Jeremiah 36
1 When Jehoiakim had been the king of Judah for almost four years, Yahweh gave this message to me:
And it happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah: it happened that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:
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 the volume of a book, and you shall write in it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah, and against all the nations, from the day when I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.
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 it may be that the house of Judah, upon hearing all the evils that I have decided to do to them, may return, each one from his wicked way, and 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.
Therefore, Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote, from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken to him, in the volume of a book.
5 Then I said to him, “I am not allowed to [leave here and] go to the temple.
And Jeremiah instructed Baruch, saying: “I am confined, and so I am unable to enter into 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.
Therefore, you shall enter and read from the volume, in which you have written from my mouth the words of the Lord, in the hearing of the people in the house of the Lord on the day of the fast. Moreover, you shall also read them in the hearing of all those of Judah who are arriving 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 it may happen that they pray in the sight of the Lord, and each one may return from his wicked way. For great is the fury and indignation that the Lord has declared 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.
And Baruch, the son of Neriah, acted in accord with all that Jeremiah, the prophet, had instructed him, reading from the volume the words of the Lord, in the house of the Lord.
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.
And it happened that, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, they proclaimed a fast, in the sight of the Lord, to all the people in Jerusalem, and to the entire multitude which had flowed together, from the cities of Judah, into Jerusalem.
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.
And Baruch read from the volume the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, at the treasury of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the scribe, in the upper vestibule, at the entrance to the new gate of the house of the Lord, 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,
And when Micaiah, the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book,
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 descended to the house of the king, to the treasury of the scribe. And behold, all the leaders were sitting 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 leaders.
13 When Micaiah told them about the messages that Baruch had been reading to the people,
And Micaiah announced to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the volume to the ears 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.
And so, all the leaders sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the volume, from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come.” Therefore, Baruch, the son of Neriah, took the volume in his hand, and he went to them.
15 They said to him, “Please sit down and read it [to us].” So Baruch did what they requested.
And they said to him, “Sit and read these things in our hearing.” And Baruch read 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!”
Therefore, when they had heard all the words, each one looked at his neighbor in astonishment, and they said to Baruch: “We ought to 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?”
And they questioned him, saying, “Describe to us how you wrote all these words from his mouth.”
18 Baruch replied, “[Yes], Jeremiah dictated them to me, and I wrote them with ink on this scroll.”
Then Baruch said to them: “He was speaking with his mouth, as if reading to me. And I wrote in a volume with ink.”
19 Then the officials told Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must both hide. Do not tell anyone where you are!”
And the leaders said to Baruch: “Go away and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know 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].
And they entered to the king, in the court. Furthermore, they stored the volume in the treasury of Elishama, the scribe. And they announced all the words in the hearing of 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.
And the king sent Jehudi to take the volume. And bringing it from the treasury of Elishama, the scribe, he read it in the hearing of the king and of all the leaders who were standing around the king.
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].
Now the king was sitting in the winter house, in the ninth month. And there was a hearth placed before him, filled with burning coals.
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 when Jehudi had read three or four pages, he cut it with a small knife, and he threw it into the fire which was upon the hearth, until the entire volume was consumed by the fire which was upon the hearth.
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].
And the king and all his servants, who had heard all these words, were not afraid, and they did not rend their garments.
25 Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, but he did not pay any attention.
Yet truly, Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah contradicted the king, so that he might not burn the book. But he did 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.
And the king instructed Jerahmeel, the son of Amelech, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, so that they would apprehend Baruch, the scribe, and Jeremiah, the prophet. But the Lord concealed 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:
And after the king had burned the volume and the words that Baruch had written from the mouth of Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, saying:
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.
“Again, take another volume and write in it all the former words, which were in the first volume that Jehoiakim, the 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.
And you shall say to Jehoiakim, the king of Judah: Thus says the Lord: You have burned that volume, saying: ‘Why have you written in it, announcing that the king of Babylon will advance quickly, and will devastate this land, and will cause both man and beast to cease from it?’
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.
Because of this, thus says the Lord against Jehoiakim, the king of Judah: There will be, from him, no one who may sit upon the throne of David. And his dead body shall be cast out: to the heat by day, and to the 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]!'” '”
And I will visit against him, and against his offspring, and against his servants for their iniquities. And I will lead over them, and over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and over the men of Judah, all the evil that I have declared against them, for they have not listened.”
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 up another volume, and he gave it to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the scribe, who wrote in it, from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, had burned with fire. And moreover, there were many more words added than there had been before.
