Jeremiah 36:9-32

9 Forsooth it was done, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, they preached fasting in the sight of the Lord, to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the multitude, that came together from the cities of Judah into Jerusalem. (For it was done, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, they proclaimed a fast before the Lord, for all the people in Jerusalem, and for all the multitude, who came together from the cities of Judah into Jerusalem.)
10 And Baruch read (out) of the volume the words of Jeremy, in the house of the Lord, in the treasury of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, scribe, in the higher porch, in the entering of the new gate of the house of the Lord, in audience of all the people. (And Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah, in the House of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the writer, or the court secretary, in the upper courtyard, at the entrance to the New Gate of the House of the Lord, before all the people.)
11 And when Michaiah, the son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord, of the book (from the book),
12 he went down into the house of the king, to the treasury of the scribe. And lo! all the princes sat there, 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. (he went down to the house of the king, to the chamber of the writer, or of the court secretary. And lo! all the leaders, or all the officers, sat there, Elishama, the writer, 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 other officers.)
13 And Michaiah told to them all the words, which he heard Baruch reading of the book, in the ears of the people. (And Michaiah told them all the words, which he had heard Baruch reading from the book, before the people.)
14 Therefore all the princes sent to Baruch Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, and said, Take in thine hand the book, of which thou readest in audience of the people, and come thou. Therefore Baruch, the son of Neriah, took the book in his hand, and came to them. (And so all the officers sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, and he said, Bring the book in thy hand, from which thou readest before the people, and come thou. And so Baruch, the son of Neriah, brought the book in his hand, and came to them.)
15 And they said to him, Sit thou, and read these things in our ears; and Baruch read (it) in the ears of them. (And they said to him, Sit thou, and read these things to us; and so Baruch read from the book to them.)
16 Therefore when they had heard all the words, they wondered each man to his neighbour, and they said to Baruch, Ought we to tell to the king all these words?
17 And they asked him, and said, Show thou to us, how thou hast written all these words of his mouth. (And they asked him, and said, Tell thou us, how thou hast written all these words from his mouth.)
18 Forsooth Baruch said to them, Of his mouth he spake, as reading to me, all these words; and I wrote in a book with ink. (And Baruch said to them, He spoke all these words out of his mouth, as if reading to me, and I wrote them down with ink in a book.)
19 And all the princes said to Baruch, Go, be thou hid, thou and Jeremy; and no man know where ye be. (And all the officers said to Baruch, Go, be thou hid, thou and Jeremiah; and let no one know where ye be.)
20 And they entered to the king, into the hall; forsooth they betook the book to be kept into the treasury of Elishama, the scribe. And they told all the words, in audience of the king. (And then they went to the king, in the hall; and they had put the book in the chamber of Elishama, the writer, or the court secretary, for safekeeping. And they told everything to the king.)
21 Therefore the king sent Jehudi, that he should take the book. Which took the book from the treasury of Elishama, the scribe, and read in audience of the king, and of all the princes that stood about the king. (And so the king sent Jehudi, to get the book. Who brought the book from the chamber of Elishama, the writer, or the court secretary, and then he read it before the king, and before all the officers who stood about the king.)
22 Forsooth the king sat in the winter house, in the ninth month; and a pan full of coals was set before him.
23 And when Jehudi had read three pages, either four, he cutted it with the knife of a scribe, and casted into the fire (he cut it with a writer's knife, and threw it into the fire), that was in the pan, till all the book was wasted by the fire, that was in the pan.
24 And the king, and all his servants, that heard all these words, dreaded not, neither rent their clothes. (And the king, and all his officers, who heard all these words, did not fear, nor tore their clothes.)
25 Nevertheless Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah against-said [to] the king, that he should not burn the book; and he heard not them (but he would not listen to them).
26 And the king commanded to Jerahmeel, son of Hammelech, and to Seraiah, son of Azriel, and to Shelemiah, son of Abdeel, that they should take (hold of) Baruch, the writer, and Jeremy, the prophet; forsooth the Lord hid them.
27 And the word of the Lord was made to Jeremy, the prophet, after that the king had burnt the book, and [the] words, which Baruch had written of Jeremy's mouth; and he said, (And the word of the Lord was made to the prophet Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the book, and the words, which Baruch had written from Jeremiah's mouth; and he said,)
28 Again take thou another book, and write therein all the former words, that were in the first book, which Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, burnt. (Take thou another book, and write in it all the former words, that were in the first book, which Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, burned.)
29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim, king of Judah, The Lord saith these things, Thou burntest that book, and saidest, What hast thou written therein, telling, The king of Babylon shall come hasting, and shall destroy this land, and shall make man and beast to cease thereof? (And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, The Lord saith these things, Thou hast burned that book, and thou asked, Why hast thou written in it, saying, The king of Babylon shall come with haste, and shall destroy this land, and shall make the people and the beasts to cease to be there, that is, that he shall kill them all?)
30 Therefore the Lord saith these things against Jehoiakim, king of Judah, None there shall be of him, that shall sit on the seat of David; and his carrion shall be cast forth to the heat by day, and to the frost by night. (And so the Lord saith these things against Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, There shall be none of his kin, who shall sit on David's throne; and his dead body shall be cast forth to the heat of the day, and to the frost of the night.)
31 And I shall visit against him, and against his seed, and against his servants, (for) their wickednesses. And I shall bring on them, and on the dwellers of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the evil which I spake to them, and they heard not. (And I shall punish him, and his descendants, and his officers, for their wickednesses. And I shall bring down upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the people of Judah, all the evil which I spoke against them, but they would not hear about.)
32 Forsooth Jeremy took another book, and gave it to Baruch, the writer, the son of Neriah, which wrote therein of Jeremy's mouth all the words of the book, which book Jehoiakim, king of Judah, had burnt by fire; and furthermore many more words were added than were before. (And so Jeremiah took another book, and gave it to Baruch, the writer, the son of Neriah, who wrote in it from Jeremiah's mouth all the words of the book, which Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, had burned in the fire; and furthermore many more words were added to it, than were there before.)

Jeremiah 36:9-32 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 36

This chapter gives an account of an impious action of King Jehoiakim's burning the roll of Jeremiah's prophecies read unto him, and the consequence of it. The order to write this roll, the time when, the contents and use of it, are in Jer 36:1-3; the writing of it by Baruch, the order of the prophet to read it to the people on such a day, with the view he had in so doing, Jer 36:4-7; the reading of it by Baruch to the people first, Jer 36:8-10; then to the princes, being sent for by them, upon a report made to them, Jer 36:11-15; the king being acquainted with it, Jehudi was sent to fetch the roll, who read it to the king, Jer 36:16-21; who having heard part of it, burnt it, notwithstanding the intercession of some of his princes to the contrary, Jer 36:22-25; and who also ordered the apprehension of Jeremiah and Baruch, who could not be found, Jer 36:26; upon this a new roll is ordered to be written, Jer 36:27,28; which was done with some additions to it, respecting the destruction of the land, and the people in it, by the Chaldeans; and particularly the death of the king, and his want of burial, Jer 36:29-32.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.