Jeremiah 36
1 When Jehoiakim had been the king of Judah for almost four years, Yahweh gave this message to me:
And it came to pass, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from Yahweh, 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 thee a scroll, and write therein all the words which I have spoken unto thee concerning Israel and concerning Judah and concerning all the nations, —from the day I began to speak unto thee from the days of Josiah, even until 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.”
Peradventure, the house of Judah will hearken unto all the calamity, which I am devising to execute against them, —to the end they may return every man from his wicked way, whereupon 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 Baruch wrote, from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of Yahweh which he had spoken unto him upon a scroll.
5 Then I said to him, “I am not allowed to [leave here and] go to the temple.
Then did Jeremiah command Baruch, saying, —I, am hindered, I cannot enter the house of Yahweh;
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.
Thou, therefore shalt enter and read in the roll which thou hast written from my mouth the words of Yahweh in the ears of the people in the house of Yahweh on the day of a fast, —moreover also, in the ears of all Judah who are coming in out of their cities, shalt thou read them:
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.”
Peradventure, their supplication, will fall prostrate, before Yahweh, and they return every man from his wicked way, —For, great, are the anger and the indignation which Yahweh hath spoken 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 then Baruch son of Neriah did according to all which Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of Yahweh in the house of Yahweh.
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 came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah in the ninth month, that all the people of Jerusalem, and all the people who were coming in out of the cities of Judah into Jerusalem, had proclaimed a fast before Yahweh;
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.
Baruch, therefore, read in the book the words of Jeremiah, in the house of Yahweh, —in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan—the scribe, in the upper court, at the opening of the new gate of the house of Yahweh, in the ears 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 son of Shaphan, heard all the words of Yahweh out of 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].
then went he down unto the house of the king up to the chamber of the scribe, and lo! there, all the princes sitting, —Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan son of Achbor, and Gemariah son of Shaphan and Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the princes,
13 When Micaiah told them about the messages that Baruch had been reading to the people,
So Micaiah told them all the words which he heard, —when Baruch read in the book in 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.
All the princes, therefore sent unto Baruch, Jehudi, son of Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi saying, The roll wherein thou didst read in the ears of the people, take it in thy hand, and come, So Baruch son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came in unto them.
15 They said to him, “Please sit down and read it [to us].” So Baruch did what they requested.
Then said they unto him, Sit down we pray thee and read it in our ears, So Baruch read it in their ears.
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!”
And it came to pass when they heard all the words, that they turned with fear one to another, —and said unto Baruch, We must, surely tell, the king, all these words!
17 Then they asked Baruch, “How did you get this scroll? Did Jeremiah dictate to you all the messages on this scroll?”
Then unto Baruch, put they questions saying, —Tell us, we pray thee, How, didst thou write all these words at his mouth?
18 Baruch replied, “[Yes], Jeremiah dictated them to me, and I wrote them with ink on this scroll.”
So Baruch said unto them, With his own mouth, used he to proclaim unto me all these words, —and I kept on writing in the book, with ink.
19 Then the officials told Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must both hide. Do not tell anyone where you are!”
Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go hide thee, thou and Jeremiah, and let no man, know where ye, 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].
Then went they in unto the king, into the court, but the roll, had they put in charge, in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, —so they declared in the ears of the king all the words.
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.
The king, therefore sent, Jehudi, to fetch the roll, and he fetched it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe, —and Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who were standing near 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, —with the fire-stove before him burning.
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.
So then it came to pass when Jehudi had read three or four columns that he cut it up into fragments with a scribe’s knife, and cast them into the fire that was in the stove, —until, all the roll, was consumed on the fire that was on the stove.
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 were they not in dread, neither rent they their garments, —the king, nor any of his servants that were hearing all these words.
25 Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, but he did not pay any attention.
Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah, interceded with the king, not to burn the roll, —but he hearkened not unto 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.
Then did the king command Jerahmeel son of the king, and Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to fetch Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet, —but Yahweh had hid 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:
Then came the word of Yahweh unto Jeremiah, after the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch had written from the mouth of Jeremiah 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 thee another roll, and write thereon, all the former words which were on the first roll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah hath 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.
But unto Jehoiakim king of Judah, shalt thou say, Thus, saith Yahweh, —Thou, hast burned this roll saying, Why hast thou written thereon—saying, The king of Babylon shall, certainly, come and lay waste this land, and cause to cease therefrom 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, Thus, saith Yahweh, Concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, —He shall have none to 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 upon him and upon his seed and upon his servants the punishment of their iniquity, —and will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and against, the men of Judah, all the calamity, which I have spoken against them but they have not hearkened.
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.
So, Jeremiah, took another roll and gave it unto Baruch son of Neriah the scribe, who wrote thereon, from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book, which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned, in the fire, —and further were added thereunto many words like unto them
