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Jeremiah 33-36
Contemporary English Version
Jeremiah 33-36
Contemporary English Version
The Lord Promises To Give the Land Back to His People
33 1-2 I was still being held prisoner in the courtyard of the palace guards when the Lord told me:
I am the Lord, and I created the whole world.[a] 3 Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don't know and can't find out.
4-5 Many of the houses in Jerusalem and some of the buildings at the royal palace have been torn down to be used in repairing the walls to keep out the Babylonian attackers.[b] Now there are empty spaces where the buildings once stood. But I am furious, and these spaces will be filled with the bodies of the people I kill. The people of Jerusalem will cry out to me for help, but they are evil, and I will ignore their prayers.
6 Then someday, I will heal this place and my people as well, and let them enjoy unending peace.[c] 7 I will give this land to Israel and Judah once again, and I will make them as strong as they were before. 8 They sinned and rebelled against me, but I will forgive them and take away their guilt. 9 When that happens, all nations on earth will see the good things I have done for Jerusalem, and how I have given it complete peace. The nations will celebrate and praise and honor me, but they will also tremble with fear because of the powerful things I have done.
10 Jeremiah, you say that this land is a desert without people or animals, and for now, you are right. The towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem are deserted, and people and animals are nowhere to be seen. But someday you will hear 11 (A) happy voices and the sounds of parties and wedding celebrations. And when people come to my temple to offer sacrifices to thank me, you will hear them say:
“We praise you,
Lord All-Powerful!
You are good to us,
and your love never fails.”
The land will once again be productive. 12-13 Now it is empty, without people or animals. But when that time comes, shepherds will take care of their flocks in pastures near every town in the hill country, in the foothills to the west, in the Southern Desert, in the land of the Benjamin tribe, and around Jerusalem and the towns of Judah.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord's Wonderful Promise
14 (B) The Lord said:
I made a wonderful promise to Israel and Judah,[d] and the days are coming when I will keep it.
15 I promise that the time will come
when I will appoint a king
from the family of David,
a king who will be honest
and rule with justice.
16 In those days,
Judah will be safe;
Jerusalem will have peace
and will be named,
“The Lord Gives Justice.”
17 (C) The king of Israel will be one of David's descendants, 18 (D) and there will always be priests from the Levi tribe serving at my altar and offering sacrifices to please me and to give thanks.[e]
19 Then the Lord told me:
20 I, the Lord, have an agreement with day and night, so they always come at the right time. You can't break the agreement I made with them, 21 and you can't break the agreements I have made with David's family and with the priests from the Levi tribe who serve at my altar. A descendant of David will always rule as king of Israel, 22 and there will be more descendants of David and of the priests from the Levi tribe than stars in the sky or grains of sand on the beach.
23 The Lord also said:
24 You've heard foreigners insult my people by saying, “The Lord chose Israel and Judah, but now he has rejected them, and they are no longer a nation.”
25 Jeremiah, I will never break my agreement with the day and the night or let the sky and the earth stop obeying my commands. 26 In the same way, I will never reject the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob or break my promise that they will always have a descendant of David as their king. I will be kind to my people Israel, and they will be successful again.
Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah
34 (E) King Nebuchadnezzar[f] had a large army made up of people from every kingdom in his empire. He and his army were attacking Jerusalem and all the nearby towns, when the Lord told me 2 to say to King Zedekiah:[g]
I am the Lord, and I am going to let Nebuchadnezzar capture this city and burn it down. 3 You will be taken prisoner and brought to Nebuchadnezzar, and he will speak with you face to face. Then you will be led away to Babylonia.
4 Zedekiah, I promise that you won't die in battle. 5 You will die a peaceful death. People will mourn when you die, and they will light bonfires in your honor, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who ruled before you.
6 I went to Zedekiah and told him what the Lord had said. 7 Meanwhile, the king of Babylonia was trying to break through the walls of Lachish, Azekah, and Jerusalem, the only three towns of Judah that had not been captured.
The People Break a Promise
8-10 King Zedekiah,[h] his officials, and everyone else in Jerusalem made an agreement to free all Hebrew[i] men and women who were slaves. No Jew would keep another as a slave. And so, all the Jewish slaves were given their freedom.
