Jeremiah 36:21

21 And the king sent Judi that he should take the volume: who bringing it out of the chamber of Elisama the scribe, read it in the hearing of the king, and of all the princes that stood about the king.

Jeremiah 36:21 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 36:21

So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll
The same person the princes sent to Baruch to come to them, and bring the roll with him, ( Jeremiah 36:14 ) . This the king did, out of curiosity, and to satisfy himself of the truth of what the princes said; and by this it appears they had told him of the roll, which contained what they had given him a summary of, and where it was: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber;
or, "out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe"; who knew where it was, being present at the reading of it in the secretary's office, and saw where it was laid; or, however, was directed by the secretary where it was, and might have the key of the chest or scrutoire given him in which it was laid: and Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the
princes that stood by the king:
as he doubtless was ordered; and which he did so loudly, clearly, and distinctly, that the king and all the princes could hear; which princes were those who had heard it before, and were come to the king to acquaint him with the substance of it; and who stood by the side of the king, or about him, in honour to him; though there might be also others besides them, who were before with the king, and waiting on him; and Abarbinel thinks that other princes distinct from those that went to the king are meant. When it is said that Jehudi read the roll in the hearing of the king and princes, it mast be understood of a part of it only, and not the whole; as ( Jeremiah 36:23 ) shows.

Jeremiah 36:21 In-Context

19 And the princes said to Baruch: Go, and hide thee, both thou and Jeremias, and let no man know where you are.
20 And they went in to the king into the court: but they laid up the volume in the chamber of Elisama the scribe: and they told all the words in the hearing of the king.
21 And the king sent Judi that he should take the volume: who bringing it out of the chamber of Elisama the scribe, read it in the hearing of the king, and of all the princes that stood about the king.
22 Now the king sat in the winter house, in the ninth month: and there was a hearth before him full of burning coals.
23 And when Judi had read three or four pages, he cut it with the penknife, and he cast it into the fire, that was upon the hearth, till all the volume was consumed with the fire that was on the hearth.
The Douay-Rheims Bible is in the public domain.