Aug 27 - Jeremiah 36-38
Jeremiah
1And it happened in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah: it happened that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying2"Take the volume of a book, and you shall write in it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah, and against all the nations, from the day when I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day3Perhaps it may be that the house of Judah, upon hearing all the evils that I have decided to do to them, may return, each one from his wicked way, and then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.4Therefore, 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 to him, in the volume of a book5And Jeremiah instructed Baruch, saying: "I am confined, and so I am unable to enter into the house of the Lord6Therefore, you shall enter and read from the volume, in which you have written from my mouth the words of the Lord, in the hearing of the people in the house of the Lord on the day of the fast. Moreover, you shall also read them in the hearing of all those of Judah who are arriving from their cities7Perhaps it may happen that they pray in the sight of the Lord, and each one may return from his wicked way. For great is the fury and indignation that the Lord has declared against this people.8And Baruch, the son of Neriah, acted in accord with all that Jeremiah, the prophet, had instructed him, reading from the volume the words of the Lord, in the house of the Lord9And it happened that, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, they proclaimed a fast, in the sight of the Lord, to all the people in Jerusalem, and to the entire multitude which had flowed together, from the cities of Judah, into Jerusalem10And Baruch read from the volume the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, at the treasury of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the scribe, in the upper vestibule, at the entrance to the new gate of the house of the Lord, in the hearing of all the people11And when Micaiah, the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book12he descended to the house of the king, to the treasury of the scribe. And behold, all the leaders were sitting 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 leaders13And Micaiah announced to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the volume to the ears of the people14And so, all the leaders sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, "Take in your hand the volume, from which you have read in the hearing of the people, and come." Therefore, Baruch, the son of Neriah, took the volume in his hand, and he went to them15And they said to him, "Sit and read these things in our hearing." And Baruch read in their hearing16Therefore, when they had heard all the words, each one looked at his neighbor in astonishment, and they said to Baruch: "We ought to report all these words to the king.17And they questioned him, saying, "Describe to us how you wrote all these words from his mouth.18Then Baruch said to them: "He was speaking with his mouth, as if reading to me. And I wrote in a volume with ink.19And the leaders said to Baruch: "Go away and hide, you and Jeremiah, and let no one know where you are.20And they entered to the king, in the court. Furthermore, they stored the volume in the treasury of Elishama, the scribe. And they announced all the words in the hearing of the king21And the king sent Jehudi to take the volume. And bringing it from the treasury of Elishama, the scribe, he read it in the hearing of the king and of all the leaders who were standing around the king22Now the king was sitting in the winter house, in the ninth month. And there was a hearth placed before him, filled with burning coals23And when Jehudi had read three or four pages, he cut it with a small knife, and he threw it into the fire which was upon the hearth, until the entire volume was consumed by the fire which was upon the hearth24And the king and all his servants, who had heard all these words, were not afraid, and they did not rend their garments25Yet truly, Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah contradicted the king, so that he might not burn the book. But he did not listen to them26And the king instructed Jerahmeel, the son of Amelech, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, so that they would apprehend Baruch, the scribe, and Jeremiah, the prophet. But the Lord concealed them27And after the king had burned the volume and the words that Baruch had written from the mouth of Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, saying28"Again, take another volume and write in it all the former words, which were in the first volume that Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, has burned29And you shall say to Jehoiakim, the king of Judah: Thus says the Lord: You have burned that volume, saying: ‘Why have you written in it, announcing that the king of Babylon will advance quickly, and will devastate this land, and will cause both man and beast to cease from it?30Because of this, thus says the Lord against Jehoiakim, the king of Judah: There will be, from him, no one who may sit upon the throne of David. And his dead body shall be cast out: to the heat by day, and to the frost by night31And I will visit against him, and against his offspring, and against his servants for their iniquities. And I will lead over them, and over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and over the men of Judah, all the evil that I have declared against them, for they have not listened.32Then Jeremiah took up another volume, and he gave it to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the scribe, who wrote in it, from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, had burned with fire. And moreover, there were many more words added than there had been before
1And then king Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned in place of Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appointed him as king in the land of Judah2And neither he himself, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, obeyed the words of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of Jeremiah, the prophet3And king Zedekiah sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying: "Pray to the Lord our God for us.4Now Jeremiah was walking freely in the midst of the people. For they had not yet sent him into the custody of the prison.5And then the army of Pharaoh went forth from Egypt. And hearing this, the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, withdrew from Jerusalem6And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying7"Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: So shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to question me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which has gone forth in assistance to you, will return to their own land, into Egypt8And the Chaldeans will return and will make war against this city. And they will seize it and burn it with fire9Thus says the Lord: Do not be willing to deceive your own souls, saying: ‘The Chaldeans will certainly withdraw and go away from us.’ For they will not go away10But even if you were to strike down the entire army of the Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and if there were left behind from among them only a few wounded men, they would rise up, each one from his tent, and they would burn this city with fire.11Therefore, when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army12Jeremiah went forth from Jerusalem, to go into the land of Benjamin, and to distribute a possession there, in the sight of the citizens13And when he had arrived at the gate of Benjamin, the keeper of the gate, whose turn it was to be there, was named Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah. And he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are fleeing to the Chaldeans.14And Jeremiah responded: "That is false. I am not fleeing to the Chaldeans." But he did not listen to him. And so Irijah took Jeremiah, and he brought him to the leaders15Therefore, the leaders were angry with Jeremiah, and so they beat him and sent him to the prison that was in the house of Jonathan, the scribe. For he was the chief over the prison16And so Jeremiah went into the house of the prison and into a dungeon. And Jeremiah sat there for many days17Then Zedekiah the king, sending, took him out and questioned him secretly in his house, and he said: "Do you think that there is any word from the Lord?" And Jeremiah said: "There is." And he said: "You will be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon.18And Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah: "How have I sinned against you, or your servants, or your people, such that you would cast me into a house of imprisonment19Where are your prophets, who were prophesying to you, and who were saying: ‘The king of Babylon will not overwhelm you and this land?20Now therefore, listen, I beg you, my lord the king. Let my petition prevail in your sight. And do not send me back into the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.21Then king Zedekiah instructed that Jeremiah be confined to the vestibule of the prison, and that they should give him a twist of bread daily, along with stew, until all the bread in the city had been consumed. And Jeremiah remained at the entrance of the prison
1Then Shephatiah, the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, the son of Pashhur, and Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying2"Thus says the Lord: Whoever will remain in this city will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. But whoever will flee away from the Chaldeans, will live, and his soul will dwell in safety3Thus says the Lord: This city will certainly be delivered into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.4And the leaders said to the king: "We petition you to put this man to death. For he is deliberately weakening the hands of the men of war, who have remained in this city, and the hands of the people, by speaking to them with these words. For this man is certainly not seeking peace for this people, but evil.5And king Zedekiah said: "Behold, he is in your hands. For it is not fitting for the king to deny you anything.6Therefore, they took Jeremiah and cast him into the pit of Malchiah, the son of Amelech, which was at the entrance to the prison. And they lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the pit, in which there was no water, but only mud. And so Jeremiah descended into the mire7Now Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian man, a eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had sent Jeremiah into the pit, and also that the king was sitting at the gate of Benjamin8And so Ebedmelech departed from the king’s house, and he spoke to the king, saying9"My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have perpetrated against Jeremiah the prophet, casting him into the pit so that he would die there from famine. For there is no more bread in the city.10And so the king instructed Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, saying: "Take with you thirty men from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet from the pit, before he dies.11Therefore, Ebedmelech, taking the men with him, entered into the king’s house to a place below the storehouse. And he took from there old garments, no longer in use, and he sent them down by rope to Jeremiah in the pit12And Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, said to Jeremiah: "Place these old garments, and these cut and decaying cloths, under your arms and over the ropes." And Jeremiah did so13And they pulled up Jeremiah with the ropes, and they led him away from the pit. And Jeremiah remained in the vestibule of the prison14And king Zedekiah sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to him at the third gate, which was at the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah: "I will question you about a matter. You shall conceal nothing from me.15Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: "If I announce to you, will you not put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.16Then king Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah, secretly, saying: "As the Lord lives, who made this soul for us, I will not kill you, nor will I deliver you into the hands of those men who are seeking your life.17And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: If, having set out, you go to the rulers of the king of Babylon, your soul will live, and this city will not be burned with fire. And you and your house will be safe18But if you will not go to the rulers of the king of Babylon, this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire. And you will not escape from their hand.19And king Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: "I am anxious, because of the Jews who have crossed over to the Chaldeans, lest perhaps I may be delivered into their hands, and they may abuse me.20But Jeremiah responded: "They will not deliver you. Listen, I ask you, to the voice of the Lord, which I am speaking to you, and it will be well with you, and your soul will live21But if you refuse to depart, this is the word that the Lord has revealed to me22Behold, all the women who remain in the house of the king of Judah will be led away to the rulers of the king of Babylon. And the women will say: ‘Your men of peacefulness have led you astray, and they have prevailed against you. They have immersed your feet in mud and have set them in a slippery place. And they have withdrawn from you.23And all your wives and your sons will be led away to the Chaldeans, and you will not escape from their hands. Instead, you will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon. And he will burn this city with fire.24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah: "Let no one know of these words, and you will not die25But if the leaders hear that I have spoken with you, and if they come to you, and say to you: ‘Tell us what you said to the king. Do not conceal it from us, and we will not put you to death. And tell us what the king said to you,26then you shall say to them: ‘I presented my supplication before the king, so that he would not order me to be led back to the house of Jonathan, to die there.’ 27Then all the leaders came to Jeremiah, and they questioned him. And he spoke to them in accord with all the words that the king had commanded him. And they withdrew from him, for they had learned nothing28Yet truly, Jeremiah remained at the entrance of the prison, until the day when Jerusalem was seized. And it happened that Jerusalem was captured