Jeremiah 36

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

“Take a scroll of a book, and write in it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day.

It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I intend to do to them, that they may each return from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the LORD’s words, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book.

Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am restricted. I can’t go into the LORD’s house.

Therefore you go, and read from the scroll which you have written from my mouth, the LORD’s words, in the ears of the people in the LORD’s house on the fast day. Also you shall read them in the ears of all Judah who come out of their cities.

It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will each return from his evil way; for the LORD has pronounced great anger and wrath against this people.”

Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the LORD’s words in the LORD’s house.

Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before the LORD.

Then Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the book in the LORD’s house, in the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’s house, in the ears of all the people.

When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the LORD’s words,

he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s room; and behold, all the princes were sitting there, Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.

Then Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people.

Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll in which you have read in the ears of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand, and came to them.

They said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

Now when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.”

They asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words at his mouth?”

Then Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.”

Then the princes said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah go hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

They went in to the king into the court, but they had laid up the scroll in the room of Elishama the scribe. Then they told all the words in the hearing of the king.

So the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the room of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king, and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king.

Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, and there was a fire in the brazier burning before him.

When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier.

The king and his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, and didn’t tear their garments.

Moreover Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them.

The king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but the LORD hid them.

Then the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah, after the king had burned the scroll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

“Take again another scroll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.

Concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘The LORD says: “You have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written therein, saying, “The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cause to cease from there man and animal”?’”

Therefore the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He will have no one to sit on David’s throne. His dead body will be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.

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 men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they didn’t listen.”’”

Then Jeremiah took another scroll, 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 many similar words were added to them.

Chapter overviewAI-generated

Overview.
This chapter recounts the divine command to Jeremiah to record God’s words of judgment against Judah and the nations in a scroll, the public reading of that scroll by Baruch, and the defiant reaction of King Jehoiakim, who destroys the written word of the Lord. It highlights the confrontation between God’s revealed truth and human resistance, particularly from those in power, while affirming the permanence of God’s Word despite human attempts to suppress it. The chapter stands at a pivotal point in Jeremiah’s ministry, dramatizing the nation’s rejection of divine warning.

Flow.

The LORD instructs Jeremiah to write a scroll containing His prophetic messages, hoping Judah might repent (vv. 1–3).
Jeremiah, restricted from public worship, commissions Baruch to read the scroll publicly during a national fast (vv. 4–7).
Baruch reads the scroll in the temple; the message reaches royal officials, who fear its contents and report to the king (vv. 8–19).
Jehoiakim burns the scroll after hearing only part of it, defying God’s warning, leading to judgment pronounced upon him and the renewal of the scroll with added words (vv. 20–32).

Connections.
Following chapter 35, where the Rechabites’ obedience contrasts with Judah’s disobedience, chapter 36 heightens the theme of refusal to heed God’s voice. The written word, like the Rechabites’ ancestral command, is tested—but Judah’s leaders, unlike the Rechabites, reject it. This act of defiance sets the trajectory for the increasing judgment detailed in the coming chapters, especially chapter 37, which resumes the narrative of political rejection and Jeremiah’s persecution under a new king, illustrating the ongoing hardness of heart in Judah’s leadership.

What it teaches.
God preserves His Word against all opposition, as seen in the command to rewrite the scroll with added words after its destruction (WCF 1.8). The chapter underscores that Scripture conveys divine authority whether welcomed or not (HC LD 24), and that rulers are subject to God’s judgment when they disdain His testimony (WCF 23.2). The possibility of repentance is real but resisted (WCF 15.4), and the futility of opposing God’s revealed will is evident in Jehoiakim’s fate: though he burns the scroll, he cannot erase the decree, which is both restored and expanded (Lam. 3:37, cited in WCF 5.6). The Lord’s protection of Jeremiah and Baruch also displays His sovereignty in preserving His messengers (HC Q/A 1).

Apply.
When human authority opposes God’s Word, the faithful continue to proclaim it, trusting that no act of suppression can ultimately prevail.

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