CHAPTER 36
1 And it was done, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word was made of the Lord to Jeremy, and said,
2 Take thou the volume of a book, and thou shalt write therein all the words, which I spake to thee against Israel and Judah, and against all folks, from the day in which I spake to thee, from the days of Josiah unto this day.
3 If peradventure when the house of Judah heareth all the evils which I think to do to them, each man turn again from his worst way, and I shall be merciful to the wickedness and sin of them.
4 Therefore Jeremy called Baruch, the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote of the mouth of Jeremy in the volume of a book all the words of the Lord, which he spake to him.
5 And Jeremy commanded to Baruch, and said, I am enclosed, and I may not enter into the house of the Lord.
6 Therefore enter thou, and read of the book, in which thou hast written of my mouth the words of the Lord, in hearing of the people, in the house of the Lord, in the day of fasting; furthermore and in hearing of all Judah, that come from their cities, thou shalt read to them;
7 if peradventure the prayer of them fall in the sight of the Lord, and each man turn again from his worst way; for why the strong vengeance and indignation is great, which the Lord spake against this people.
8 And Baruch, the son of Neriah, did after all things, which Jeremy, the prophet, commanded to him; and he read of the book the words of the Lord, in the house of the Lord.
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.
10 And Baruch read 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.
11 And when Michaiah, the son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord, of 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.
13 And Michaiah told to them all the words, which he heard Baruch reading of the book, in the ears of 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.
15 And they said to him, Sit thou, and read these things in our ears; and Baruch read in the ears of 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.
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.
19 And all the princes said to Baruch, Go, be thou hid, thou and Jeremy; and no man 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.
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.
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, 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.
25 Nevertheless Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah against-said [to] the king, that he should not burn the book; and he heard not them.
26 And the king commanded to Jerahmeel, son of Hammelech, and to Seraiah, son of Azriel, and to Shelem-iah, son of Abdeel, that they should take 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,
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.
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?
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.
31 And I shall visit against him, and against his seed, and against his servants, 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.
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.