New Century Version NCV
Good News Translation GNT
1 The Lord spoke this word to Jeremiah during the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah:
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In the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me,
2 "Get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you about Israel and Judah and all the nations. Write everything from when I first spoke to you, when Josiah was king, until now.
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"Get a scroll and write on it everything that I have told you about Israel and Judah and all the nations. Write everything that I have told you from the time I first spoke to you, when Josiah was king, up to the present.
3 Maybe the family of Judah will hear what disasters I am planning to bring on them and will stop doing wicked things. Then I would forgive them for the sins and the evil things they have done."
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Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the destruction that I intend to bring on them, they will turn from their evil ways. Then I will forgive their wickedness and their sins."
4 So Jeremiah called for Baruch son of Neriah. Jeremiah spoke the messages the Lord had given him, and Baruch wrote those messages on the scroll.
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So I called Baruch son of Neriah and dictated to him everything that the Lord had said to me. And Baruch wrote it all down on a scroll.
5 Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, "I cannot go to the Temple of the Lord. I must stay here.
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Then I gave Baruch the following instructions: "I am no longer allowed to go into the Temple.
6 So I want you to go to the Temple of the Lord on a day when the people are giving up eating. Read from the scroll to all the people of Judah who come into Jerusalem from their towns. Read the messages from the Lord, which are the words you wrote on the scroll as I spoke them to you.
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But I want you to go there the next time the people are fasting. You are to read the scroll aloud, so that they will hear everything that the Lord has said to me and that I have dictated to you. Do this where everyone can hear you, including the people of Judah who have come in from their towns.
7 Perhaps they will ask the Lord to help them. Perhaps each one will stop doing wicked things, because the Lord has announced that he is very angry with them."
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Perhaps they will pray to the Lord and turn from their evil ways, because the Lord has threatened this people with his terrible anger and fury."
8 So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. In the Lord's Temple he read aloud the scroll that had the Lord's messages written on it.
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So Baruch read the Lord's words in the Temple exactly as I had told him to do.
9 In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king, a special time to give up eating was announced. All the people of Jerusalem and everyone who had come into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah were supposed to give up eating to honor the Lord.
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In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah, the people fasted to gain the Lord's favor. The fast was kept by all who lived in Jerusalem and by all who came there from the towns of Judah.
10 At that time Baruch read to all the people there the scroll containing Jeremiah's words. He read the scroll in the Temple of the Lord in the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan, a royal secretary. That room was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the Temple.
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Then, while all the people were listening, Baruch read from the scroll everything that I had said. He did this in the Temple, from the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan, the court secretary. His room was in the upper court near the entrance of the New Gate of the Temple.
11 Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the messages from the Lord that were on the scroll.
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Micaiah, the son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan, heard Baruch read from the scroll what the Lord had said.
12 Micaiah went down to the royal secretary's room in the king's palace where all of the officers were sitting: Elishama the royal secretary; Delaiah son of Shemaiah; Elnathan son of Acbor; Gemariah son of Shaphan; Zedekiah son of Hananiah; and all the other officers.
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Then he went to the royal palace, to the room of the court secretary, where all the officials were in session. Elishama, the court secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were there.
13 Micaiah told those officers everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll.
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Micaiah told them everything that he had heard Baruch read to the people.
14 Then the officers sent a man named Jehudi son of Nethaniah to Baruch. (Nethaniah was the son of Shelemiah, who was the son of Cushi.) Jehudi said to Baruch, "Bring the scroll that you read to the people and come with me." So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went with Jehudi to the officers.
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Then the officials sent Jehudi (the son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah, and great-grandson of Cushi) to tell Baruch to bring the scroll that he had read to the people. Baruch brought them the scroll.
15 Then the officers said to Baruch, "Please sit down and read the scroll to us." So Baruch read the scroll to them.
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"Sit down," they said, "and read the scroll to us." So Baruch did.
