Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple
And it was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying:
Take for yourself a scroll of a book, and write in it all the words I have spoken to you against Israel and against Judah and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah and until this day.
Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the evil I am thinking to do to them, so that they turn, each from his evil way, and I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.
And Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD that he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book.
And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying: I am confined; I cannot go into the house of the LORD.
So you go, and read from the scroll that you wrote from my mouth, the words of the LORD, in the ears of the people in the house of the LORD on the day of a fast; and also in the ears of all Judah who come from their cities you will read them.
Perhaps their plea will fall before the LORD, and they will turn, each from his evil way; for great is the anger and the wrath that the LORD has spoken against this people.
And Baruch son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the LORD in the house of the LORD.
And it was in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before the LORD.
And Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah, in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entrance of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, in the ears of all the people.
Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Palace
And Micaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan heard all the words of the LORD from the book,
and he went down to the house of the king, to the chamber of the scribe; and see, all the princes were sitting there — Elishama the scribe and Delaiah son of Shemaiah and Elnathan son of Achbor and Gemariah son of Shaphan and Zedekiah son of Hananiah and all the princes.
And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book in the ears of the people.
And all the princes sent to Baruch Jehudi son of Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi, saying: The scroll from which you read in the ears of the people — take it in your hand and come. And Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them.
And they said to him: Sit now and read it in our ears. And Baruch read in their ears.
And it was, when they heard all the words, they dreaded, each toward his neighbor, and they said to Baruch: We will surely tell the king all these words.
And they asked Baruch, saying: Tell us now, how did you write all these words from his mouth?
And Baruch said to them: From his mouth he called out to me all these words, and I was writing in the book with ink.
And the princes said to Baruch: Go, hide, you and Jeremiah; and let no man know where you are.
Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll
And they came to the king, to the court; and they deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they told all the words in the ears of the king.
And the king sent Jehudi to take the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and Jehudi read it in the ears of the king and in the ears of all the princes standing beside the king.
And the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with the brazier burning before him.
And it was, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, he would tear it with the scribe’s knife and throw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was finished on the fire that was on the brazier.
And they did not dread and did not tear their garments — the king and all his servants who heard all these words.
And even Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah entreated the king not to burn the scroll, and he did not listen to them.
And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son and Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but the LORD hid them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after the king burned the scroll and the words that Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying:
Return, take for yourself another scroll, and write on it all the earlier words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.
And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you will say: Thus says the LORD: You burned this scroll, saying: Why did you write on it, saying, The king of Babylon will surely come and destroy this land and make man and beast cease from it?
Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one sitting on the throne of David; and his carcass will be thrown out to the heat by day and to the frost by night.
And I will attend to him and to his seed and to his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring on them and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem and on the man of Judah all the evil I spoke to them — and they did not hear.
And Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah the scribe, and he wrote on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many more words like them were added to them.