Jeremiah 36-37

Jeremiah 36

¹And it cometh to pass, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word hath been unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying:

²‘Take to thee a roll of a book, and thou hast written on it all the words that I have spoken unto thee concerning Israel, and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day;

³if so be the house of Israel do hear all the evil that I am thinking of doing to them, so that they turn back each from is evil way, and I have been propitious to their iniquity, and to their sin.'

⁴And Jeremiah calleth Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch writeth from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah, that He hath spoken unto him, on a roll of a book.

⁵And Jeremiah commandeth Baruch, saying, ‘I am restrained, I am not able to enter the house of Jehovah;

⁶but thou hast entered -- and thou hast read in the roll that thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah, in the ears of the people, in the house of Jehovah, in the day of the fast, and also in the ears of all Judah who are coming in from their cities thou dost read them;

⁷if so be their supplication doth fall before Jehovah, and they turn back each from his evil way, for great is the anger and the fury that Jehovah hath spoken concerning this people.'

⁸And Baruch son of Neriah doth according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, to read in the book the words of Jehovah in the house of Jehovah.

⁹And it cometh to pass, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah have all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who are coming in from cities of Judah to Jerusalem;

¹⁰and Baruch readeth in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the opening of the new gate of the house of Jehovah, in the ears of all the people.

¹¹And Michaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heareth all the words of Jehovah from off the book,

¹²and he goeth down to the house of the king, unto the chamber of the scribe, and lo, there are all the heads sitting: Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan son of Acbor, and Gemariah son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the heads.

¹³And declare to them doth Micaiah all the words that he hath heard, when Baruch readeth in the book in the ears of the people;

¹⁴and all the heads send unto Baruch, Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, ‘The roll in which thou hast read in the ears of the people take in thy hand, and come.' And Baruch son of Neriah taketh the roll in his hand and cometh in unto them,

¹⁵and they say unto him, ‘Sit down, we pray thee, and read it in our ears,' and Baruch readeth in their ears,

¹⁶and it cometh to pass, when they hear all the words, they have been afraid one at another, and say unto Baruch, ‘We do surely declare to the king all these words.'

¹⁷And they asked Baruch, saying, ‘Declare, we pray thee, to us, how didst thou write all these words -- from his mouth?'

¹⁸And Baruch saith to them, ‘From his mouth, he pronounceth unto me all these words, and I am writing on the book with ink.'

¹⁹And the heads say unto Baruch, ‘Go, be hidden, thou and Jeremiah, and let no one know where ye are.'

²⁰And they go in unto the king, to the court, and the roll they have laid up in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they declare in the ears of the king all the words.

²¹And the king sendeth Jehudi to take the roll, and he taketh it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and Jehudi readeth it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the heads who are standing by the king;

²²and the king is sitting in the winter-house, in the ninth month, and the stove before him is burning,

²³and it cometh to pass, when Jehudi readeth three or four leaves, he cutteth it out with the scribe's knife, and hath cast unto the fire, that is on the stove, till the consumption of all the roll by the fire that is on the stove.

²⁴And the king and all his servants who are hearing all these words have not been afraid, nor rent their garments.

²⁵And also Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah have interceded with the king not to burn the roll, and he hath not hearkened unto them.

²⁶And the king commandeth Jerahmeel son of Hammelek, and Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Jehovah doth hide them.

²⁷And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah -- after the king's burning the roll, even the words that Baruch hath written from the mouth of Jeremiah -- saying:

²⁸‘Turn, take to thee another roll, and write on it all the former words that were on the first roll, that Jehoiakim king of Judah burnt,

²⁹and unto Jehoiakim king of Judah thou dost say: Thus said Jehovah, Thou hast burnt this roll, saying, Wherefore hast thou written on it, saying, The king of Babylon surely cometh in, and hath destroyed this land, and caused to cease from it man and beast?

³⁰‘Therefore, thus said Jehovah, concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He hath none sitting on the throne of David, and his carcase is cast out to heat by day, and to cold by night;

³¹and I have charged on him, and on his seed, and on his servants, their iniquity; and I have brought in on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto the men of Judah, all the evil that I have spoken unto them, and they hearkened not.'

³²And Jeremiah hath taken another roll, and giveth it unto Baruch son of Neriah the scribe, and he writeth on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah hath burnt in the fire; and again there were added unto them many words like these.

Jeremiah 37

¹And reign doth king Zedekiah son of Josiah instead of Coniah son of Jehoiakim whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had caused to reign in the land of Judah,

²and he hath not hearkened, he, and his servants, and the people of the land, unto the words of Jehovah, that He spake by the hand of Jeremiah the prophet.

³And Zedekiah the king sendeth Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah the priest, unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘Pray, we beseech thee, for us unto Jehovah our God.'

⁴And Jeremiah is coming in and going out in the midst of the people, (and they have not put him in the prison-house),

⁵and the force of Pharaoh hath come out of Egypt, and the Chaldeans, who are laying siege against Jerusalem, hear their report, and go up from off Jerusalem.

⁶And there is a word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

⁷‘Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Thus do ye say unto the king of Judah, who is sending you unto Me, to seek Me: Lo, the force of Pharaoh that is coming out to you for help hath turned back to its land, to Egypt,

⁸and the Chaldeans have turned back, and fought against this city, and captured it, and burnt it with fire.

⁹‘Thus said Jehovah: Lift not up your souls saying, The Chaldeans surely go from off us, for they do not go;

¹⁰for though ye had smitten all the force of the Chaldeans who are fighting with you, and there were left of them wounded men -- each in his tent -- they rise, and have burnt this city with fire.'

¹¹And it hath come to pass, in the going up of the force of the Chaldeans from off Jerusalem, because of the force of Pharaoh,

¹²that Jeremiah goeth out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin, to receive a portion thence in the midst of the people.

¹³And it cometh to pass, he is at the gate of Benjamin, and there is a master of the ward -- and his name is Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah -- and he catcheth Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘Unto the Chaldeans thou art falling.'

¹⁴And Jeremiah saith, ‘Falsehood -- I am not falling unto the Chaldeans;' and he hath not hearkened unto him, and Irijah layeth hold on Jeremiah, and bringeth him in unto the heads,

¹⁵and the heads are wroth against Jeremiah, and have smitten him, and put him in the prison-house -- the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it they had made for a prison-house.

¹⁶When Jeremiah hath entered into the house of the dungeon, and unto the cells, then Jeremiah dwelleth there many days,

¹⁷and the king Zedekiah sendeth, and taketh him, and the king asketh him in his house in secret, and saith, ‘Is there a word from Jehovah?' And Jeremiah saith, ‘There is,' and he saith, ‘Into the hand of the king of Babylon thou art given.'

¹⁸And Jeremiah saith unto the king Zedekiah, ‘What have I sinned against thee, and against thy servants, and against this people, that ye have given me unto a prison-house?

¹⁹And where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon doth not come in against you, and against this land?

²⁰And now, hearken, I pray thee, my lord, O king, let my supplication fall, I pray thee, before thee, and cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I die not there.'

²¹And the king Zedekiah commandeth, and they commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, also to give to him a cake of bread daily from the bakers' street, till the consumption of all the bread of the city, and Jeremiah dwelleth in the court of the prison.