Jeremiah 36 is one of the most dramatic narratives in all prophetic literature — the story of a scroll written, read, and destroyed. In Jehoiakim's fourth year, God commands Jeremiah to dictate all his oracles onto a scroll, and Baruch son of Neriah writes them down. Since Jeremiah is banned from the temple, Baruch reads the scroll publicly on a fast day. Officials hear of it and summon Baruch for a private reading; they are alarmed and report to King Jehoiakim. The king has the scroll read before him in his winter quarters, and as each three or four columns are read, he cuts them off with a scribe's knife and throws them into the fire in the brazier until the entire scroll is consumed. He shows no fear, no repentance, and no grief. God responds through Jeremiah with a judgment oracle against Jehoiakim, and Jeremiah dictates the scroll again to Baruch — this time with additional material.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
This chapter is the closest the Hebrew Bible comes to describing the physical process of prophetic literary composition. We see the tools: a megillat sefer (scroll), deyo (ink), a ta'ar hasofer (scribe's knife), an ach (brazier). We see the layers of transmission: God speaks to Jeremiah, Jeremiah dictates to Baruch, Baruch reads to the people, officials relay to the king. The repeated readings create mounting dramatic tension — three audiences, three reactions. The people listen. The officials tremble. The king burns. Jehoiakim's act of cutting and burning the scroll is a deliberate act of royal contempt for prophetic authority, a symbolic annulment of the divine word. But the final verse delivers the theological punchline: the scroll is rewritten with additions. The word of God cannot be destroyed by fire. We preserved the pacing of the Hebrew narrative, which builds slowly through procedural detail before erupting in the king's defiant act of destruction.
Translation Friction
The word megillah ('scroll') appears throughout and must be distinguished from sefer ('book, document, writing'). The compound megillat-sefer in verse 2 is literally 'scroll of a book/document' — we rendered it as 'a scroll' since in this period a scroll was the standard book format. The term delathot ('columns, doors') in verse 23 describes the sections of the scroll — literally 'doors' but technically the columns of text visible when the scroll was unrolled to a given point. We rendered this as 'columns' with a note on the Hebrew image. The verb qara ('he tore, cut') in verse 23 could mean either 'tore' or 'cut,' but the presence of the scribe's knife indicates deliberate cutting, not ripping. Jehoiakim's lack of reaction required careful handling — the Hebrew emphasizes what did NOT happen (no tearing of garments, no fear) as powerfully as what did.
Connections
The contrast between Jehoiakim and his father Josiah is unmistakable. When a scroll was read to Josiah (2 Kings 22:11), he tore his garments in grief and repentance; when a scroll is read to Jehoiakim, he cuts and burns it. The phrase 'they were not afraid and did not tear their garments' (v. 24) deliberately invokes Josiah's opposite response. Baruch son of Neriah reappears in chapters 32, 43, and 45, and is increasingly recognized as the editor or compiler of significant portions of the book of Jeremiah. The promise that Jehoiakim's dead body will be 'thrown out to the heat of day and the frost of night' (v. 30) connects to 22:18-19 where Jeremiah prophesied that Jehoiakim would receive 'the burial of a donkey.' The theological principle that the word of God survives destruction anticipates the broader biblical theme of scripture's indestructibility.
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
KJV 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 the LORD, saying,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The fourth year of Jehoiakim is 605/604 BCE — the same year Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at Carchemish (cf. 46:2) and established Babylonian dominance over the region. The timing is significant: God commands the scroll's composition at the precise moment when the geopolitical crisis Jeremiah had been warning about becomes irreversible. The Hebrew vayyehi ('and it was') is the standard narrative opening, rendered naturally without the archaic 'and it came to pass.'
"Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you — from the days of Josiah — until today.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
מְגִלַּת־סֵפֶרmegillat-sefer
"a scroll"—scroll, rolled document, book-scroll
The compound term literally means 'a roll of writing.' This is the physical medium of prophetic literature — animal skin or papyrus sheets sewn together and rolled around a stick. The act of writing prophecy on a scroll transforms spoken oracles into permanent scripture.
Translator Notes
Megillat-sefer is literally 'a scroll of a book/document' — the standard writing format of the period, made from animal skins or papyrus sewn together. The scope of the writing is comprehensive: every oracle from the beginning of Jeremiah's ministry (c. 627 BCE under Josiah) to the present (605 BCE) — over twenty years of prophetic speech. The threefold 'against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations' covers the full range of Jeremiah's oracles, including the oracles against the nations collected in chapters 46-51.