11 But those slave owners changed their minds and forced their former slaves back into slavery.
12 That's when the Lord told me to say to the people:
13 I am the Lord God of Israel, and I made an agreement with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, where they had been slaves. 14 (F) As part of this agreement, you must let a Hebrew slave go free after six years of service.
Your ancestors did not obey me, 15-16 but you decided to obey me and do the right thing by setting your Hebrew slaves completely free. You even went to my temple, and in my name you made an agreement to set them free. But you have abused my name, because you broke that agreement and forced your former slaves back into slavery.
17 You have disobeyed me by not giving your slaves their freedom. So I will give you freedom—the freedom to die in battle or from disease or hunger. I will make you disgusting to all other nations on earth.
18 You asked me to be a witness when you made the agreement to set your slaves free. And as part of the ceremony you cut a calf into two parts, then walked between the parts. But you people of Jerusalem have broken that agreement as well as my agreement with Israel. So I will do to you what you did to that calf. 19-20 I will let your enemies take all of you prisoner, including the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the royal officials, the priests, and everyone else who walked between the two parts of the calf. These enemies will kill you and leave your bodies lying on the ground as food for birds and wild animals.
21-22 These enemies are King Nebuchadnezzar[j] of Babylonia and his army. They have stopped attacking Jerusalem, but they want to kill King Zedekiah and his high officials. So I will command them to return and attack again. This time they will conquer the city and burn it down, and they will capture Zedekiah and his officials. I will also let them destroy the towns of Judah, so that no one can live there any longer.
Learn a Lesson from the Rechabites
35 (G) When Jehoiakim[k] was king of Judah, the Lord told me, 2 “Go to the Rechabite clan and invite them to meet you in one of the side rooms[l] of the temple. When they arrive, offer them a drink of wine.”
3 So I went to Jaazaniah,[m] the leader of the clan, and I invited him and all the men of his clan. 4 I brought them into the temple courtyard and took them upstairs to a room belonging to the prophets who were followers of Hanan son of Igdaliah. It was next to a room belonging to some of the officials, and that room was over the one belonging to Maaseiah, a priest who was one of the high officials in the temple.[n]
5 I set out some large bowls full of wine together with some cups, and then I said to the Rechabites, “Have some wine!”
6 But they answered:
No! The ancestor of our clan, Jonadab son of Rechab,[o] made a rule that we must obey. He said, “Don't ever drink wine 7 or build houses or plant crops and vineyards. Instead, you must always live in tents and move from place to place. If you obey this command, you will live a long time.”
8-10 Our clan has always obeyed Jonadab's command. To this very day, we and our wives and sons and daughters don't drink wine or build houses or plant vineyards or crops. And we have lived in tents, 11 except now we have to live inside Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzar[p] has taken over the countryside with his army from Babylonia and Syria.
12-13 Then the Lord told me to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, want you to learn a lesson 14 from the Rechabite clan. Their ancestor Jonadab told his descendants never to drink wine, and to this very day they have obeyed him. But I have spoken to you over and over, and you haven't obeyed me! 15 You refused to listen to my prophets, who kept telling you, “Stop doing evil and worshiping other gods! Start obeying the Lord, and he will let you live in this land he gave your ancestors.”
16 The Rechabites have obeyed the command of their ancestor Jonadab, but you have not obeyed me, 17 your God. I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I warned you about the terrible things that would happen to you if you did not listen to me. But you have ignored me, so now disaster will strike you. I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Makes a Promise to the Rechabites
18 Then the Lord told me to say to the Rechabite clan:
“I am the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel. You have obeyed your ancestor Jonadab, 19 so I promise that your clan will be my servants and will never die out.”
King Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah's First Scroll
36 (H) During the fourth year that Jehoiakim[q] son of Josiah[r] was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, 2 since the time Josiah was king, I have been speaking to you about Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Now, get a scroll[s] and write down everything I have told you, 3 then read it to the people of Judah. Maybe they will stop sinning when they hear what terrible things I plan for them. And if they turn back to me, I will forgive them.”
