Jeremiah 36
1 When Jehoiakim had been the king of Judah for almost four years, Yahweh gave this message to me:
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
2 “Get a scroll, and write on it the messages that I have given to you regarding Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Write all of the messages, starting from the time that I gave you the first message, when Josiah was the king, up until now.
“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today.
3 When the people of Judah hear [again] about all the disasters that I plan to cause them to experience, perhaps each one of them will repent. If they do that, I will be able to forgive them for the wrong/evil things that they have done.”
Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the calamity I plan to bring upon them, each of them will turn from his wicked way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
4 [So] I summoned Baruch, the son of Neraiah. Then, as I dictated to him all the messages that Yahweh had spoken to me, he wrote them on a scroll.
So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.
5 Then I said to him, “I am not allowed to [leave here and] go to the temple.
Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot enter the house of the LORD;
6 So, you go [to the temple] on the [next] day when the people are (fasting/abstaining from food), and read to them the messages from Yahweh that you wrote while I dictated them to you. Read them [aloud] to all the people [who are there, including] the people of Judah who come [there] from their towns.
so you are to go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting, and in the hearing of the people you are to read the words of the LORD from the scroll you have written at my dictation. Read them in the hearing of all the people of Judah who are coming from their cities.
7 Perhaps they will turn from their evil behavior and request Yahweh [to act mercifully toward them]. [They must do that, ] because Yahweh is very angry with them and has threatened to punish them severely.”
Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD, and each one will turn from his wicked way; for great are the anger and fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.”
8 Baruch did what I told him to do. He [went to the temple and] read [to the people] all those messages from Yahweh.
So Baruch son of Neriah did everything that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. In the house of the LORD he read the words of the LORD from the scroll.
9 He did it in December on a day when their leaders had proclaimed that all the people in Jerusalem and the people who had come there from [other] towns in Judah should fast to [please/honor] Yahweh. [It was when] Jehoiakim had been king for almost five years.
Now in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a fast before the LORD was proclaimed to all the people of Jerusalem and all who had come there from the cities of Judah.
10 Baruch read to all the people the messages [that he had written] on the scroll. [He read them while he was] in the temple, in the room where Gemariah stayed. He was the son of Shaphan, [who had previously been the king’s] secretary. That room was close to the upper courtyard [of the temple], near the entrance to the temple that is [called] the New Gate.
From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.
11 When Micaiah, who was the son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan, heard those messages from Yahweh,
When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll,
12 he went down to the secretary’s room in the palace, where all the king’s officials were meeting. Elishama the [king’s] secretary [was there]. Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Acbor, Gemariah, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the [other] officials [of the king were also there].
he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.
13 When Micaiah told them about the messages that Baruch had been reading to the people,
And Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people.
14 the officials sent Jehudi, who was the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Shelemiah and great-grandson of Cushi, to tell Baruch to come [and read the messages to them, also]. So Baruch took the scroll and went to them.
Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come here.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them.
15 They said to him, “Please sit down and read it [to us].” So Baruch did what they requested.
“Please sit down,” they said, “and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.
16 After they had heard all the messages, they were afraid. They looked at each other and [then] they said, “We must tell these messages to the king!”
When they had heard all these words, they turned to one another in fear and said to Baruch, “Surely we must report all these words to the king.”
17 Then they asked Baruch, “How did you get this scroll? Did Jeremiah dictate to you all the messages on this scroll?”
“Tell us now,” they asked Baruch, “how did you write all these words? Was it at Jeremiah’s dictation?”
18 Baruch replied, “[Yes], Jeremiah dictated them to me, and I wrote them with ink on this scroll.”
“It was at his dictation,” Baruch replied. “He recited all these words to me and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”
19 Then the officials told Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must both hide. Do not tell anyone where you are!”
Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.”
20 They put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the king’s secretary. Then they went to the king, who was in the courtyard, and reported to him everything [that Baruch had read to them].
So the officials went to the king in the courtyard. And having stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, they reported everything to the king.
21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from Elishama’s room and read it to the king, while all the [king’s] officials were standing there.
Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing beside him.
22 It was in the cold season, and the king was in a part of the palace where he stayed when it was cold. He was sitting in front of a fire [to keep/be warm].
Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning before him.
23 Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king cut off that section of the scroll with a knife and threw it into the fire. He did that, section by section, until the entire scroll was burned up.
And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire.
24 Neither the king nor his officials showed that they were afraid [that God would punish them]. They did not tear their clothes [to show that they were sorry for what they had done].
Yet in hearing all these words, the king and his servants did not become frightened or tear their garments.
25 Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, but he did not pay any attention.
Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.
26 Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and me. But [they were unable to do that because] Yahweh had hidden us.
Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.
27 After the king had burned the scroll on which were written the messages that I had dictated to Baruch, Yahweh said this to me:
After the king had burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
28 “Get another scroll, and [tell Baruch to] write everything again, the same messages that he had written on the scroll that the king burned.
“Take another scroll and rewrite on it the very words that were on the original scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned.
29 [Then go to] the king and say to him, ‘Yahweh says this: “You burned the scroll [because you did not like] what was written on it, that the king of Babylon would surely [RHQ] come [with his army] and destroy this land and get rid of all the people and the animals.
You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah that this is what the LORD says: You have burned the scroll and said, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon would surely come and destroy this land and deprive it of man and beast?’
30 Now this is what [I], Yahweh, say about [you], Jehoiakim: 'None of your descendants will rule this kingdom [MTY]. Your corpse will be thrown out [on the ground and not be buried]; it will be under the hot [sun] during the days and [struck by] frost during the nights.
Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his body will be thrown out and exposed to heat by day and frost by night.
31 I will punish you and your family and your officials for their sins. And I will cause the people of Jerusalem and the people of the [other] towns in Judah to experience all the disasters that I promised, because you all would not pay attention [to what I said]!'” '”
I will punish him and his descendants and servants for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the calamity about which I warned them but they did not listen.”
32 So I took another scroll, and again I dictated the messages to Baruch. He wrote everything that had been written on the [other] scroll, the one that King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. [But this time, I] added more messages.
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
