Jeremiah

And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

1In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, this message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

2Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.

2"Get a scroll and write on it every word I have spoken to you about Israel, about Judah, and about all the nations. Start from the days of Josiah, when I first spoke to you, up to today.

3It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.

3Maybe the people of Judah will hear about all the trouble I plan to bring on them. Then each one may turn away from his wrong way of living, and I will forgive their guilt and their sin."

4Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.

4So Jeremiah called for Baruch son of Neriah. Jeremiah spoke the words out loud, and Baruch wrote on a scroll everything the LORD had said to him.

5And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD:

5Then Jeremiah gave Baruch this order: "I am not allowed to go anywhere. I cannot go into the LORD's temple.

Note"I am shut up" does not mean Jeremiah was in prison. He was barred or restricted from entering the temple, so he sent Baruch in his place.

6Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD’s house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.

6So you go instead. On a day when the people are fasting, read aloud from the scroll you wrote as I spoke. Read the LORD's words so everyone in the temple can hear. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns.

7It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people.

7Maybe they will beg the LORD for mercy, and each one will turn away from his wrong way of living. The anger the LORD has spoken against these people is very great."

8And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the LORD in the LORD’s house.

8Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. In the LORD's temple he read the words of the LORD from the scroll.

9And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.

9In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, a fast was announced. Everyone in Jerusalem, and everyone who had come there from the towns of Judah, was to take part.

10Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’s house, in the ears of all the people.

10Baruch stood in the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe. That room was in the upper courtyard, by the opening of the New Gate of the temple. From there Baruch read Jeremiah's words from the scroll so all the people could hear.

11When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the LORD,

11Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD read from the scroll.

12Then he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.

12He went down to the scribe's room in the king's palace. All the officials were sitting there: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and the rest.

13Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people.

13Micaiah told them everything he had heard when Baruch read the scroll aloud to the people.

14Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them.

14So the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch with this message: "Bring the scroll you read to the people, and come here." So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them.

15And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears.

15They said to him, "Please sit down and read it to us." So Baruch read it aloud to them.

16Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.

16When they had heard all the words, they turned to each other in fear. They said to Baruch, "We must certainly tell the king everything in this scroll."

17And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth?

17Then they asked Baruch, "Please tell us. How did you come to write all these words? Did Jeremiah speak them to you?"

18Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.

18Baruch answered, "Yes. He said all these words out loud to me, and I wrote them down in ink on the scroll."

19Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.

19Then the officials said to Baruch, "Go and hide, both you and Jeremiah. Do not let anyone know where you are."

20And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.

20They put the scroll away in the room of Elishama the scribe. Then they went to the king in the courtyard and told him everything.

21So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe’s chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king.

21The king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he got it from the room of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it aloud to the king and to all the officials standing beside him.

22Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.

22It was the ninth month, so the king was sitting in his winter room, with a fire burning in a pot in front of him.

NoteThe "winterhouse" was the warm part of the palace used in cold months. The fire burned in a movable pot, not a fireplace built into the wall.

23And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.

23Each time Jehudi read three or four columns, the king cut them off with a scribe's knife and threw them into the fire. He kept on until the whole scroll had burned up.

NoteThe scroll was one long sheet rolled up, with the writing set out in columns. "Leaves" means those columns, not pages of a book. A "penknife" was the small knife a scribe used to trim his reed pen.

24Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.

24The king and his servants heard all these words, yet they were not afraid and did not tear their clothes.

NoteTearing your clothes was how people in that time showed deep grief or alarm. The king showing no such sign means the words did not move him at all.

25Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.

25Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but he would not listen to them.

26But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.

26Instead the king ordered Jerahmeel, a son of the king, along with Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

27Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

27After the king burned the scroll with the words Baruch had written as Jeremiah spoke, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

28Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.

28"Get another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, the one Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.

29And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?

29And say this to Jehoiakim king of Judah: This is what the LORD says. You burned that scroll and asked, 'Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon will surely come and destroy this land and wipe out both people and animals?'

30Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.

30So this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David's throne. His dead body will be thrown outside, in the heat by day and the frost by night.

31And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.

31I will punish him, his children, and his servants for their guilt. I warned them of all this trouble, but they would not listen. Now I will bring it on them, on the people of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah."

32Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.

32So Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, son of Neriah. As Jeremiah spoke, Baruch wrote on it every word of the scroll Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned. And many more words like them were added.