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| 1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, |
This word came – Its prophecies of dire disaster incurred the enmity of the king. R4857:2
Jeremiah – Restrained from liberty and forbidden to address the people publicly in the Temple. Similarly those who have "present truth" are forbidden to speak in the nominal churches. R2400:5
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| 2 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 spoke unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. |
Write therein – As Jeremiah employed Baruch, the scribe, to write the words of the prophecy, God's people today present their message in written form. R2400:6
Against all the nations – A solemn warning in our day, for the prophecy is not only against Israel but against all the nations." R1371:3
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| 3 It may be the house of Judah will hear all the evil that I purpose to do unto them, that they may return every man from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. |
All the evil – The two uses of the word "evil" in this text illustrate the two kinds of evil (sin and calamity). Sin is always an evil but evil is not always a sin. R1226:2
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| 4 And Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Nerijah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book. |
Baruch wrote – Although he well knew that it meant the loss of the king's favor; a lesson to God's people today. R2400:5
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| 5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up, I cannot go into the house of Jehovah; but go thou in, |
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| 6 and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah in the ears of the people in the house of Jehovah upon the fast day; and thou shalt also read them in the ears of all Judah that come from their cities. |
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| 7 It may be they will present their supplication before Jehovah, and that they will return every one from his evil way; for great is the anger and the fury that Jehovah hath pronounced against this people. |
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| 8 And Baruch the son of Nerijah did according to all that the prophet Jeremiah commanded him, reading in the book the words of Jehovah in Jehovah's house. |
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| 9 And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before Jehovah, for all the people in Jerusalem, and for all the people that came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. |
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| 10 And Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of the house of Jehovah, in the ears of all the people. |
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| 11 And Micah the son of Gemariah the son of Shaphan heard out of the book all the words of Jehovah; |
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| 12 and he went down to the king's house, into the scribe's chamber, and behold, all the princes 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 princes. |
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| 13 And Micah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read in the book in the ears of the people. |
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| 14 And all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thy hand the roll in which thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. And Baruch the son of Nerijah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them. |
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| 15 And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. And Baruch read it in their ears. |
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| 16 And it came to pass, when they heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said unto Baruch, We will certainly report to the king all these words. |
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| 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words from his mouth? |
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| 18 And Baruch said unto them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. |
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| 19 And the princes said unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; that none may know where ye are. |
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| 20 And they went in unto the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they told all the words in the ears of the king. |
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| 21 And the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll, and he fetched it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes that stood beside the king. |
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| 22 Now the king was sitting in the winter-house in the ninth month, and with the fire-pan burning before him. |
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| 23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four columns, he cut it with the scribe's knife, and cast it into the fire that was in the pan until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was in the pan. |
Into the fire – He evidenced his disregard for the Word. R3614:3
Until all the roll – The entire manuscript was read and destroyed. R3614:2, R1371:3
Was consumed – All endeavors to destroy God's Word will fail. R2401:1
Papacy endeavored in vain to destroy the Bible. R3614:6
Some today, although they would not burn the Bible itself, would be in full sympathy with the burning of truth literature. R3615:3
Those in power today will be similarly disrespectful of the message and may futilely attempt to destroy it. R2400:6, R4858:4
The first edition of Tyndale's translation of the New Testament was bought up and burned. R3614:6, R4857:6
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| 24 And they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king nor any of his servants that heard all these words. |
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| 25 Moreover, Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll; but he would not hear them. |
Made intercession – Merely advised the king in a worldly-wise way, as some today advise a more liberal course. R2401:1
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| 26 And 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 Jehovah hid them. |
The LORD hid them – Possibly at some time in the future the servants of Present Truth may need to hide from injustice. R2401:1
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| 27 And after that the king had burned the roll, and the words that Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying, |
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| 28 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. |
Again another roll – Suggesting the manner in which the Bible came into existence--piece by piece, under the Lord's supervision. R3614:3
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| 29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith Jehovah: 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 it man and beast? |
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| 30 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning 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. |
He shall have none – Messiah was of Nathan's line, not Solomon's. E132
If Christ were the son of Joseph this prophecy would be false. R468:1*
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| 31 And I will visit their iniquity upon him, and upon his seed, and upon his servants; 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; and they have not hearkened. |
I will punish him – As the king brought upon himself additional trouble as a punishment, all modern methods of fighting against God are sure to bring punishment. R2401:1
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| 32 And Jeremiah took another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Nerijah; and he wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides unto them many like words. |
Many like words – Resulting in the book of Jeremiah as we now have it. R3614:3
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