| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: | 1During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king in Judah, the LORD gave this message to Jeremiah: |
| 2“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today. | 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. |
| 3Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the calamity I plan to bring upon them, each of them will turn from his wicked way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.” | 3Perhaps 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.” |
| 4So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah. | 4So 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. |
| 5Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot enter the house of the LORD; | 5Then Jeremiah said to Baruch, “I am a prisoner here and unable to go to the Temple. |
| 6so you are to go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting, and in the hearing of the people you are to read the words of the LORD from the scroll you have written at my dictation. Read them in the hearing of all the people of Judah who are coming from their cities. | 6So 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. |
| 7Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD, and each one will turn from his wicked way; for great are the anger and fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” | 7Perhaps 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.” |
| 8So Baruch son of Neriah did everything that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. In the house of the LORD he read the words of the LORD from the scroll. | 8Baruch did as Jeremiah told him and read these messages from the LORD to the people at the Temple. |
| 9Now in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a fast before the LORD was proclaimed to all the people of Jerusalem and all who had come there from the cities of Judah. | 9He 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. |
| 10From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people. | 10Baruch 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. |
| 11When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, | 11When Micaiah son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan heard the messages from the LORD, |
| 12he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. | 12he 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. |
| 13And Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. | 13When Micaiah told them about the messages Baruch was reading to the people, |
| 14Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come here.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them. | 14the officials 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“Please sit down,” they said, “and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing. | 15“Sit down and read the scroll to us,” the officials said, and Baruch did as they requested. |
| 16When they had heard all these words, they turned to one another in fear and said to Baruch, “Surely we must report all these words to the king.” | 16When 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“Tell us now,” they asked Baruch, “how did you write all these words? Was it at Jeremiah’s dictation?” | 17“But first, tell us how you got these messages. Did they come directly from Jeremiah?” |
| 18“It was at his dictation,” Baruch replied. “He recited all these words to me and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.” | 18So Baruch explained, “Jeremiah dictated them, and I wrote them down in ink, word for word, on this scroll.” |
| 19Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.” | 19“You and Jeremiah should both hide,” the officials told Baruch. “Don’t tell anyone where you are!” |
| 20So the officials went to the king in the courtyard. And having stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, they reported everything to the king. | 20Then 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 |
| 21Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing beside him. | 21The 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. |
| 22Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning before him. | 22It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. |
| 23And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire. | 23Each 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. |
| 24Yet in hearing all these words, the king and his servants did not become frightened or tear their garments. | 24Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. |
| 25Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. | 25Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn’t listen. |
| 26Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them. | 26Then 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 |
| 27After the king had burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: | 27After the king had burned the scroll on which Baruch had written Jeremiah’s words, the LORD gave Jeremiah another message. He said, |
| 28“Take another scroll and rewrite on it the very words that were on the original scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned. | 28“Get another scroll, and write everything again just as you did on the scroll King Jehoiakim burned. |
| 29You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah that this is what the LORD says: You have burned the scroll and said, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon would surely come and destroy this land and deprive it of man and beast?’ | 29Then 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. |
| 30Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his body will be thrown out and exposed to heat by day and frost by night. | 30Now 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. |
| 31I will punish him and his descendants and servants for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the residents of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the calamity about which I warned them but they did not listen.” | 31I 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.’” |
| 32Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. | 32So Jeremiah took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary, Baruch. He wrote everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only this time he added much more! |
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