Perhaps the house of Judah will hear of all the disaster I intend to bring on them, and each person will turn back from his evil way, and I will forgive their iniquity and their sin."
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
אוּלַיulai
"Perhaps"—perhaps, maybe, possibly
A striking word in the mouth of God. It preserves divine openness — God does not predetermine the outcome but holds open the possibility of repentance and forgiveness.
Translator Notes
The word ulai ('perhaps') is extraordinary — God expresses hope rather than certainty, leaving space for human response. The purpose of the scroll is not merely to record but to provoke repentance (yashuvu, from shuv). The distinction between avon ('iniquity' — the guilt/distortion of wrongdoing) and chattat ('sin' — missing the mark, failing to meet the standard) is preserved. God's willingness to forgive is contingent on their turning back — the scroll is an instrument of mercy, not merely judgment.
Jeremiah summoned Baruch son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll, at Jeremiah's dictation, all the words of the LORD that he had spoken to him.
KJV Then 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 unto him, upon a roll of a book.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase mippi Yirmeyahu ('from the mouth of Jeremiah') describes oral dictation — Jeremiah speaks, Baruch writes. This is one of the few biblical passages that explicitly describes the mechanism of prophetic literary composition. Baruch was a trained scribe from a prominent family — his brother Seraiah held a court position (51:59). The word order in Hebrew emphasizes Baruch as the agent of transcription while Jeremiah remains the source of the divine words.
Then Jeremiah instructed Baruch: "I am restricted — I cannot enter the house of the LORD.
KJV And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The word atsur ('restricted, confined, shut up') indicates that Jeremiah was barred from the temple, though the text does not specify why. Possible reasons include: official ban by the temple authorities after his temple sermon (chapter 7/26), ritual impurity, or some form of house arrest. The restriction necessitates Baruch as his proxy — the scroll becomes Jeremiah's voice when the prophet himself cannot be present.
So you must go and read from the scroll — the words of the LORD that you wrote at my dictation — in the hearing of the people in the house of the LORD on a day of fasting. Read them also in the hearing of all the people of Judah who come in from their cities.
KJV Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD'S house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The be'oznei ('in the ears of') construction emphasizes public, audible proclamation — not private reading but public performance of the prophetic word. The 'day of fasting' (yom tsom) would draw large crowds from across Judah to the temple, maximizing the audience. Jeremiah strategically chooses a moment of national assembly to deliver twenty years of accumulated oracles.
Perhaps their plea for mercy will come before the LORD and each of them will turn back from his evil way, because the anger and the fury that the LORD has declared against this people are great."
KJV It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Again ulai ('perhaps') — Jeremiah echoes God's own hopeful uncertainty from verse 3. The word techinnah ('plea for mercy, supplication') is from the root chanan ('to be gracious') — it is a plea that throws itself entirely on the hearer's grace. The pairing of af ('anger') and chemah ('fury, heat') describes the full intensity of divine wrath, making the urgency of repentance clear.
Baruch son of Neriah did everything that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading the words of the LORD from the scroll in the house of the LORD.
KJV And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the LORD in the LORD'S house.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The phrase kekhol asher tsivvahu ('according to everything he commanded him') echoes the obedience language of the Rechabites in the preceding chapter (35:10, 18), creating a literary link: Baruch, like the Rechabites, obeys fully. Jeremiah is here called hannavi ('the prophet'), a title that reinforces his authority as the source of authentic divine speech.
In the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, a fast was proclaimed before the LORD for all the people in Jerusalem and all the people coming in from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem.
KJV And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The ninth month (Kislev, approximately November-December) places this during the cold season, which becomes significant when the winter brazier appears in verse 22. The fast may have been called in response to the Babylonian threat following the battle of Carchemish the previous year. Nearly a year has passed since the command to write the scroll (v. 1, fourth year), suggesting the scroll's composition was not rushed. The passive 'a fast was proclaimed' (qar'u tsom) leaves the initiative ambiguous — it may have been the king's or the religious authorities' decision.
Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the scroll in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the entrance of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, in the hearing of all the people.
KJV Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S house, in the ears of all the people.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Gemariah son of Shaphan belongs to a family that repeatedly supported Jeremiah — his father Shaphan was the scribe who read the discovered scroll to King Josiah (2 Kings 22:8-10), and his brother Ahikam protected Jeremiah from execution (26:24). The location is strategic: the upper court at the New Gate would have been a high-traffic area during a public fast, giving Baruch maximum exposure. The chamber's use suggests Gemariah was sympathetic to Jeremiah's message.
When Micaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll,
KJV When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the LORD,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Micaiah is Gemariah's son — three generations of the Shaphan family now intersect with prophetic scrolls. His grandfather Shaphan read the discovered book of the law to Josiah; now the grandson hears Jeremiah's scroll read. The verb shama ('heard') begins the chain of transmission: Micaiah hears, then reports to the officials, who summon Baruch, who reads to them, and they report to the king.
he went down to the royal palace, to the chamber of the scribe, and there all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.
KJV Then he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The list of officials names specific individuals who can be cross-referenced with other biblical and extra-biblical sources. Elnathan son of Achbor was sent by Jehoiakim to extradite the prophet Uriah from Egypt for execution (26:22) — his presence here creates tension about where his loyalties lie. Gemariah son of Shaphan is the same official in whose chamber Baruch read; his presence among the officials confirms his involvement. The Hebrew hinneh ('there') conveys the narrative immediacy of finding the officials already assembled — the information reaches the right people at the right moment.
Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people.
KJV Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb higgid ('reported, declared') indicates a formal report, not casual gossip. Micaiah functions as a relay in the chain of transmission: God to Jeremiah to Baruch to the people to Micaiah to the officials — five links before the words reach the political leadership.
All the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah son of Shelemiah son of Cushi to Baruch, saying, "Take the scroll from which you read in the hearing of the people and come." So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them.
KJV Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Jehudi's name means 'the Judean' or 'the Jew' — he functions as an intermediary throughout this chapter, later reading the scroll to the king (v. 21). His grandfather's name Cushi ('the Cushite/Ethiopian') may indicate African ancestry, a detail that reflects the ethnic diversity of Judean court life. The officials' request is respectful — they ask Baruch to come with the scroll, not seize it. Their posture toward the prophetic word is initially open, in contrast to the king's response.
They said to him, "Sit down and read it to us." So Baruch read it in their hearing.
KJV And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The invitation shev na ('sit down, please') is courteous — the officials treat Baruch with respect and give him a proper hearing. The particle na adds politeness. This is the second reading of the scroll (after the public reading in v. 10), and the narrative builds through repetition — each successive reading brings the words closer to the king.
When they heard all the words, they turned to one another in alarm and said to Baruch, "We must certainly report all these words to the king."
KJV Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The officials' reaction is fear — pachadu ish el re'ehu ('they were alarmed, each toward his neighbor') — a communal, shared dread at the content of the scroll. Their response is the proper one: alarm at divine judgment, followed by action. The emphatic infinitive absolute hagged naggid ('we must certainly report') shows resolve — they feel obligated to inform the king. Their fear contrasts sharply with Jehoiakim's total lack of fear in verse 24.
They questioned Baruch: "Tell us — how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?"
KJV And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The officials want to verify the chain of transmission — are these Jeremiah's own compositions or direct prophetic dictation? The question eikh katavta ('how did you write?') probes the mechanism of composition, anticipating the modern scholarly question about the relationship between prophetic speech and written text. The phrase mippiv ('from his mouth') is both literal (oral dictation) and metaphorical (prophetic authority).
Baruch answered them, "He dictated all these words to me from his mouth, and I wrote them on the scroll with ink."
KJV Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
דְּיוֹdeyo
"ink"—ink, writing fluid
One of only two occurrences in the Hebrew Bible (the other being implied in Ezekiel 9:2-3). Ancient ink was made from carbon soot mixed with gum arabic — a detail that becomes significant when Jehoiakim burns the scroll, since carbon ink would not be easily washed away but would burn with the parchment.
Translator Notes
Baruch's answer is precise and revealing: mippiv yiqra elai ('from his mouth he would call out to me') describes an ongoing process of oral dictation. The mention of deyo ('ink') is one of the few references to writing materials in the Hebrew Bible (cf. Ezekiel 9:2-3) — a concrete physical detail that grounds the narrative in material reality. The ink was likely a carbon-based mixture of soot and gum. This verse provides the clearest biblical description of how prophetic texts were physically produced.
The officials said to Baruch, "Go and hide — you and Jeremiah. No one must know where you are."