4 I sent for Baruch son of Neriah and asked him to help me. I repeated everything the Lord had told me, and Baruch wrote it all down on a scroll. 5 Then I said,
Baruch, the officials refuse to let me go into the Lord's temple, 6 so you must go instead. Wait for the next holy day when the people of Judah come to the temple to pray and to go without eating.[t] Then take this scroll to the temple and read it aloud. 7 The Lord is furious, and if the people hear how he is going to punish them, maybe they will ask to be forgiven.
8-10 In the ninth month[u] of the fifth year that Jehoiakim was king, the leaders set a day when everyone who lived in Jerusalem or who was visiting there had to pray and go without eating. So Baruch took the scroll to the upper courtyard of the temple. He went over to the side of the courtyard and stood in a covered area near New Gate, where he read the scroll aloud.
This covered area belonged to Gemariah,[v] one of the king's highest officials. 11 Gemariah's son Micaiah was there and heard Baruch read what the Lord had said. 12 When Baruch finished reading, Micaiah went down to the palace. His father Gemariah was in the officials' room, meeting with the rest of the king's officials, including Elishama, Delaiah, Elnathan, and Zedekiah.[w] 13 Micaiah told them what he had heard Baruch read to the people. 14 Then the officials sent Jehudi and Shelemiah[x] to tell Baruch, “Bring us that scroll.”
When Baruch arrived with the scroll, 15 the officials said, “Please sit down and read it to us,” which he did. 16 After they heard what was written on the scroll, they were worried and said to each other, “The king needs to hear this!” Turning to Baruch, they asked, 17 “Did someone tell you what to write on this scroll?”
18 “Yes, Jeremiah did,” Baruch replied. “I wrote down just what he told me.”
19 The officials said, “You and Jeremiah must go into hiding, and don't tell anyone where you are going.”
20-22 The officials put the scroll in Elishama's room and went to see the king, who was in one of the rooms where he lived and worked during the winter. It was the ninth month[y] of the year, so there was a fire burning in the fireplace,[z] and the king was sitting nearby. After the officials told the king about the scroll, he sent Jehudi to get it. Then Jehudi started reading the scroll to the king and his officials. 23-25 But every time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king would tell him to cut them off with his penknife and throw them in the fire. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but he ignored them, and soon there was nothing left of it.
The king and his servants listened to what was written on the scroll, but they were not the least bit afraid, and they did not tear their clothes in sorrow.[aa]
26 The king told his son Jerahmeel to take Seraiah and Shelemiah[ab] and to go arrest Baruch and me.[ac] But the Lord kept them from finding us.
Jeremiah's Second Scroll
27 I had told Baruch what to write on that first scroll,[ad] but King Jehoiakim[ae] had burned it. So the Lord told me 28 to get another scroll and write down everything that had been on the first one. 29 Then he told me to say to King Jehoiakim:
Not only did you burn Jeremiah's scroll, you had the nerve to ask why he had written that the king of Babylonia would attack and ruin the land, killing all the people and even the animals. 30 So I, the Lord, promise that you will be killed and your body thrown out on the ground. The sun will beat down on it during the day, and the frost will settle on it at night. And none of your descendants will ever be king of Judah. 31 You, your children, and your servants are evil, and I will punish everyone of you. I warned you and the people of Judah and Jerusalem that I would bring disaster, but none of you have listened. So now you are doomed!
32 After the Lord finished speaking to me, I got another scroll and gave it to Baruch. Then I told him what to write, so this second scroll would contain even more than was on the scroll Jehoiakim had burned.
Footnotes
- 33.1,2 the whole world: One ancient translation; Hebrew “it.”
- 33.4,5 have been torn down … Babylonian attackers: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 33.6 let them enjoy unending peace: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 33.14 Israel and Judah: See the note at 2.4.
- 33.18 sacrifices to please me and to give thanks: See the notes at 14.12.
- 34.1 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
- 34.2 Zedekiah: See the note at 1.3.
- 34.8-10 Zedekiah: See the note at 1.3.
- 34.8-10 Hebrew: An earlier term for Israelite and Jewish.
- 34.21,22 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
- 35.1 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.
- 35.2 side rooms: Probably a room with walls on three sides, and open to the courtyard on the fourth side.
