HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1071
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18 Then Jeremiah turned to the Recabites and
said, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed
your ancestor Jehonadab in every respect, following all his instructions.’ 19 Therefore, this is
what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of
Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Recab will always have descendants who serve me.’”
Baruch Reads the LORD’s Messages
During the fourth year that Jehoiakim
son of Josiah was king in Judah,* 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,* 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
36
36:1 The fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign was 605 b.c.
36:9 Hebrew in the ninth month, of the ancient Hebrew lunar
calendar (also in 36:22). The ninth month in the fifth year of
Jehoiakim’s reign occurred within the months of November
and December 604 b.c. Also see note on 1:3.
JER EM IAH 36
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.’”