1 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, in the days of Josiah, until today. 3 Perhaps the house of Judah will hear of all the disaster I plan to bring on them, so that each may turn from his evil way and I may forgive their iniquity and sin.”

4 Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll, at Jeremiah’s dictation, all the words the LORD had spoken to him. 5 Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am under restraint and cannot enter the house of the LORD. 6 So you must go and read from the scroll the words of the LORD that you wrote at my dictation. Read them in the house of the LORD on a day of fasting, in the hearing of the people and of all Judah who come from their cities. 7 Perhaps their plea will come before the LORD, and each will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” 8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the scroll the words of the LORD in the house of the LORD.

9 In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all those who had come to Jerusalem from the cities of Judah proclaimed a fast before the LORD. 10 Baruch read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll in the house of the LORD, in the hearing of all the people. He read from the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the entrance of the New Gate of the house of the LORD. 11 Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD read from the scroll. 12 He went down to the king’s house, to the scribe’s chamber. There all the officials were seated: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 Micaiah told them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. 14 All the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and went to them. 15 They said to him, “Please sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all the words, they turned to one another in fear and said to Baruch, “We must certainly tell the king all these words.” 17 They asked Baruch, “Please tell us how you wrote all these words at his dictation.” 18 Baruch said to them, “He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the scroll.”

19 The officials said to Baruch, “Go and hide, you and Jeremiah. Let no one know where you are.” 20 They went to the king in the courtyard, leaving the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and reported all the words in the king’s hearing. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He brought it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe and read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials standing beside him. 22 The king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning in a brazier before him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut them off with the scribe’s knife and threw them into the fire in the brazier, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire in the brazier. 24 Neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words were afraid or tore their clothes. 25 Although Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he did not listen to them. 26 The king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD hid them.

27 After the king burned the scroll and the words Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned. 29 Concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, you shall say, ‘Thus says the LORD: You burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written in it that the king of Babylon will surely come and destroy this land and wipe out its people and animals?”

30 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne. His corpse will be thrown out to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 I will punish him, his offspring, and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring on them, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the men of Judah all the disaster I spoke against them, but they did not listen.’ ”

32 Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe. At Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire, and many similar words were added to them.