- 35.3 Jaazaniah: The Hebrew text has “Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah son of Habazziniah”; this is a different Jeremiah than the author of the book.
- 35.4 Maaseiah … temple: Hebrew “Maaseiah son of Shallum, the keeper of the temple door.”
- 35.6 Jonadab son of Rechab: See 2 Kings 10.15-23. In the Hebrew of this chapter, “Jonadab” is sometimes spelled “Jehonadab.”
- 35.11 Nebuchadnezzar: See the note at 21.2.
- 36.1 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.
- 36.1 Josiah: See the note at 3.6.
- 36.2 scroll: See the note at 30.1,2.
- 36.6 to go without eating: As a way of asking for God's help.
- 36.8-10 ninth month: Chislev, the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-November to mid-December.
- 36.8-10 Gemariah: Hebrew “Gemariah son of Shaphan”; Gemariah's brother Ahikam had earlier protected Jeremiah (see 26.20-24).
- 36.12 Delaiah, Elnathan, and Zedekiah: Hebrew “Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, and Zedekiah son of Hananiah.”
- 36.14 Jehudi and Shelemiah: Hebrew “Jehudi son of Nethaniah and Shelemiah son of Cushi.”
- 36.20-22 ninth month: See the note at 36.8-10.
- 36.20-22 fireplace: Probably a large metal or clay pot on a movable stand, with the fire burning inside.
- 36.23-25 they did not tear their clothes in sorrow: Such actions would have shown that they were sorry for disobeying the Lord and were turning back to him.
- 36.26 Seraiah and Shelemiah: Hebrew “Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel.”
- 36.26 me: Jeremiah.
- 36.27 scroll: See the note at 30.1,2.
- 36.27 Jehoiakim: See the note at 1.3.
Jeremiah 33-36
New International Version
Jeremiah 33-36
New International Version
Promise of Restoration
33 While Jeremiah was still confined(A) in the courtyard(B) of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time:(C) 2 “This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth,(D) the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name:(E) 3 ‘Call(F) to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable(G) things you do not know.’ 4 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege(H) ramps(I) and the sword 5 in the fight with the Babylonians[a]: ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath.(J) I will hide my face(K) from this city because of all its wickedness.
6 “‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal(L) my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace(M) and security. 7 I will bring Judah(N) and Israel back from captivity[b](O) and will rebuild(P) them as they were before.(Q) 8 I will cleanse(R) them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive(S) all their sins of rebellion against me. 9 Then this city will bring me renown,(T) joy, praise(U) and honor(V) before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble(W) at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
10 “This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.”(X) Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted,(Y) inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more 11 the sounds of joy and gladness,(Z) the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings(AA) to the house of the Lord, saying,
For I will restore the fortunes(AD) of the land as they were before,(AE)’ says the Lord.
12 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate(AF) and without people or animals(AG)—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.(AH) 13 In the towns of the hill(AI) country, of the western foothills and of the Negev,(AJ) in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand(AK) of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.
14 “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise(AL) I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
15 “‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous(AM) Branch(AN) sprout from David’s line;(AO)
he will do what is just and right in the land.
16 In those days Judah will be saved(AP)
and Jerusalem will live in safety.(AQ)
This is the name by which it[c] will be called:(AR)
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’(AS)
17 For this is what the Lord says: ‘David will never fail(AT) to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, 18 nor will the Levitical(AU) priests(AV) ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.(AW)’”
19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day(AX) and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time,(AY) 21 then my covenant(AZ) with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites(BA) who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.(BB) 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless(BC) as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’”
23 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The Lord has rejected the two kingdoms[d](BD) he chose’? So they despise(BE) my people and no longer regard them as a nation.(BF) 25 This is what the Lord says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night(BG) and established the laws(BH) of heaven and earth,(BI) 26 then I will reject(BJ) the descendants of Jacob(BK) and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes[e](BL) and have compassion(BM) on them.’”
Warning to Zedekiah
34 While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples(BN) in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem(BO) and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah(BP) king of Judah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.(BQ) 3 You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and given into his hands.(BR) You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.
