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, Judah, and 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 listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will 9turn from his evil way; then I will 10forgive their wrongdoing 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 then 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 at the Lord’s house on a day of 21fasting. And you shall also read them 22to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. 723Perhaps their pleading 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.” 8So Baruch the son of Neriah acted in accordance with 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 to all the people 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 courtyard, at the 34entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

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, 37Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, 38Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13And Micaiah 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, who was 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 came to them. 15And they 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 they said to Baruch, “We will certainly 44report all these words to the king.” 17Then they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, 45how did you write all these words? Was it 46at Jeremiah’s dictation?” 18And 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 came to the 49king in the courtyard, 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 were standing 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. 23And when 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 of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 24Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did 55not tremble in fear, nor did they 56tear their garments. 25Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah 57urged 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 62at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, 28“63Take again another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were 64on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. 29And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have 65burned this scroll, saying, ‘66Why have you written on it 67that the 68king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make mankind and animals disappear from it?’” 30Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have 69no one to sit on the throne of David, and his 70dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31I will also 71punish him, his 72descendants, and his servants for their wrongdoing, and I will 73bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the people of Judah all the disaster that I have declared to them--but they did not listen.”’”

32Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, and he 74wrote on it at the 75dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many 76similar words were added to them.