Jehoiakim

1It was the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah. God gave a message to 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,

NoteJudah was a small land where God's people lived. People counted years by how long a king had ruled.

2God said, "Get a scroll and write on it. Write all the words I have told you about Israel, Judah, and every nation. Write everything from the days of King Josiah until today."

Take 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.

NoteA scroll was a long strip of paper, rolled up. You unrolled it a little at a time to read it. Israel and Judah were two lands. God's people had once lived together in just one.

3"Maybe the people of Judah will hear about the trouble I plan to send. Maybe each one will stop doing wrong. Then I will forgive the wrong things they have done."

It 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.

4So Jeremiah called a man named Baruch, the son of Neriah. Jeremiah said the words out loud. Baruch wrote them all on a scroll.

Then 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.

5Then Jeremiah told Baruch, "I am not allowed to go to the LORD's house."

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

NoteThe LORD's house was the temple in Jerusalem. It was the special building where people came to pray.

6"So you go instead. Go on a day when the people do not eat and they pray. Read the LORD's words from the scroll so all the people hear. Read them to everyone from Judah who comes in from their towns."

Therefore 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.

NoteGoing without food on purpose is called fasting. People fasted to show God they were sad or sorry.

7"Maybe they will pray to the LORD and ask him for help. Maybe each one will stop doing wrong. The LORD is very angry with these people."

It 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.

8Baruch did just what Jeremiah told him. Jeremiah was a prophet, a man who told people what God said. Baruch read the LORD's words in the LORD's house.

And 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.

9It was the ninth month of Jehoiakim's fifth year as king. The people were told to go without food and pray to the LORD. This was for everyone in Jerusalem and everyone who came from Judah's towns.

And 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.

NoteThe ninth month came near the end of their year. It was the cold, rainy time.

10Baruch read Jeremiah's words from the scroll in the LORD's house. He stood in the room of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan. The room was in the upper courtyard, by the New Gate. All the people heard him read.

Then 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.

NoteA scribe was someone whose job was writing things down. Most people then could not read or write at all.

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

And 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.

21The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from Elishama's room. He read it to the king and to all the helpers standing beside him.

So 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.

22It was the ninth month, the cold part of the year. The king was sitting in his winter room. A fire was burning in a pot in front of him.

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

NoteRich houses had a warmer room to use in winter. The fire burned in a metal pot, not in a fireplace.

23Jehudi would read three or four columns of the scroll. Then the king cut them off with a small knife. He threw the pieces into the fire. He did this until the whole scroll was burned up.

And 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.

NoteWriting on a scroll was set out in tall strips called columns. The small knife was one scribes used to sharpen their pens.

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

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

NoteTearing your own clothes showed that you were very upset. It was how people showed sorrow, or that they were sorry.

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

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

26Instead the king gave an order to three men. They were Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel. He told them to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

But 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.

27Baruch had written the scroll while Jeremiah spoke the words. After the king burned it, the LORD spoke to Jeremiah again.

Then 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,

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

Take 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.

29"Say this to Jehoiakim king of Judah. The LORD says: You burned that scroll. You asked, 'Why did you write that the king of Babylon will surely come? Why did you write that he will destroy this land and empty it of people and animals?'"

And 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?

NoteBabylon was a strong country far to the east. Its army was huge, and it took over other lands.

30"So 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. It will lie in the hot sun by day and the frost by night."

Therefore 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.

NoteDavid was a great king long before this. The kings of Judah all came from his family. So this means Jehoiakim's family will stop being kings. And leaving a body outside, with no burial, was a shame.

31"I will punish him, his children, and his servants for the wrong they have done. I warned them all, but they would not listen. I will bring all that trouble on them. I will bring it on the people of Jerusalem and Judah too."

And 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.

32So Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, son of Neriah. Jeremiah spoke, and Baruch wrote down every word of the burned scroll. Many more words like them were added too.

Then 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.

1Jeremiah was a prophet, someone who told people what God said. Baruch, the son of Neriah, wrote Jeremiah's words on a scroll while Jeremiah said them out loud. This happened in the fourth year that Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, was king of Judah. Then Jeremiah spoke this message to Baruch.

The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,

NoteA scroll was a long strip of paper rolled up. People wrote on scrolls before books had pages. Baruch was Jeremiah's helper. Jeremiah said the words out loud, and Baruch wrote them down. Judah was the land where these people lived. Kings ruled it, one after another. People counted years by how long a king had ruled.

2This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch.

Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch:

NoteThe LORD, in big letters, stands for God's own special name. Israel was the name of God's people long ago.

3You said, "This is so hard for me! The LORD has piled more sadness on top of my hurting. I am worn out from crying. I cannot find any rest."

Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.

NoteBaruch is telling God how he feels. Writing down Jeremiah's message was hard and scary work.

4Jeremiah, tell Baruch this. The LORD says, "I built this land up, and now I will tear it down. I planted it, and now I will pull it up. I will do this to the whole land."

Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.

NoteGod talks about the land like a garden and a house. He is saying he made this land grow, and now he will take it apart.

5"And are you hoping for big things for yourself? Do not look for them. I am going to bring trouble on every living person, says the LORD. But wherever you go, I will let you keep your life."

And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.

Note"Great things" means being important, or rich, or famous. In a war, a soldier who grabbed something got to keep it. God is telling Baruch he will get to keep one thing: his own life.

1Jehoiakim was the king of Judah. In his third year as king, Nebuchadnezzar came to Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon. His army surrounded the city and would not let anyone out.

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.

NoteJudah was the land where God's people lived. Babylon was a strong country far away. Nebuchadnezzar brought his army and surrounded Jerusalem so no food could get in.

2The Lord let King Jehoiakim be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar. The Lord also let him have some of the special dishes from God's temple. He carried them far away to the land of Shinar. He put them in the treasure room of his own god's temple.

And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

NoteThe temple was the special house where people came to worship God. The dishes were gold and silver bowls used there. Shinar is another name for Babylon.

3The king spoke to Ashpenaz, the leader of his palace helpers. He told him to bring in some young men from Israel. They were to come from the king's family and from other important families.

And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king’s seed, and of the princes;

NoteThe King James calls these helpers "eunuchs." They were men who worked close to the king inside his palace.

4They had to be young men with healthy, strong bodies and pleasant faces. They had to be smart, full of knowledge, and quick to learn. They had to be ready to work in the king's palace. Then they would be taught the writing and language of the Chaldeans, the people of Babylon.

Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.

Note"Well favoured" means good-looking. "Cunning in knowledge" does not mean sneaky here. In 1611 "cunning" meant clever and skilled.

5Every day the king sent them food and wine from his own table. They would be trained this way for three years. After that they would come and serve the king.

And the king appointed them a daily provision of the king’s meat, and of the wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end thereof they might stand before the king.

NoteThe king's food was the best food in the land. Eating it meant you belonged to the king now.

6Four of these young men came from Judah. Their names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

7The leader of the palace helpers gave them new names. He called Daniel by the name Belteshazzar. He called Hananiah by the name Shadrach. He called Mishael by the name Meshach. He called Azariah by the name Abednego.

Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

NoteTheir old names each said something about God. The new names came from the gods of Babylon. Changing a name was a way of saying, you are ours now.