Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

36 In the ^(A)fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “Take a ^[a](B)scroll and write on it all the ^(C)words which I have spoken to you concerning ^(D)Israel, Judah, and all the ^(E)nations, from the ^(F)day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. ^3 (G)Perhaps the house of Judah will listen to all the disaster which I plan to carry out against them, so that every person will ^(H)turn from his evil way; then I will ^(I)forgive their wrongdoing and their sin.”

⁴ Then Jeremiah called ^(J)Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a ^[b](K)scroll ^[c]at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. ⁵ Jeremiah then commanded Baruch, saying, “I am ^[d](L)restricted; I cannot go into the house of the Lord. ⁶ So you go and ^(M)read from the scroll, which you have ^(N)written ^[e]at my dictation, the words of the Lord ^[f]to the people at the Lord’s house on a day of ^(O)fasting. And you shall also read them ^[g]to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. ^7 (P)Perhaps their pleading will ^[h]come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way; for ^(Q)great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” ⁸ So Baruch the son of Neriah acted in accordance with all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, ^(R)reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

⁹ Now in the ^(S)fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ^(T)ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who ^(U)came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a ^(V)fast before the Lord. ¹⁰ Then Baruch read to all the people from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the ^(W)chamber of ^(X)Gemariah the son of Shaphan the ^(Y)scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the ^(Z)entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.

¹¹ Now when ^(AA)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, ¹² he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—^(AB)Elishama the scribe, ^(AC)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, ^(AD)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. ¹³ And Micaiah ^(AE)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent ^(AF)Jehudi 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 ^(AG)took the scroll in his hand and came to them. ¹⁵ And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch ^(AH)read it to them. ¹⁶ When they had heard all the words, they turned in ^(AI)fear one to another. And they said to Baruch, “We will certainly ^(AJ)report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, ^(AK)how did you write all these words? Was it ^[i]at Jeremiah’s dictation?” ¹⁸ And Baruch said to them, “He ^(AL)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” ¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, ^(AM)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”

The Scroll Is Burned

²⁰ So they came to the ^(AN)king in the courtyard, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of ^(AO)Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words to the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi ^(AP)read it to the king as well as to all the officials who were standing beside the king. ²² Now the king was sitting in the ^(AQ)winter house in the ^(AR)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. ²³ And when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and ^(AS)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. ²⁴ Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did ^(AT)not tremble in fear, nor did they ^(AU)tear their garments. ²⁵ Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah ^(AV)urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to ^(AW)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the ^(AX)Lord hid them.

The Scroll Is Replaced

²⁷ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had ^(AY)burned the scroll and the words which ^(AZ)Baruch had written ^[j]at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, ²⁸ “^(BA)Take again another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were ^(BB)on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. ²⁹ And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You have ^(BC)burned this scroll, saying, ‘^(BD)Why have you written on it ^[k]that the ^(BE)king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make mankind and animals disappear from it?’” ³⁰ Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He shall have ^(BF)no one to sit on the throne of David, and his ^(BG)dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. ³¹ I will also ^(BH)punish him, his ^[l]descendants, and his servants for their wrongdoing, and I will ^(BI)bring 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.”’”

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

Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh

37 Now ^(BK)Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had ^(BL)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of ^(BM)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. ² But ^(BN)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³ Yet ^(BO)King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(BP)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “^(BQ)Please pray to the Lord our God in our behalf.” ⁴ Now Jeremiah was still coming and going among the people, for they had not yet ^(BR)put him in prison. ⁵ Meanwhile, ^(BS)Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they ^(BT)withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶ Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ⁷ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(BU)This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, ^(BV)Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt. ⁸ Then the Chaldeans will ^(BW)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ ⁹ This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not ^(BX)deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us,” for they will not go. ¹⁰ For ^(BY)even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and ^(BZ)burn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹ Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹² that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to ^(CA)take ^[o]possession of some property there among the people. ¹³ While he was at the ^(CB)Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he ^(CC)arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” ¹⁴ But Jeremiah said, “^(CD)A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. ¹⁵ Then the officials were ^(CE)angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and ^(CF)put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison. ¹⁶ For Jeremiah had come into the ^[p](CG)dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

¹⁷ Now King Zedekiah sent men and took him out; and in his palace the king ^(CH)secretly asked him and said, “Is there a ^(CI)word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be ^(CJ)handed over to the king of Babylon!” ¹⁸ Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “^(CK)In what way have I sinned against you, or your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹ And ^(CL)where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The ^(CM)king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? ²⁰ But now, please listen, my lord the king; please let my ^(CN)plea ^[q]come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so that I will not die there.” ²¹ Then King Zedekiah gave a command, and they placed Jeremiah in custody in the ^(CO)courtyard of the guardhouse, and gave him a loaf of ^(CP)bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was ^(CQ)gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Self-denial in behalf of Others