16 When the officers heard all the words, they became afraid and looked at each other. They said to Baruch, "We must certainly tell the king about these words."
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After he had read it, they turned to one another in alarm and said to Baruch, "We must report this to the king."
17 Then the officers asked Baruch, "Tell us, please, where did you get all these words you wrote on the scroll? Did you write down what Jeremiah said to you?"
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Then they asked him, "Tell us, now, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it to you?"
18 "Yes," Baruch answered. "Jeremiah spoke them all to me, and I wrote them down with ink on this scroll."
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Baruch answered, "Jeremiah dictated every word of it to me, and I wrote it down in ink on this scroll."
19 Then the officers said to Baruch, "You and Jeremiah must go and hide, and don't tell anyone where you are."
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Then they told him, "You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don't let anyone know where you are."
20 The officers put the scroll in the room of Elishama the royal secretary. Then they went to the king in the courtyard and told him all about the scroll.
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The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the court secretary, and went to the king's court, where they reported everything to the king.
21 So King Jehoiakim sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought the scroll from the room of Elishama the royal secretary and read it to the king and to all the officers who stood around the king.
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Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He took it from the room of Elishama and read it to the king and all the officials who were standing around him.
22 It was the ninth month of the year, so King Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter apartment. There was a fire burning in a small firepot in front of him.
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It was winter and the king was sitting in his winter palace in front of the fire.
23 After Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut those columns off of the scroll with a penknife and threw them into the firepot. Finally, the whole scroll was burned in the fire.
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As soon as Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king cut them off with a small knife and threw them into the fire. He kept doing this until the entire scroll was burned up.
24 King Jehoiakim and his servants heard everything that was said, but they were not frightened! They did not tear their clothes to show their sorrow.
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But neither the king nor any of his officials who heard all this was afraid or showed any sign of sorrow.
25 Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah even tried to talk King Jehoiakim out of burning the scroll, but he would not listen to them.
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Although Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he paid no attention to them.
26 Instead, the king ordered Jerahmeel son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.
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Then he ordered Prince Jerahmeel, together with Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to arrest me and my secretary Baruch. But the Lord had hidden us.
27 So King Jehoiakim burned the scroll where Baruch had written all the words Jeremiah had spoken to him. Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah:
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After King Jehoiakim had burned the scroll that I had dictated to Baruch, the Lord told me
28 "Get another scroll. Write all the words on it that were on the first scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up.
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to take another scroll and write on it everything that had been on the first one.
29 Also say this to Jehoiakim king of Judah: 'This is what the Lord says: You burned up that scroll and said, "Why, Jeremiah, did you write on it 'the king of Babylon will surely come and destroy this land and the people and animals in it'?"
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The Lord told me to say to the king, "You have burned the scroll, and you have asked Jeremiah why he wrote that the king of Babylonia would come and destroy this land and kill its people and its animals.
30 So this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: Jehoiakim's descendants will not sit on David's throne. When Jehoiakim dies, his body will be thrown out on the ground. It will be left out in the heat of the day and in the cold frost of the night.
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So now, I, the Lord, say to you, King Jehoiakim, that no descendant of yours will ever rule over David's kingdom. Your corpse will be thrown out where it will be exposed to the sun during the day and to the frost at night.
31 I will punish Jehoiakim and his children and his servants, because they have done evil things. I will bring disasters upon them and upon all the people in Jerusalem and Judah -- everything I promised but which they refused to hear.'"
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I will punish you, your descendants, and your officials because of the sins all of you commit. Neither you nor the people of Jerusalem and of Judah have paid any attention to my warnings, and so I will bring on all of you the disaster that I have threatened."
32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, his secretary. As Jeremiah spoke, Baruch wrote on the scroll the same words that were on the scroll Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to the second scroll.
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Then I took another scroll and gave it to my secretary Baruch, and he wrote down everything that I dictated. He wrote everything that had been on the first scroll and similar messages that I dictated to him.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.