1Now it happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying:
2“Take for yourself a scroll of a document and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you concerning Israel and concerning Judah and concerning all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah until this day.
3Perhaps the house of Judah will hear of all the disaster that I am planning to do to them, so that each one may turn from his evil way, and I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
4Then Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of Yahweh that he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a document.
5And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am confined; I am not able to go into the house of Yahweh.
6So you go in and read from the scroll that you wrote at my dictation—the words of Yahweh—in the hearing of the people, in the house of Yahweh on a day of fasting; and also in the hearing of all Judah who are coming in from their cities you shall read them.
7Perhaps their plea for favor will fall before Yahweh, and each one will turn from his evil way; for great is the anger and the wrath that Yahweh has spoken against this people.”
8And Baruch son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the document the words of Yahweh in the house of Yahweh.
9Now it happened 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 coming in from the cities of Judah into Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before Yahweh.
10Then Baruch read from the document the words of Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh, 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 Yahweh, in the hearing of all the people.
11When Micaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan heard all the words of Yahweh from the document,
12he went down to the house of the king, to the scribe’s chamber, and behold, 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 all the officials.
13And Micaiah reported to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the document in the hearing of the people.
14Then all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi to Baruch, saying, “The scroll from which you read in the hearing of the people—take it in your hand and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them.
15And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.
16Now it happened, when they heard all the words, that they turned in fear one to another, and they said to Baruch, “We must surely report all these words to the king.”
17And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words at his dictation?”
18And Baruch said to them, “He would dictate all these words to me with his mouth, and I would write them on the document in ink.”
19Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.”
20So they went in to the king, to the court, but the scroll they deposited in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words in the hearing of the king.
21Then the king sent Jehudi to fetch the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the officials who were standing beside the king.
22Now the king was sitting in the winter house, in the ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him.
23And it happened that, as Jehudi read three or four columns, he would cut it with the scribe’s knife and throw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until the whole scroll was consumed on the fire that was in the brazier.
24Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments—neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words.
25Even so, Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, but he would not listen to them.
26And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Yahweh hid them.
27Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, after the king had burned the scroll and the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, saying:
28“Turn back, take for yourself another scroll and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.
29And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say: Thus says Yahweh: You yourself have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it, “The king of Babylon will surely come and destroy this land and cause man and beast to cease from it”?’
30Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his corpse will be thrown out to the heat by day and to the frost by night.
31I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the people of Judah all the disaster that I have spoken against them—but they did not listen.”
32Then 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 scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many more words like these were added to them.
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