The big picture
During the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, God tells Jeremiah to record years of warnings on a scroll. Baruch, a scribe working with the prophet, writes the words and reads them in the temple at Jerusalem, the capital. They pass from the public crowd to officials and finally to the king. Jehoiakim answers by cutting and burning the scroll. His destruction of the written copy does not destroy God's message. Another scroll is prepared, with the earlier words and more added.
In this chapter
- The Prophet Dictates and the Scribe Reads Jeremiah 36:1-8
In the king's fourth year, God tells Jeremiah to record all his messages since the reign of Josiah, the earlier king.
- The Reading Moves from Crowd to Officials Jeremiah 36:9-15
A fast is proclaimed in the king's fifth year, drawing people from the towns.
- Fear Leads to Questions and Protective Advice Jeremiah 36:16-19
The officials hear the words and look at one another in fear.
- The King Cuts the Scroll Into the Fire Jeremiah 36:20-26
The officials leave the scroll in safe keeping and tell the king its contents.
- The Refusal Brings a Further Word of Judgement Jeremiah 36:27-31
After the burning, God tells Jeremiah to take a new scroll and write every earlier word again.
- A Second Scroll Carries More Words Jeremiah 36:32
Jeremiah takes another scroll and gives it to Baruch.
Central truth
The king burns the written warning, but God preserves its message and adds judgement against the ruler who refuses to hear.
Scripture beside the summary
Jeremiah · King James Version · 32Jeremiah 36:1-8
The Prophet Dictates and the Scribe Reads
In the king's fourth year, God tells Jeremiah to record all his messages since the reign of Josiah, the earlier king. They concern God's people and the nations. Perhaps hearing the threatened disaster will lead each person to turn from evil and receive forgiveness. Baruch writes as Jeremiah speaks. Since the prophet cannot go to the temple himself, he sends the scribe to read there on a fast day. People from the towns will hear as well as city residents. Baruch carries out the command, giving the written warning a public voice.
In everyday life
A records assistant takes down an investigator's statement word by word, then reads it at a public meeting the investigator cannot attend. The distance between speaker and audience does not have to silence the evidence. Careful writing carries it across. Jeremiah dictates God's warnings with the hope of repentance and forgiveness, not merely a human report.
Notice
Jeremiah 36:3 The purpose includes forgiveness if people turn from evil. Recording the warnings gives the hearers another opportunity to respond, rather than only preserving a list of future disasters.
Jeremiah 36:1-8
King James Version1And 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.
Jeremiah 36:9-15
The Reading Moves from Crowd to Officials
A fast is proclaimed in the king's fifth year, drawing people from the towns. Baruch reads in a temple room belonging to Gemariah, an official, where the crowd can hear. Gemariah's son Michaiah hears the whole message and goes to the palace. He tells the assembled officials what was read. They send Jehudi, their messenger, to bring Baruch and the scroll. The scribe comes, sits at their invitation, and reads again. The same words now reach a smaller group with access to the king, carried there through a hearer's report.
In everyday life
A market inspector hears a public safety notice, then takes its contents to the district office. The officials ask for the original document and invite its reader to present it again. Rumour is replaced by hearing the words themselves. Baruch's scroll contains God's prophetic message, not a notice whose authority comes from a local office.
Notice
Jeremiah 36:14 The officials ask for the scroll as well as its reader. They do not rely only on Michaiah's summary before hearing the warning directly.
Jeremiah 36:9-15
King James Version9And 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.
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.
Jeremiah 36:16-19
Fear Leads to Questions and Protective Advice
The officials hear the words and look at one another in fear. They decide the king must be told. First they ask Baruch how he wrote the scroll. He explains that Jeremiah spoke each part and he wrote it with ink. The officials then advise both men to hide and keep their location secret. They take the message seriously enough to bring it to the ruler, yet recognise that its messengers may be endangered. Their response combines attention to the source with practical concern for the people who delivered it.
