Chapter Text
Jeremiah's Scroll Written
And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.
3It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
4Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.
5And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD:
6Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD'S house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.
7It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people.
8And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the LORD in the LORD'S house.
9And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.
10Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S house, in the ears of all the people.
The Scroll Read in the Temple
11When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the LORD,
12Then he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even 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.
13Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people.
14Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them.
15And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears.
16Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.
17And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth?
18Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.
19Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.
The King Burns the Scroll
20And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.
21So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king.
22Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.
23And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife , and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
24Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.
25Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.
26But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.
The Scroll Rewritten
27Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,
28Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.
29And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?
30Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.
31And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.
32Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.
Summary
God commands Jeremiah not to take a wife or have children in this place, because both children and parents shall die of grievous deaths without lamentation or burial.
Yet amid these dark pronouncements, God promises a future restoration. The nations shall come from the ends of the earth and confess that their fathers inherited lies and vanity. God will cause them to know His hand and His might, and they shall know that His name is the LORD. He will first repay their iniquity double, then restore them.
Meaning
Jeremiah's enforced celibacy is both a personal sacrifice and a prophetic sign. By having no family, he embodies the termination of normal life that judgment brings. His childlessness pictures a generation with no future in the land.
The promise that nations will renounce their inherited falsehoods reveals God's ultimate purpose: not merely to judge but to bring universal truth. The vision extends far beyond Judah's restoration to encompass a worldwide turning from idolatry to the knowledge of the true God.
Background
Marriage and children were considered essential blessings in Israelite culture, making Jeremiah's celibacy a radical and painful departure from social norms. His obedience in this deeply personal matter demonstrates the totality of his prophetic commitment.
The concept of double repayment for iniquity appears also in Isaiah 40:2, suggesting a full measure of punishment that satisfies justice before mercy is extended.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-4The LORD commands the scroll written
- vv. 5-8Baruch instructed to read it publicly
- vv. 9-10The fast and the temple reading
- vv. 11-19The princes hear and warn Baruch
- vv. 20-26Jehoiakim burns the scroll
- vv. 27-31Judgment pronounced against the king
- vv. 32The word rewritten and enlarged
Key Verses
“Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.”— 36:2
This divine command marks a pivotal moment in the formation of written Scripture, showing how prophetic oracles were committed to permanent textual form by God's express direction.
“And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.”— 36:23
Jehoiakim's brazen destruction of God's word stands as Scripture's starkest image of human contempt for divine revelation, contrasting sharply with Josiah's trembling response in 2 Kings 22.
“Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.”— 36:28
God's word cannot be destroyed by human hands; the rewritten scroll testifies to the indestructibility and self-preserving authority of divine revelation.
“Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.”— 36:32
Not only was the word restored, but expanded — a powerful testimony that opposition to Scripture only multiplies its reach and weight.
People & Places
People
- Jeremiah — The prophet, here restricted from the temple, who dictates God's words to his scribe.
- Jehoiakim — King of Judah, son of Josiah, who defiantly burns the prophetic scroll.
- Baruch son of Neriah — Jeremiah's faithful scribe who records and publicly reads the prophecies.
- Josiah — The previous reforming king of Judah, referenced as Jehoiakim's father and the era when Jeremiah's prophecies began.
- Gemariah son of Shaphan — A scribe in whose temple chamber Baruch reads the scroll publicly.
- Michaiah son of Gemariah — Hears the scroll read and reports its contents to the royal officials.
- Elishama — Royal scribe in whose chamber the scroll is stored before reaching the king.
- Delaiah son of Shemaiah — One of the princes who urged the king not to burn the scroll.
- Elnathan son of Achbor — A prince who interceded with Jehoiakim against destroying the roll.
- Zedekiah son of Hananiah — One of the princes present when Baruch's scroll was read.
- Jehudi son of Nethaniah — The court official who fetches the scroll and reads it aloud to the king.
- Jerahmeel son of Hammelech — Royal officer commanded to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah.
- Seraiah son of Azriel — Sent with Jerahmeel to seize the prophet and scribe.
- Shelemiah son of Abdeel — Third officer dispatched to apprehend Jeremiah and Baruch.
Places
- Jerusalem — The capital of Judah, where the fast is proclaimed and the scroll is read and burned.
- The LORD's house (Temple) — Site of Baruch's public reading in Gemariah's chamber by the new gate.
- The king's house — Royal palace containing the scribe's chamber and the winterhouse where Jehoiakim destroyed the scroll.
- Babylon — The empire prophesied to come and devastate Judah, the warning Jehoiakim sought to silence.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
The chapter both contains and vindicates prophecy. Jeremiah's scroll warned that the king of Babylon would come and destroy the land (v. 29), a prophecy fulfilled within years at Nebuchadnezzar's invasions. Against Jehoiakim personally, the LORD declares he shall have none to sit upon the throne of David and his corpse shall be cast out unburied (vv. 30-31) — fulfilled when his son Jehoiachin reigned only three months before exile (2 Kings 24:8-15) and when Jehoiakim met an ignoble end (2 Kings 24:6; Jer. 22:18-19). The destruction of the scroll could not annul a single word of what God had spoken.
Devotional
Jehoiakim thought a penknife and a hearth fire could silence God. We may not burn scrolls, but we cut God's word down to size in subtler ways — skipping the passages that convict, dismissing what offends our preferences, living as though uncomfortable verses do not exist.
Notice the contrast: Baruch faithfully writes, the princes tremble, the king shrugs. Reverence and resistance both stand before the same words; the difference is the heart that receives them.
God's answer to the burned scroll is a longer scroll. What you cannot silence in Scripture, you must finally answer to. Today, let the word read you before you reach for the penknife.
Literary Style
Historical prose narrative with embedded prophetic oracles. The chapter unfolds in carefully dated, scene-by-scene reportage, employing dramatic contrast between the trembling scribes, the cautious princes, and the contemptuous king. Repetition of 'roll' and 'words' underscores the theme of Scripture's authority.