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
New Living Translation
Baruch Reads the Lord’s Messages
36 During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah,[a] the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 2 “Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message, right up to the present time. 3 Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings.”
4 So Jeremiah sent for Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated all the prophecies that the Lord had given him, Baruch wrote them on a scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, “I am a prisoner here and unable to go to the Temple. 6 So you go to the Temple on the next day of fasting, and read the messages from the Lord that I have had you write on this scroll. Read them so the people who are there from all over Judah will hear them. 7 Perhaps even yet they will turn from their evil ways and ask the Lord’s forgiveness before it is too late. For the Lord has threatened them with his terrible anger.”
8 Baruch did as Jeremiah told him and read these messages from the Lord to the people at the Temple. 9 He did this on a day of sacred fasting held in late autumn,[b] during the fifth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah. People from all over Judah had come to Jerusalem to attend the services at the Temple on that day. 10 Baruch read Jeremiah’s words on the scroll to all the people. He stood in front of the Temple room of Gemariah, son of Shaphan the secretary. This room was just off the upper courtyard of the Temple, near the New Gate entrance.
11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan heard the messages from the Lord, 12 he went down to the secretary’s room in the palace where the administrative officials were meeting. Elishama the secretary was there, along with Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Acbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 When Micaiah told them about the messages Baruch was reading to the people, 14 the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah and great-grandson of Cushi, to ask Baruch to come and read the messages to them, too. So Baruch took the scroll and went to them. 15 “Sit down and read the scroll to us,” the officials said, and Baruch did as they requested.
16 When they heard all the messages, they looked at one another in alarm. “We must tell the king what we have heard,” they said to Baruch. 17 “But first, tell us how you got these messages. Did they come directly from Jeremiah?”
18 So Baruch explained, “Jeremiah dictated them, and I wrote them down in ink, word for word, on this scroll.”
19 “You and Jeremiah should both hide,” the officials told Baruch. “Don’t tell anyone where you are!” 20 Then the officials left the scroll for safekeeping in the room of Elishama the secretary and went to tell the king what had happened.
King Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll
21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from Elishama’s room and read it to the king as all his officials stood by. 22 It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. 23 Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. 24 Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. 25 Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn’t listen.
26 Then the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. But the Lord had hidden them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
27 After the king had burned the scroll on which Baruch had written Jeremiah’s words, the Lord gave Jeremiah another message. He said, 28 “Get another scroll, and write everything again just as you did on the scroll King Jehoiakim burned. 29 Then say to the king, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned the scroll because it said the king of Babylon would destroy this land and empty it of people and animals. 30 Now this is what the Lord says about King Jehoiakim of Judah: He will have no heirs to sit on the throne of David. His dead body will be thrown out to lie unburied—exposed to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I will punish him and his family and his attendants for their sins. I will pour out on them and on all the people of Jerusalem and Judah all the disasters I promised, for they would not listen to my warnings.’”
32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary, Baruch. He wrote everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only this time he added much more!
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
