Jeremiah 36

The Scroll Read and Burned

¹In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

²“Take a scroll of a book, and write in it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day.

³It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I intend to do to them, that they may each return 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 LORD’s words, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book.

⁵Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am restricted. I can’t go into the LORD’s house.

⁶Therefore you go, and read from the scroll which you have written from my mouth, the LORD’s words, in the ears of the people in the LORD’s house on the fast day. Also you shall read them in the ears of all Judah who come out of their cities.

⁷It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will each return from his evil way; for the LORD has pronounced great anger and wrath against this people.”

⁸Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the LORD’s words in the LORD’s house.

⁹Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before the LORD.

¹⁰Then Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the book in the LORD’s house, in the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’s house, in the ears of all the people.

¹¹When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the LORD’s words,

¹²he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s room; and behold, all the princes were sitting there, Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.

¹³Then Micaiah declared to 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, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll in which you have read in the ears of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand, and came to them.

¹⁵They said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

¹⁶Now when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.”

¹⁷They asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words at his mouth?”

¹⁸Then Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.”

¹⁹Then the princes said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah go hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

²⁰They went in to the king into the court, but they had laid up the scroll in the room of Elishama the scribe. Then they told all the words in the hearing of the king.

²¹So the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the room of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king, and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king.

²²Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, and there was a fire in the brazier burning before him.

²³When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier.

²⁴The king and his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, and didn’t tear their garments.

²⁵Moreover Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them.

²⁶The king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but the LORD hid them.

²⁷Then the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah, after the king had burned the scroll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

²⁸“Take again another scroll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.

²⁹Concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘The LORD says: “You have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written therein, saying, “The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cause to cease from there man and animal”?’”

³⁰Therefore the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He will have no one to sit on David’s throne. His dead body will be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.

³¹I will punish him, his offspring, and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they didn’t listen.”’”

³²Then Jeremiah took another scroll, 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 many similar words were added to them.

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God commands Jeremiah to write down all his prophecies on a scroll, hoping Judah will repent when they hear of coming judgment. When Jeremiah's scribe Baruch reads the scroll publicly and to officials, they respond with fear and report to King Jehoiakim. The king defiantly burns the scroll piece by piece, prompting God to command a new scroll with additional judgments against the king for his contemptuous rejection of divine warning.

Context

This chapter occurs during the reign of Jehoiakim and demonstrates the escalating conflict between Jeremiah's prophetic ministry and royal resistance that continues through the book's historical narrative.

Key Themes

Outline

1-8
The Scroll Written and Read God commands Jeremiah to record his prophecies on a scroll, which Baruch writes and reads publicly in the temple.
9-19
Officials Hear and Fear Temple officials hear the scroll's contents and respond with fear, questioning Baruch about its origin.
20-26
The King Burns the Scroll King Jehoiakim defiantly burns the scroll section by section despite officials' protests and seeks to arrest Jeremiah and Baruch.
27-32
A New Scroll with Added Judgment God commands Jeremiah to write a new scroll with additional prophecies of judgment against Jehoiakim for destroying the first scroll.

The Scroll Read and Burned

36:1–36:32

narrative narration urgent

Jeremiah dictates God's words to Baruch who writes them on a scroll to be read publicly. King Jehoiakim burns the scroll in defiance, leading to God's judgment and the rewriting of the prophecies with additional warnings.

person_contrast

Jehoiakim's methodical destruction of the scroll—cutting it with a penknife and burning it piece by piece—creates the Bible's most vivid portrayal of deliberate rejection of divine authority.

Insight Character Study

Jehoiakim's methodical destruction of the scroll—cutting it with a penknife and burning it piece by piece—creates the Bible's most vivid portrayal of deliberate rejection of divine authority.

Cross-References

Connected passages across Scripture

Jeremiah 36:1 5 references

Lexicals 5

Jeremiah 45:1 Lexical

The message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mout…

4 shared words

Jeremiah 25:1 Lexical

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, ki…

4 shared words

Jeremiah 46:2 Lexical

Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebu…

Jeremiah 36

The Scroll Read and Burned

The Scroll Read and Burned

Insights

Cross-References

Jeremiah 36:1 5 references

Jeremiah 36:2 3 references

Jeremiah 36:3 5 references

Jeremiah 36:4 5 references

Jeremiah 36:8 5 references

Jeremiah 36:9 1 reference

Jeremiah 36:10 5 references

Jeremiah 36:11 1 reference

Jeremiah 36:12 5 references

Jeremiah 36:14 5 references

Jeremiah 36:18 2 references

Jeremiah 36:26 5 references

Jeremiah 36:27 1 reference

Jeremiah 36:30 2 references

Jeremiah 36:32 5 references

Interlinear

Historical Context