1In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2Take thee a roll of a book, and write upon it all the words which I spoke to thee against Jerusalem, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day when I spoke to thee, from the days of Josiah king of Judah, even to this day.

3Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the evils which I purpose to do to them; that they may turn from their evil way; and so I will be merciful to their iniquities and their sins.

4So Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and he wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken to him, on a roll of a book.

5And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am in prison; I cannot enter into the house of the Lord:

6so thou shalt read in this roll in the ears of the people in the house of the Lord, on the fast day; and in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities, thou shalt read to them.

7Peradventure their supplication will come before the Lord, and they will turn from their evil way: for great is the wrath and the anger of the Lord, which he has pronounced against this people.

8And Baruch did according to all that Jeremiah commanded him—reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.

9And it came to pass in the eighth year of King Jehoiakim, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem, and the house of Judah, proclaimed a fast before the Lord.

10And Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the house of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, in the entrance of the new gate of the house of the Lord, and in the ears of all the people.

11And Micaiah the son of Gemariah the son of Shaphan heard all the words of the Lord, out of the book.

12And he went down to the king’s house, into the house of the scribe: and, behold, there were sitting there all the princes, 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.

13And Micaiah reported to them all the words which he had heard Baruch reading in the ears of the people.

14And all the princes sent to Baruch son of Neriah Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, saying, Take in thy hand the roll in which thou readest in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch took the roll, and went down to them.

15And they said to him, Read it again in our ears. And Baruch read it.

16And it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, that they took counsel each with his neighbor, and said, Let us by all means tell the king all these words.

17And they asked Baruch, saying, Where didst thou write all these words?

18And Baruch said, Jeremiah told me from his own mouth all these words, and I wrote them in a book.

19And they said to Baruch, Go, and hide, thou and Jeremiah; let no man know where ye are.

20And they went in to the king into the court, and gave the roll to one to keep in the house of Elishama; and they told the king all these words.

21And the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of the house of Elishama: and Jehudi read in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood round the king.

22Now the king was sitting in the winter house: and there was a fire on the hearth before him.

23And it came to pass when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut them off with a penknife, and cast them into the fire that was on the hearth, until the whole roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.

24And the king and his servants that heard all these words sought not the Lord, and rent not their garments.

25But Elnathan and Gemariah suggested to the king that he should burn the roll.

26And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, to take Baruch and Jeremiah: but they were hidden.

27Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, after the king had burned the roll, even all the words which Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

28Again take thou another roll, and write all the words that were on the roll, which King Jehoiakim has burned.

29And thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come in, and destroy this land, and man and cattle shall fail from off it?

30Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall not have a man to sit on the throne of David: and his carcass shall be cast forth in the heat by day, and in the frost by night.

31And I will visit him, and his family, and his servants: and I will bring upon him, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the land of Judah, all the evils which I spoke of to them; and they hearkened not.

32And Baruch took another roll, and wrote upon it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim had burned: and there were yet more words added to it like the former.