Jeremiah 36
36
Baruch Reads the Lord’s Messages
1During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah,#36:1 The fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign was 605 b.c. the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 2“Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time. 3Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings.”
4So Jeremiah sent for Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated all the prophecies that the Lord had given him, Baruch wrote them on a scroll. 5Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, “I am a prisoner here and unable to go to the Temple. 6So you go to the Temple on the next day of fasting, and read the messages from the Lord that I have had you write on this scroll. Read them so the people who are there from all over Judah will hear them. 7Perhaps even yet they will turn from their evil ways and ask the Lord’s forgiveness before it is too late. For the Lord has threatened them with his terrible anger.”
8Baruch did as Jeremiah told him and read these messages from the Lord to the people at the Temple. 9He did this on a day of sacred fasting held in late autumn,#36:9 Hebrew in the ninth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar (also in 36:22). The ninth month in the fifth year of Jehoiakim’s reign occurred within the months of November and December 604 b.c. Also see note on 1:3. during the fifth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah. People from all over Judah had come to Jerusalem to attend the services at the Temple on that day. 10Baruch read Jeremiah’s words on the scroll to all the people. He stood in front of the Temple room of Gemariah, son of Shaphan the secretary. This room was just off the upper courtyard of the Temple, near the New Gate entrance.
11When Micaiah son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan heard the messages from the Lord, 12he went down to the secretary’s room in the palace where the administrative officials were meeting. Elishama the secretary was there, along with Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13When Micaiah told them about the messages Baruch was reading to the people, 14the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah and great-grandson of Cushi, to ask Baruch to come and read the messages to them, too. So Baruch took the scroll and went to them. 15“Sit down and read the scroll to us,” the officials said, and Baruch did as they requested.
16When they heard all the messages, they looked at one another in alarm. “We must tell the king what we have heard,” they said to Baruch. 17“But first, tell us how you got these messages. Did they come directly from Jeremiah?”
18So Baruch explained, “Jeremiah dictated them, and I wrote them down in ink, word for word, on this scroll.”
19“You and Jeremiah should both hide,” the officials told Baruch. “Don’t tell anyone where you are!” 20Then the officials left the scroll for safekeeping in the room of Elishama the secretary and went to tell the king what had happened.
King Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll
21The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from Elishama’s room and read it to the king as all his officials stood by. 22It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. 23Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. 24Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. 25Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn’t listen.
26Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the Lord had hidden them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
27After the king had burned the scroll on which Baruch had written Jeremiah’s words, the Lord gave Jeremiah another message. He said, 28“Get another scroll, and write everything again just as you did on the scroll King Jehoiakim burned. 29Then say to the king, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned the scroll because it said the king of Babylon would destroy this land and empty it of people and animals. 30Now this is what the Lord says about King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no heirs to sit on the throne of David. His dead body will be thrown out to lie unburied—exposed to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31I will punish him and his family and his attendants for their sins. I will pour out on them and on all the people of Jerusalem and Judah all the disasters I promised, for they would not listen to my warnings.’”
32So Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary, Baruch. He wrote everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only this time he added much more!
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Jeremiah 36: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Jeremiah 36
36
1This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 2Get 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. 3Maybe 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.
4So 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. 5Then Jeremiah gave Baruch these instructions: “I'm a prisoner here so I can't go into the Lord's Temple. 6So 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. 7Maybe 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.”
8Baruch 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.
9This is how it happened.#36:9. Supplied for clarity. 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. 10Baruch 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.
11When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the Lord's messages read from the scroll, 12he 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. 13Micaiah gave them a report of everything he'd heard Baruch read from the scroll to the people.
14The 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.
15“Please sit down and read it to us,” they said. So Baruch read it to them.
16After 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.”
17Then 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.”
19The officials told Baruch, “You and Jeremiah are going to have to hide. Don't tell anyone where you are.”
20Then 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.
21The 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.
22It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in front of a fire in his winter quarters. 23Whenever 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.
24Despite hearing all these messages, the king and his attendants weren't frightened and didn't tear their clothes in remorse. 25Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he refused to listen to them. 26In fact the king ordered Jerahmeel, one of the princes,#36:26. “One of the princes”: literally, “a son of the king,” but Jehoiakim would have been too young to have had a grown son. as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to go and arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the Lord hid them.
27After the king burned the scroll Jeremiah had dictated to Baruch, a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28Get another scroll and write everything out that was on the first scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.
29Regarding 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?” 30So 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. 31I'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.
32Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to Baruch. Jeremiah dictated everything that was in the scroll that Jehoiakim had burned in the fire and Baruch wrote it down. Even more messages of a similar kind were added.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com