heads sitting: Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan son of Acbor, and Gemariah son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the heads.
13 for you shall seek me with your whole heart.
And declare to them doth Micaiah all the words that he hath heard, when Baruch readeth in the book in the ears of the people;
14 And I will appear to you:
and all the heads send unto Baruch, Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, 'The roll in which thou hast read in the ears of the people take in thy hand, and come.' And Baruch son of Neriah taketh the roll in his hand and cometh in unto them,
15 whereas you said, The Lord has appointed for us prophets in Babylon:
and they say unto him, 'Sit down, we pray thee, and read it in our ears,' and Baruch readeth in their ears,
and it cometh to pass, when they hear all the words, they have been afraid one at another, and say unto Baruch, 'We do surely declare to the king all these words.'
And they asked Baruch, saying, 'Declare, we pray thee, to us, how didst thou write all these words — from his mouth?'
And Baruch saith to them, 'From his mouth, he pronounceth unto me all these words, and I am writing on the book with ink.'
And the heads say unto Baruch, 'Go, be hidden, thou and Jeremiah, and let no one know where ye [are].'
And they go in unto the king, to the court, and the roll they have laid up in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they declare in the ears of the king all the words.
21 Thus says the Lord concerning Achiab, and concerning Sedekias; Behold, I [will] deliver them into the hands of the king of Babylon; and he shall strike them in your sight.
And the king sendeth Jehudi to take the roll, and he taketh it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and Jehudi readeth it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the heads who are standing by the king;
22 And they shall make of them a curse in all the captivity of Juda in Babylon, saying, The Lord do to you as he did to Sedekias, and as he did to Achiab, whom the king of Babylon fried in the fire;
and the king is sitting in the winter-house, in the ninth month, and the stove before him is burning,
23 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, says the Lord.
and it cometh to pass, when Jehudi readeth three or four leaves, he cutteth it out with the scribe's knife, and hath cast unto the fire, that [is] on the stove, till the consumption of all the roll by the fire that [is] on the stove.
24 And to Samaeas the Aelamite you shall say,
And the king and all his servants who are hearing all these words have not been afraid, nor rent their garments.
25 I sent you not in my name: and to Sophonias the priest the son of Maasaeas say you,
And also Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah have interceded with the king not to burn the roll, and he hath not hearkened unto them.
26 The Lord has made you 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 you shall put them in prison, and into the dungeon.
And the king commandeth Jerahmeel son of Hammelek, and Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Jehovah doth hide them.
27 And now therefore have you reviled together Jeremias of Anathoth, who prophesied to you?
And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah — after the king's burning the roll, even the words that Baruch hath written from the mouth of Jeremiah — saying:
28 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 you houses, and inhabit [them]; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
'Turn, take to thee another roll, and write on it all the former words that were on the first roll, that Jehoiakim king of Judah burnt,
29 And Sophonias read the book in the ears of Jeremias.
and unto Jehoiakim king of Judah thou dost say: Thus said Jehovah, Thou hast burnt this roll, saying, Wherefore hast thou written on it, saying, The king of Babylon surely cometh in, and hath destroyed this land, and caused to cease from it man and beast?
30 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying,
'Therefore, thus said Jehovah, concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He hath none sitting on the throne of David, and his carcase is cast out to heat by day, and to cold by night;
31 Send to the captivity, saying, Thus says 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,
and I have charged on him, and on his seed, and on his servants, their iniquity; and I have brought in on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto the men of Judah, all the evil that I have spoken unto them, and they hearkened not.'
32 therefore thus says 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].
And Jeremiah hath taken another roll, and giveth it unto Baruch son of Neriah the scribe, and he writeth on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah hath burnt in the fire; and again there were added unto them many words like these.