In everyday life
A safeguarding panel asks an assistant how a troubling statement was recorded. She explains the dictation and identifies the speaker. Before escalating the report, the members arrange for both witnesses to stay out of reach of threats. Jeremiah and Baruch carry God's word to a king; the panel handles allegations that still require human investigation.
Notice
Jeremiah 36:18 Baruch distinguishes the speaking from the writing: Jeremiah dictated, and he recorded in ink. He explains how the words reached the page. He does not claim them as his own.
Jeremiah 36:16-19
King James Version16Now 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.
Jeremiah 36:20-26
The King Cuts the Scroll Into the Fire
The officials leave the scroll in safe keeping and tell the king its contents. He has it brought and read while sitting by a winter fire. After a few columns, he cuts off the read portion and throws it into the flames, continuing until the scroll is gone. He and his servants show no fear or signs of grief. Three officials plead with him not to burn it, but he refuses. He orders Jeremiah and Baruch arrested. The Lord hides them, so the king cannot seize the men whose words he has burned.
In everyday life
A managing director feeds pages of an unwelcome audit into a shredder while the accountant is still explaining the findings. Colleagues ask him to stop, but he orders the report's authors brought in instead. Destroying the copy becomes an act of refusal. God protects Jeremiah and Baruch and renews his word; the accountant has no such divine guarantee.
Notice
Jeremiah 36:24 The king and servants show no fear. Nor do they tear their clothes as a sign of distress. Their calm destruction contrasts with the officials' alarm when they first heard the scroll.
Jeremiah 36:20-26
King James Version20And 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.
Jeremiah 36:27-31
The Refusal Brings a Further Word of Judgement
After the burning, God tells Jeremiah to take a new scroll and write every earlier word again. He also sends a message to Jehoiakim. The king burned the warning because it announced that Babylon, the invading kingdom, would destroy the land and empty it of people and animals. God now announces the loss of his royal succession and the exposure of his body to heat and frost. He, his descendants, and servants will be punished. The city's people will face the disaster already spoken because they refused to listen.
In everyday life
A complaints investigator reconstructs a destroyed file from its retained record and adds the deliberate destruction to the case. The act meant to end scrutiny becomes another matter requiring an answer. She labels the new file with both issues. God restores his word and pronounces a king's fate, while an investigator can only pursue evidence.
Notice
Jeremiah 36:28 Every former word is to be written again. The king's fire does not revise the message or persuade God to withdraw the warning it contained.
Jeremiah 36:27-31
King James Version27Then 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.
Jeremiah 36:32
A Second Scroll Carries More Words
Jeremiah takes another scroll and gives it to Baruch. The scribe again writes as the prophet dictates. All the words from the burned document are restored, and many similar words are added. The chapter ends with writing continuing rather than with the fire. Jehoiakim has destroyed one physical copy, but the message still exists and has grown. The cooperation between prophet and scribe also continues despite the arrest order. Neither the written warning nor the work of conveying it ends where the king intended it to end.
In everyday life
A composer sits beside a copyist after a vandal burns their manuscript. They set down the piece again from the composer's retained work and include further passages. The damaged paper was not the only place the music existed. Jeremiah's restored scroll is God's renewed message of judgement, not an artist recovering a composition.
Notice
Jeremiah 36:32 The replacement includes additional words as well as the former message. Burning the scroll results in neither silence nor a shorter warning.
Jeremiah 36:32
King James Version32Then 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Jeremiah 36:1 begins with “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,”
Where the chapter turns
Jeremiah 36:16 forms a natural hinge: “Now 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…”
The final note
Jeremiah 36:32 leaves the reader with “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…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words king, words, Baruch, LORD, roll, Jeremiah help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- roll
- A scroll made of material rolled up rather than bound as pages.
- scribe
- A trained writer who records and handles written documents.
- penknife
- A small cutting knife used in work with writing materials.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
