Jeremiah Dictates a Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah,^(A) king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Take a scroll,^(B) and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations from the time I first spoke to you during Josiah’s reign until today. ³ Perhaps when the house of Judah hears about all the disaster I am planning to bring on them, each one of them will turn from his evil way. Then I will forgive their wrongdoing^(C) and their sin.”

⁴ So Jeremiah summoned Baruch^(D) son of Neriah. At Jeremiah’s dictation,^[a] Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words the Lord had spoken to Jeremiah. ⁵ Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted;^(E) I cannot enter the temple of the Lord, ⁶ so you must go and read from the scroll—which you wrote at my dictation^[b]—the words of the Lord in the hearing of the people at the temple of the Lord on a day of fasting. You must also read them in the hearing of all the Judeans who are coming from their cities. ⁷ Perhaps their petition will come before the Lord,^(F) and each one will turn from his evil way, for the anger and fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people are great.” ⁸ So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. At the Lord’s temple he read the Lord’s words from the scroll.

Baruch Reads the Scroll

⁹ In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month,^(G) all the people of Jerusalem and all those coming in from Judah’s cities into Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord.^{(H) 10} Then at the Lord’s temple, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe,^(I) in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate^(J) of the Lord’s temple, in the hearing of all the people, Baruch read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll.

¹¹ When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, ¹² he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace. All the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor,^(K) Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them. ¹⁵ They said to him, “Sit down and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must surely tell the king all these things.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us—how did you write all these words? At his dictation?”^[c]

¹⁸ Baruch said to them, “At his dictation.^[d] He recited all these words to me while I was writing on the scroll in ink.”

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

¹⁹ The officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.” ²⁰ Then they came to the king at the courtyard, having deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and reported everything in the hearing of the king. ²¹ The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king. ²² Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters^(L) with a fire burning in front of him. ²³ As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut the scroll^[e] with a scribe’s knife and throw the columns into the blazing fire until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the brazier. ²⁴ As they heard all these words, the king and all of his servants did not become terrified^(M) or tear their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord had hidden them.

Jeremiah Dictates Another Scroll

²⁷ After the king had burned the scroll with the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,^[f] the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁸ “Take another scroll, and once again write on it the very words that were on the original scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned. ²⁹ You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: This is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it:^(N) The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without man or beast?’ ³⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his corpse will be thrown out to be exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night.^{(O) 31} I will punish him, his descendants, and his officers for their wrongdoing. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the disaster, which I warned them about but they did not listen.”

³² Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation^[g] all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim,^(P) Judah’s king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.

Jerusalem’s Last Days

37 Zedekiah son of Josiah^(Q) reigned as king in the land of Judah^(R) in place of Jehoiachin^[h](S) son of Jehoiakim, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made him king. ² He and his officers and the people of the land did not obey the words of the Lord^(T) that He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³ Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal^(U) son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah^(V) son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, requesting, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us!” ⁴ Jeremiah was going about his daily tasks^[i] among the people, for they had not yet put him into the prison.^{(W) 5} Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt,^(X) and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: ⁷ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: This is what you will say to Judah’s king,^(Y) who is sending you to inquire of Me: Watch: Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you,^(Z) is going to return to its own land of Egypt. ⁸ The Chaldeans will then return and fight against this city. They will capture it and burn it down.^{(AA) 9} This is what the Lord says: Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will leave us for good,’ for they will not leave. ¹⁰ Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you,^(AB) and there remained among them only the badly wounded^[j] men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city down.”

Jeremiah’s Imprisonment

¹¹ When the Chaldean army withdrew from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹² Jeremiah started to leave Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to claim his portion there^(AC) among the people. ¹³ But when he was at the Benjamin Gate,^(AD) an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”

¹⁴ “That’s a lie,” Jeremiah replied. “I am not deserting to the Chaldeans!” Irijah would not listen to him but apprehended Jeremiah and took him to the officials. ¹⁵ The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan^(AE) the scribe, for it had been made into a prison. ¹⁶ So Jeremiah went into a cell in the dungeon^(AF) and stayed there many days.

Jeremiah Summoned by Zedekiah

¹⁷ King Zedekiah later sent for him and received him, and in his house privately asked him, “Is there a word from the Lord?”^(AG)

“There is,” Jeremiah responded, and he continued, “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”^{(AH) 18} Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you or your servants or these people that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹ Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and this land’?^{(AI) 20} So now please listen, my lord the king. May my petition come before you.^(AJ) Don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.”

²¹ So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard’s courtyard.^(AK) He was given a loaf of bread each day from the baker’s street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard.

Heroes of Faith

11 Now faith is the reality^[a] of what is hoped for, the proof^[b] of what is not seen.^{(A) 2} For our ancestors won God’s approval by it.

³ By faith we understand that the universe was^[c] created by God’s command,^[d](B) so that what is seen has been made from things that are not visible.

⁴ By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.^(C)

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken away so he did not experience death, and he was not to be found because God took him away.^[e] For prior to his removal he was approved, since he had pleased God.^{(D) 6} Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.

⁷ By faith Noah, after he was warned about what was not yet seen and motivated by godly fear, built an ark to deliver his family. By faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.^(E)

⁸ By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going.^{(F) 9} By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, coheirs of the same promise.^{(G) 10} For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.^(H)

¹¹ By faith even Sarah herself, when she was unable to have children, received power to conceive offspring, even though she was past the age, since she^[f] considered that the One who had promised was faithful.^{(I) 12} Therefore from one man—in fact, from one as good as dead—came offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore.^(J)

¹³ These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance,^(K) greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.^{(L) 14} Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. ¹⁵ If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.^(M)

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac.^(N) He received the promises and he was offering his unique son, ¹⁸ the one it had been said about, Your seed will be traced^[g] through Isaac.^{(O)[h] 19} He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead,^(P) and as an illustration,^[i] he received him back.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau^(Q) concerning things to come. ²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and he worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.^{(R)[j] 22} By faith Joseph, as he was nearing the end of his life, mentioned the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions concerning his bones.^(S)

²³ By faith, after Moses was born, he was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict.^{(T) 24} By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter ²⁵ and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin.^{(U) 26} For he considered the reproach because of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward.^(V)

²⁷ By faith he left Egypt behind, not being afraid of the king’s anger, for Moses persevered as one who sees Him who is invisible.^{(W) 28} By faith he instituted the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn might not touch the Israelites. ²⁹ By faith they crossed the Red Sea as though they were on dry land. When the Egyptians attempted to do this, they were drowned.^(X)

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled by the Israelites for seven days. ³¹ By faith Rahab the prostitute received the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.^(Y)

³² And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah,^(Z) David, Samuel, and the prophets,^{(AA) 33} who by faith conquered kingdoms,^(AB) administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,^{(AC) 34} quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.^{(AD) 35} Women received their dead—they were raised to life again. Some men were tortured, not accepting release, so that they might gain a better resurrection, ³⁶ and others experienced mockings and scourgings, as well as bonds and imprisonment.^{(AE) 37} They were stoned,^[k](AF) they were sawed in two, they died by the sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins,^(AG) destitute, afflicted, and mistreated. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and on mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹ All these were approved through their faith, but they did not receive what was promised, ⁴⁰ since God had provided something better for us, so that they would not be made perfect without us.^(AH)