15 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of ^(A)those without strength, and not just please ourselves. ² Each of us is to ^(B)please his neighbor ^[a]for his good, to his ^(C)edification. ³ For even ^(D)Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written: “^(E)The taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on Me.” ⁴ For ^(F)whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵ Now may the ^(G)God ^[b]who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you ^(H)to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one purpose and one ^[c]voice you may glorify ^(I)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ Therefore, ^[d](J)accept one another, just as Christ also accepted ^[e]us, for the glory of God. ⁸ For I say that Christ has become a servant to ^(K)the circumcision in behalf of the truth of God, to confirm ^(L)the promises given to the fathers, ⁹ and for ^(M)the Gentiles to ^(N)glorify God for His mercy; as it is written:

¹⁰ Again he says,

¹¹ And again,

¹² Again Isaiah says,

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with all ^(U)joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope ^(V)by the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴ And concerning you, my brothers and sisters, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of ^(W)goodness, filled with ^(X)all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. ¹⁵ But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of ^(Y)the grace that was given to me ^[g]from God, ¹⁶ to be ^(Z)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the ^(AA)gospel of God, so that my ^(AB)offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷ Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found ^(AC)reason for boasting in ^(AD)things pertaining to God. ^18 (AE)For I will not presume to speak of anything ^[h]except what ^(AF)Christ has accomplished through me, ^[i]resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, ¹⁹ in the power of ^[j](AG)signs and wonders, ^(AH)in the power of the Spirit; so that ^(AI)from Jerusalem and all around as ^(AJ)far as Illyricum I have ^[k]fully preached the gospel of Christ. ²⁰ And in this way I aspired to ^(AK)preach the gospel, not where Christ was already known by name, ^(AL)so that I would not build on another person’s foundation; ²¹ but just as it is written:

²² For this reason ^(AN)I have often been prevented from coming to you; ²³ but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I ^(AO)have had for many years a longing to come to you ²⁴ whenever I ^(AP)go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be ^(AQ)helped on my way there by you, when I have first ^(AR)enjoyed your company ^[l]for a while— ²⁵ but now, ^(AS)I am going to Jerusalem, ^(AT)serving the ^[m]saints. ²⁶ For ^(AU)Macedonia and ^(AV)Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the ^[n]saints in Jerusalem. ²⁷ For they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For ^(AW)if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to do them a service also in material things. ²⁸ Therefore, when I have finished this, and ^(AX)have ^[o]put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will ^(AY)go on by way of you to Spain. ²⁹ I know that when ^(AZ)I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

³⁰ Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^(BA)the love of the Spirit, to ^(BB)strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, ³¹ that I may be ^(BC)rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my ^(BD)service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the ^[p](BE)saints; ³² so that ^(BF)I may come to you in joy by ^(BG)the will of God and relax in your company. ³³ Now ^(BH)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Greetings and Love Expressed

16 I ^(BI)recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a ^[q]servant of the church which is at ^(BJ)Cenchrea, ² that you ^(BK)receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the ^[r](BL)saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, ^[s]and of myself as well.

³ Greet ^(BM)Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers ^(BN)in ^(BO)Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; ⁵ also greet ^(BP)the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the ^(BQ)first convert to Christ from ^[t](BR)Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and ^[u]Junia, my ^(BS)kinsfolk and my ^(BT)fellow prisoners, who are outstanding in the view of the apostles, who also ^[v]were ^(BU)in Christ before me. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker ^(BV)in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, the approved ^(BW)in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet Herodion, my ^(BX)kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. ¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet ^(BY)Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all ^(BZ)the ^[w]saints who are with them. ^16 (CA)Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷ Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and ^[x]hindrances ^(CB)contrary to the teaching which you learned, and ^(CC)turn away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are ^(CD)slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of ^(CE)their own ^[y]appetites; and by their ^(CF)smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. ¹⁹ For the report of your obedience ^(CG)has reached everyone; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but ^(CH)I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil. ^20 (CI)The God of peace will soon crush ^(CJ)Satan under your feet.

^(CK)The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

^21 (CL)Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, and so do ^(CM)Lucius, ^(CN)Jason, and ^(CO)Sosipater, my ^(CP)kinsmen.

²² I, Tertius, who have ^(CQ)written this letter, greet you in the Lord.

^23 (CR)Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. ^(CS)Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, the brother.^[z]

^25 (CT)Now to Him who is able to establish you ^(CU)according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of ^(CV)the mystery which has been kept secret for ^(CW)long ages past, ²⁶ but now has been disclosed, and through ^(CX)the Scriptures of the prophets, in accordance with the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to ^(CY)obedience of faith; ²⁷ to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, ^(CZ)be the glory forever. Amen.