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| 1 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 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 spake 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 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. |
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 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; 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: |
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| 6 therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah in the ears of the people in Jehovah’s house upon the fast-day; and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. |
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| 7 It may be they will present their supplication before Jehovah, and will return every one from his evil way; for great is the anger and the wrath that Jehovah hath pronounced against this people. |
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| 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of Jehovah in Jehovah’s house. |
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| 9 Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah. |
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| 10 Then read Baruch 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 Jehovah’s house, in the ears of all the people. |
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| 11 And when Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of Jehovah, |
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| 12 he went down into the king’s house, into the scribes chamber: and, lo, all the princes were sitting there, to wit, 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 Then Micaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. |
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| 14 Therefore 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 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. |
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| 15 And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. |
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| 16 Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. |
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| 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth? |
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| 18 Then Baruch answered 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 Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye are. |
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| 20 And they went in to the king into the court; but they had 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 So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll; and he took 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 there was a fire in the brazier burning before him. |
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| 23 And it came to pass, when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, that the king cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. |
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 king’s son, 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 Then the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of 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 concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah thou shalt say, 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 thence 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 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. |
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 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. |
Many like words – Resulting in the book of Jeremiah as we now have it. R3614:3
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