Jeremiah 36

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

1In the 1fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2“Take a 23scroll and write on it all the 4words which I have spoken to you concerning 5Israel and concerning Judah, and concerning all the 6nations, from the 7day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. 38Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will 9turn from his evil way; then I will 10forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

4Then Jeremiah called 11Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a 1213scroll 14at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. 5Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am 1516restricted; I cannot go into the house of the Lord. 6So you go and 17read from the scroll which you have 18written 19at my dictation the words of the Lord 20to the people in the Lord’s house on a 21fast day. And also you shall read them 22to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. 723Perhaps their supplication will 24come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for 25great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” 8Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, 26reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

9Now in the 27fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the 28ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who 29came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a 30fast before the Lord. 10Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the 31chamber of 32Gemariah the son of Shaphan the 33scribe, in the upper court, at the 34entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house, to all the people.

11Now when 35Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, 12he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there--36Elishama the scribe, and 37Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and 38Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13Micaiah 39declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. 14Then all the officials sent 40Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah 41took the scroll in his hand and went to them. 15They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch 42read it to them. 16When they had heard all the words, they turned in 43fear one to another and said to Baruch, “We will surely 44report all these words to the king.” 17And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, 45how did you write all these words? Was it 46at his dictation?” 18Then Baruch said to them, “He 47dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” 19Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, 48hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”

The Scroll Is Burned

20So they went to the 49king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of 50Elishama the scribe, and they reported all the words to the king. 21Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi 51read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king. 22Now the king was sitting in the 52winter house in the 53ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. 23When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and 54threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 24Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were 55not afraid, nor did they 56rend their garments. 25Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah 57pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to 58seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the 59Lord hid them.

The Scroll Is Replaced

27Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had 60burned the scroll and the words which 61Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, 28“62Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were 63on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. 29And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You have 64burned this scroll, saying, ‘65Why have you written on it 66that the 67king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make man and beast to cease from it?’” 30Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have 68no one to sit on the throne of David, and his 69dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31I will also 70punish him and his 71descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will 72bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them--but they did not listen.”’”

32Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the scribe, and he 73wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many 74similar words were added to them.