Jeremiah 36
New American Standard Bible
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.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 36:2 Lit scroll of a book
- Jeremiah 36:4 Lit scroll of a book
- Jeremiah 36:4 Lit from the mouth of
- Jeremiah 36:5 Lit restrained
- Jeremiah 36:6 Lit from my mouth
- Jeremiah 36:6 Lit in the ears of, and so throughout this ch
- Jeremiah 36:6 Lit in the ears of, and so throughout this ch
- Jeremiah 36:7 Lit fall
- Jeremiah 36:17 Lit from his mouth
- Jeremiah 36:27 Lit from his mouth
- Jeremiah 36:29 Lit saying
- Jeremiah 36:31 Lit seed
- Jeremiah 36:32 Lit from his mouth
- Jeremiah 36:32 Lit like those
Jeremiah 36
International Standard Version
Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple
36 In the fourth year of the reign of[a] Josiah’s son King Jehoiakim of Judah, this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words that I’ve spoken to you about Israel, about Judah, and about all the nations, since I first spoke to you[b] in the time of Josiah until the present time. 3 Perhaps the house of Judah will hear about all the calamity that I’m planning to bring on them, and so each of them will turn from his wicked way and I’ll forgive their iniquities and sins.”
4 Jeremiah summoned Neriah’s son Baruch and at Jeremiah’s dictation, Baruch wrote on the scroll all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him.
5 Jeremiah instructed Baruch, “I’m confined and can’t go to the Lord’s Temple. 6 You go and read the words of the Lord that you wrote at my dictation from the scroll. Read them[c] to[d] the people at the Lord’s Temple on the fast day. Also read them to all the people of Judah who are coming from their towns. 7 Perhaps their pleas for help will come to the Lord’s attention, and each of them will turn from his evil lifestyle in light of the great anger and wrath that the Lord has declared against this people.” 8 So Neriah’s son Baruch did just as Jeremiah the prophet instructed him, reading the words of the Lord from the scroll at the Lord’s Temple.
9 In the ninth month of the fifth year of the reign of[e] Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, a fast was proclaimed in the Lord’s presence in Jerusalem for all the people of Jerusalem, as well as all the people who were coming from the towns of Judah. 10 Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll to[f] all the people at the Lord’s Temple. He did this[g] from the office of Shaphan’s son Gemariah the scribe, in the upper court at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s Temple.
Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Palace
11 When Gemariah’s son Micaiah, the grandson of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the palace, to the scribe’s office, where all the officials were sitting. Elishama the scribe, Shemaiah’s son Delaiah, Achbor’s son Elnathan, Shaphan’s son Gemariah, Hananiah’s son Zedekiah, and all the other officials were there. 13 Micaiah told them all the things that he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll to the people. 14 Then all the officials sent Nethaniah’s son Jehudi, (who was also the grandson of Shelemiah and Cushi’s great-grandson), to Baruch, who said, “Take the scroll that you read to[h] the people and come.” Neriah’s son Baruch took the scroll with him and went to them.
15 They told him, “Please sit down and read it to us.”[i] So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all the words, they turned to one another in fear, saying to Baruch, “We must report all these things to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Please tell us how you wrote all the words. Did Jeremiah dictate them all?”[j]
18 Baruch answered them, “Yes, Jeremiah dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in the scroll with ink.”
19 Then the officials told Baruch, “Go, hide yourself, both you and Jeremiah, and don’t let anyone know where you are.”
The King Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll
20 The officials[k] went to the king in the courtyard, but they deposited the scroll in the office of Elishama the scribe. Then they reported everything written on the scroll[l] to the king. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the office of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it to the king[m] and to all the officials who were standing beside the king. 22 The king was sitting in the winter palace in the ninth month and a stove[n] was burning in front of him.[o] 23 As Jehudi would read three or four columns, the king[p] would cut it with a scribe’s knife and throw it into the fire which was in the stove, until all the scroll was burned[q] in the fire in the stove. 24 The king and all his officials[r] who were listening to these words were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 The king ordered his[s] son Jerahmeel, Azriel’s son Seraiah, and Abdeel’s son Shelemiah to get Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord had hidden them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
27 This message from the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation: 28 “Go back, take another scroll and write on it all the original[t] words which were on the scroll that Jehoiakim, king of Judah, burned. 29 Concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, you are to say, ‘This is what the Lord says: “You burned this scroll, all the while saying, ‘Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon will definitely come, destroy this land, and eliminate both people and animals from it?’” 30 Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, “He will have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his corpse will be thrown out to rot during the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I’ll punish him, his descendants, and his officials[u] for their iniquity. I’ll bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the calamity about which I’ve warned them, but they would not listen.”’”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Neriah’s son Baruch the scribe. He wrote on it, at Jeremiah’s dictation, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned in the fire. He also added to them many similar words.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 36:1 The Heb. lacks of the reign of
- Jeremiah 36:2 Lit. from the day I spoke to you
- Jeremiah 36:6 The Heb. lacks Read them
- Jeremiah 36:6 Lit. scroll in the hearing of
- Jeremiah 36:9 The Heb. lacks of the reign of
- Jeremiah 36:10 Lit. book in the hearing of
- Jeremiah 36:10 Heb. lacks He did this
- Jeremiah 36:14 Lit. read in the hearing of
- Jeremiah 36:15 Lit. in our hearing
- Jeremiah 36:17 Lit. from his mouth
- Jeremiah 36:20 Lit. They
- Jeremiah 36:20 Lit. reported all the words
- Jeremiah 36:21 Lit. in the hearing of the king
- Jeremiah 36:22 Or brazier
- Jeremiah 36:22 Or a fire was burning in the stove in front of him
- Jeremiah 36:23 Lit. he
- Jeremiah 36:23 Lit. until the completion of the scroll
- Jeremiah 36:24 Or servants
- Jeremiah 36:26 Lit. the king’s
- Jeremiah 36:28 Lit. first
- Jeremiah 36:31 Or servants
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