ל Lamedh

¹¹ When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, ¹² he went down to the secretary’s^(A) room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan^(B) son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.^{(C) 13} After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, ¹⁴ all the officials sent Jehudi^(D) son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll^(E) from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. ¹⁵ They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”

So Baruch read it to them. ¹⁶ When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear^(F) and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write^(G) all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”

¹⁸ “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated^(H) all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

¹⁹ Then the officials^(I) said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.^(J) Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

²⁰ After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. ²¹ The king sent Jehudi^(K) to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king^(L) and all the officials standing beside him. ²² It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,^(M) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. ²³ Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll,^(N) the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire.^{(O) 24} The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear,^(P) nor did they tear their clothes.^{(Q) 25} Even though Elnathan, Delaiah^(R) and Gemariah^(S) urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest^(T) Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden^(U) them.

Paul’s Joy Over the Church’s Repentance

² Make room for us in your hearts.^(A) We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. ³ I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts^(B) that we would live or die with you. ⁴ I have spoken to you with great frankness; I take great pride in you.^(C) I am greatly encouraged;^(D) in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.^(E)

⁵ For when we came into Macedonia,^(F) we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn^(G)—conflicts on the outside, fears within.^{(H) 6} But God, who comforts the downcast,^(I) comforted us by the coming of Titus,^{(J) 7} and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.

⁸ Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter,^(K) I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— ⁹ yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. ¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation^(L) and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. ¹¹ See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern,^(M) what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. ¹² So even though I wrote to you,^(N) it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong^(O) nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are.