KJV Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The officials' warning reveals their awareness that the scroll's content will provoke the king's wrath. Their counsel to hide (histater, from the root s-t-r, 'to conceal') shows they expect violence. This group of officials occupies a precarious middle position — they take the prophetic word seriously enough to be alarmed, but they serve a king who will not tolerate it. Their protective instinct toward Jeremiah and Baruch echoes Ahikam son of Shaphan's protection of Jeremiah in 26:24.
They went to the king in the court, but first they deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Then they reported all the words to the king.
KJV And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The officials take a precaution — they leave the physical scroll in safekeeping before going to the king, perhaps hoping to control the king's access to it or protect it from immediate destruction. The verb hifqidu ('they deposited, entrusted') implies careful placement for safekeeping. They report the contents orally (vayyaggidu be'oznei hammelekh, 'they reported in the king's ears') rather than bringing the scroll itself — a buffer that proves insufficient, as the king will demand the scroll.
The king sent Jehudi to fetch the scroll. He took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials standing beside the king.
KJV So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes that stood beside the king.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The king demands the physical scroll — the officials' attempt to maintain a buffer fails. Jehudi now performs the third reading, this time directly to the king and his entire court. The verb yiqra'eha ('he read it') is singular — Jehudi reads aloud while the king and officials listen. The phrase ha'omedim me'al hammelekh ('standing beside/above the king') describes the court formation, with officials standing while the king is seated.
The king was sitting in the winter quarters — it was the ninth month — with a fire burning in the brazier before him.
KJV Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
אָחach
"brazier"—brazier, fire-pot, portable hearth
A rare word appearing only here in the Hebrew Bible. The ach was a portable metal or ceramic container for burning charcoal, used for heating rooms in winter. Its presence in the scene is both practical and symbolic — the fire intended for warmth becomes the instrument of the scroll's destruction.
Translator Notes
The beit hachoref ('winter house/quarters') was a section of the palace used in the cold months (cf. Amos 3:15). The ninth month (Kislev) corresponds to November-December, when Jerusalem can be cold enough to require heating. The ach is a portable brazier or fire-pot, not a built-in hearth — a metal or ceramic container holding burning charcoal, placed in the room for warmth. This detail sets the physical scene for the burning: the fire is already lit, available, within arm's reach. The narrative's attention to the brazier is ominous — it tells the reader exactly how the scroll will be destroyed before the destruction happens.
Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a scribe's knife and throw them into the fire in the brazier, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire in the brazier.
KJV And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
Notes & Key Terms
2 terms
Key Terms
דְּלָתוֹתdelathot
"columns"—doors, leaves, columns of a scroll, panels
Literally 'doors' — the term describes the visible columns of text on a scroll when unrolled to a reading position. Each 'door' is a panel of writing, and Jehoiakim cuts them off one section at a time.
A blade used by scribes to cut parchment, trim scroll edges, and scrape away errors. Jehoiakim's use of the scribe's own tool to destroy the scroll is a darkly ironic inversion — the instrument of the word becomes the instrument of its annihilation.
Translator Notes
The delathot ('doors, columns') refers to the columns of text visible on the scroll when partially unrolled — each 'door' is a panel of writing. The ta'ar hasofer ('scribe's knife') was a blade used for cutting and trimming parchment or scraping off errors — Jehoiakim turns a tool of literary production into a tool of literary destruction. The iterative construction (reading three or four columns, then cutting, then throwing) indicates a prolonged, deliberate act — not a single impulsive throw but systematic, column-by-column destruction. The king slices apart the word of God with the same tool a scribe would use to prepare it. The repetition of 'the fire in the brazier' at the end hammers the image home.
They showed no fear and did not tear their garments — neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words.
KJV Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
This verse is constructed entirely as negation — what did NOT happen. The phrase lo fachadu ('they were not afraid') directly contrasts with the officials' alarm in verse 16 (pachadu). The phrase lo qar'u et-bigdeihem ('they did not tear their garments') is a devastating allusion to Josiah's response when a scroll was read to him: 'the king tore his garments' (2 Kings 22:11). Josiah ripped his clothes in grief and repentance; his son Jehoiakim rips the scroll in contempt. Father and son hear the word of God and respond with tearing — but what they tear reveals everything about their character.
Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.