4 “‘Yet hear the Lord’s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword;(BS) 5 you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire(BT) in honor of your predecessors, the kings who ruled before you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, “Alas,(BU) master!” I myself make this promise, declares the Lord.’”
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out—Lachish(BV) and Azekah.(BW) These were the only fortified cities left in Judah.
Freedom for Slaves
8 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people(BX) in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom(BY) for the slaves. 9 Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.(BZ) 10 So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. 11 But afterward they changed their minds(CA) and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors(CB) when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.(CC) I said, 14 ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’[f](CD) Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention(CE) to me. 15 Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people.(CF) You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name.(CG) 16 But now you have turned around(CH) and profaned(CI) my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you,(CJ) declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague(CK) and famine.(CL) I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.(CM) 18 Those who have violated my covenant(CN) and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces.(CO) 19 The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials,(CP) the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, 20 I will deliver(CQ) into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them.(CR) Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.(CS)
21 “I will deliver Zedekiah(CT) king of Judah and his officials(CU) into the hands of their enemies(CV) who want to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon,(CW) which has withdrawn(CX) from you. 22 I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take(CY) it and burn(CZ) it down. And I will lay waste(DA) the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”
The Rekabites
35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim(DB) son of Josiah king of Judah: 2 “Go to the Rekabite(DC) family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms(DD) of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”
3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. 4 I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God.(DE) It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum(DF) the doorkeeper.(DG) 5 Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”
6 But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab[g](DH) son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.(DI) 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents.(DJ) Then you will live a long time in the land(DK) where you are nomads.’ 8 We have obeyed everything our forefather(DL) Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9 or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.(DM) 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded(DN) this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem(DO) to escape the Babylonian[h] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell(DP) the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson(DQ) and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. 14 ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command.(DR) But I have spoken to you again and again,(DS) yet you have not obeyed(DT) me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets(DU) to you. They said, “Each of you must turn(DV) from your wicked ways and reform(DW) your actions; do not follow other gods(DX) to serve them. Then you will live in the land(DY) I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened(DZ) to me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather(EA) gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster(EB) I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen;(EC) I called to them, but they did not answer.’”(ED)
18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather(EE) Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail(EF) to have a descendant to serve(EG) me.’”
Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll
36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim(EH) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Take a scroll(EI) and write on it all the words(EJ) I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah(EK) till now. 3 Perhaps(EL) when the people of Judah hear(EM) about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn(EN) from their wicked ways; then I will forgive(EO) their wickedness and their sin.”
4 So Jeremiah called Baruch(EP) son of Neriah,(EQ) and while Jeremiah dictated(ER) all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.(ES) 5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting(ET) and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated.(EU) Read them to all the people of Judah(EV) who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition(EW) before the Lord and will each turn(EX) from their wicked ways, for the anger(EY) and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”
8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. 9 In the ninth month(EZ) of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting(FA) before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah(FB) son of Shaphan(FC) the secretary,(FD) which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate(FE) of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.
11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s(FF) room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan(FG) son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.(FH) 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi(FI) son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll(FJ) from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. 15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”
So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear(FK) and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write(FL) all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”
18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated(FM) all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”
19 Then the officials(FN) said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.(FO) Don’t let anyone know where you are.”
20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi(FP) to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king(FQ) and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,(FR) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll,(FS) the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire.(FT) 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear,(FU) nor did they tear their clothes.(FV) 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah(FW) and Gemariah(FX) urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest(FY) Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden(FZ) them.
27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,(GA) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll(GB) and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it(GC) both man and beast?”(GD) 30 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim(GE) king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out(GF) and exposed(GG) to the heat by day and the frost by night.(GH) 31 I will punish him and his children(GI) and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster(GJ) I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.(GK)’”
32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated,(GL) Baruch wrote(GM) on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned(GN) in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 33:5 Or Chaldeans
- Jeremiah 33:7 Or will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel
- Jeremiah 33:16 Or he
- Jeremiah 33:24 Or families
- Jeremiah 33:26 Or will bring them back from captivity
- Jeremiah 34:14 Deut. 15:12
- Jeremiah 35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant of Jehonadab; here and often in this chapter
- Jeremiah 35:11 Or Chaldean
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