KJV Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb hifgi'u ('they urged, interceded, pleaded') indicates intense personal advocacy — these three officials tried to stop the king. Gemariah is the same official in whose chamber Baruch first read the scroll; his opposition to burning it is consistent with his earlier support. Elnathan's intercession is complex — this is the same man who brought the prophet Uriah back from Egypt for execution (26:22), yet here he tries to save the scroll. The phrase velo shama aleihem ('he would not listen to them') echoes the recurring accusation against Judah: God spoke and they did not listen. Now the king refuses to listen even to his own advisors.
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.
KJV But 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 the LORD hid them.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Ben-hammelekh ('son of the king') may mean a literal prince or could be a court title. Jehoiakim's order to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah confirms the officials' fear in verse 19 — their warning to hide was well-founded. The final clause vayyastirem YHWH ('but the LORD hid them') is abrupt and theologically decisive. No explanation is given for how God concealed them; the narrative simply states divine protection as a fact. The verb s-t-r ('to hide, conceal') echoes the officials' command histater ('hide yourselves') in verse 19 — what the officials advised in human wisdom, God accomplished in divine power.
After the king had burned the scroll and the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah's dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
KJV Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The prophetic reception formula marks a new divine communication in response to the king's act. The phrase 'the scroll and the words' treats the physical scroll and its verbal content as two distinct things — the king burned the object, but the words persist. The narrative's structure enacts its own theology: the king destroys the scroll, and immediately God speaks again.
"Take another scroll and write on it all the previous words that were on the first scroll — the one that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The command shuv qach ('again take') uses the verb shuv ('return, again') — the key verb of Jeremiah's theology now applied to the act of writing itself. The word returns. God's response to the burning is not grief or defeat but repetition — take another scroll, write again. The phrase megillah acheret ('another scroll') emphasizes material replacement, but the content is restored: 'all the previous words.' The king destroyed the medium; God restores the message.
And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, you are to say: This is what the LORD says — You burned this scroll, saying, 'Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and eliminate from it both human and animal?'
KJV And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; 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?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God quotes Jehoiakim's own objection back to him — the king burned the scroll because it prophesied Babylonian invasion. The emphatic infinitive absolute bo yavo ('will certainly come') is the very prediction the king tried to annul by burning. The verb hishbit ('eliminate, cause to cease') is comprehensive — total depopulation, both human and animal. Jehoiakim's act was not merely censorship but an attempt at sympathetic magic: by destroying the written prediction, he hoped to prevent the predicted event. The theology of this chapter refutes that: destroying the word does not prevent the reality.
Therefore, this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body will be thrown out, exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night.
KJV Therefore thus saith the LORD of 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The judgment has two parts. First, dynastic termination: lo yihyeh-lo yoshev al-kisse David ('he will have no one sitting on David's throne'). Jehoiakim's son Jehoiachin did briefly reign (three months, 2 Kings 24:8) before deportation to Babylon, raising questions about fulfillment — the brevity of his reign may be the point, or the prophecy may refer to lasting dynastic rule. Second, the denial of proper burial: his corpse will be 'thrown out' (mushlekhet) to the elements. This connects to 22:18-19 where Jeremiah prophesied Jehoiakim would receive 'the burial of a donkey — dragged and thrown beyond the gates of Jerusalem.' The pairing of chorev ('heat') and qerach ('frost') creates a merism — his body will be exposed to every extreme, with no one to gather it.
I will punish him, his offspring, and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the people of Judah every disaster I have spoken against them — but they would not listen."
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The verb paqadti ('I will punish, visit upon') carries the full weight of divine reckoning — it means to pay attention to, to take account of, to hold accountable. The judgment extends concentrically: from Jehoiakim, to his offspring and servants, to all Jerusalem, to all Judah. The final clause velo shame'u ('but they did not listen') is the chapter's epitaph — the same indictment repeated throughout Jeremiah, now applied specifically to the king who burned the scroll. The irony is total: the king who refused to hear the words will now experience the reality those words described.
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe. Baruch wrote on it, at Jeremiah's dictation, all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire — and many similar words were added to them besides.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The final verse is the theological climax of the chapter. The scroll is reconstituted — every word the king burned is restored. But the last phrase delivers the punchline: ve'od nosaf aleihem devarim rabbim kaheimah ('and many similar words were added to them besides'). The king's attempt to silence the prophetic word resulted in MORE words. The scroll grew. Fire could not diminish it; destruction only multiplied it. This principle — that the word of God survives and exceeds every attempt to destroy it — becomes a foundational theme in biblical theology. The verb nosaf ('were added') is in the passive, suggesting divine rather than merely human initiative in the expansion.