Jeremiah 35:1-19
The Family Line of Rekab
A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It came during the time Jehoiakim was king over Judah. Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah. The message said, “Go to the members of the family line of Rekab. Invite them to come to one of the side rooms in my house. Then give them wine to drink.”
So I went to get Jaazaniah. He was the son of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the son of Habazziniah. I also went to get Jaazaniah’s brothers and all his sons. That included all the members of the family line of Rekab. I brought them into the Lord’s house. I took them into the room of the sons of Hanan. He was the son of Igdaliah. He was also a man of God. His room was next to the room of the officials. Their room was above the room of Maaseiah. He was the son of Shallum. He also was one of those who guarded the temple doors. Then I got bowls full of wine and some cups. I set them down in front of the men from the family line of Rekab. I said to them, “Drink some wine.”
But they replied, “We don’t drink wine. That’s because Jehonadab gave us a command. He was the son of Rekab. He was also one of our own people from long ago. He commanded, ‘You and your children after you must never drink wine. Also you must never build houses. You must never plant crops or vineyards. You must never have any of these things. Instead, you must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are wandering around.’ We have done everything Jehonadab, the son of Rekab, commanded us to do. So we and our wives and our children have never drunk wine. We have never built houses to live in. We’ve never had vineyards, fields or crops. We’ve always lived in tents. We’ve completely obeyed everything Jehonadab commanded our people of long ago. But Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched into this land. Then we said, ‘Come. We must go to Jerusalem. There we can escape the armies of Babylon and Aram.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”
Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It said, “The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Go. Speak to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Tell them, “Won’t you ever learn a lesson? Won’t you ever obey my words?” announces the Lord. “Jehonadab, the son of Rekab, ordered his children not to drink wine. And they have kept his command. To this day they do not drink wine. They obey the command Jehonadab gave their people long ago. But I have spoken to you again and again. In spite of that, you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, ‘Each of you must turn from your evil ways. You must change the way you act. Do not worship other gods. Do not serve them. Then you will live in the land. I gave it to you and your people of long ago.’ But you have not paid any attention. You have not listened to me. The children of Jehonadab, the son of Rekab, have obeyed the command Jehonadab gave them long ago. But the people of Judah have not obeyed me.” ’ ”
So the Lord God who rules over all speaks. The God of Israel says, “Listen! I am going to bring horrible trouble on Judah. I will also bring it on everyone who lives in Jerusalem. I will bring on them every trouble I said I would. I spoke to them. But they did not listen. I called out to them. But they did not answer.”
Then Jeremiah spoke to the members of the family line of Rekab. Jeremiah said, “The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, ‘You have obeyed the command Jehonadab gave your people of long ago. You have followed all his directions. You have done everything he ordered.’ So the Lord who rules over all speaks. The God of Israel says, ‘Jehonadab, the son of Rekab, will always have someone from his family line to serve me.’ ”
Jeremiah 36:1-32
Jehoiakim Burns Up Jeremiah’s Scroll
A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It came in the fourth year that Jehoiakim was king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah. The message said, “Get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you. Write down what I have said about Israel, Judah and all the other nations. Write what I have said to you from the time of King Josiah until now. The people of Judah will hear about all the trouble I plan to bring on them. Maybe then each of them will turn from their evil ways. If they do, I will forgive their sins and the evil things they have done.”
So Jeremiah sent for Baruch, the son of Neriah. Jeremiah told him to write down all the words the Lord had spoken to him. And Baruch wrote them on the scroll. Then Jeremiah said to him, “I’m not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. So you go there. Go on a day when the people are fasting. Read to them from the scroll. Read the words of the Lord you wrote down as I gave them to you. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. They will hear what the Lord will do to them when his burning anger blazes out against them. Then perhaps they will pray to him. And maybe each of them will turn from their evil ways.”
Baruch, the son of Neriah, did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. He went to the Lord’s temple. There he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. It was in the fifth year that Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, was king of Judah. It was the ninth month of that year. A time of fasting at the Lord’s temple had been ordered. All the people in Jerusalem were told to take part in it. So were those who had come in from the towns of Judah. Baruch read to all the people who were at the Lord’s temple. He read Jeremiah’s words from the scroll. He was in the room of Gemariah the secretary. It was located in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple. Gemariah was the son of Shaphan.
Micaiah was the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan. Micaiah heard Baruch reading all the Lord’s words that were written on the scroll. Then he went down to the secretary’s room in the royal palace. All the officials were sitting there. They included the secretary Elishama and Delaiah, the son of Shemaiah. Elnathan, the son of Akbor, was also there. So was Gemariah, the son of Shaphan. Zedekiah, the son of Hananiah, was there too. And so were all the other officials. Micaiah told all of them what he had heard. He told them everything Baruch had read to the people from the scroll. All the officials sent Jehudi to speak to Baruch, the son of Neriah. Jehudi was the son of Nethaniah. Nethaniah was the son of Shelemiah. Shelemiah was the son of Cushi. Jehudi said to Baruch, “Come. Bring the scroll you have read to the people.” So Baruch went to them. He carried the scroll with him. The officials said to him, “Please sit down. Read the scroll to us.”
So Baruch read it to them. They heard all its words. Then they looked at one another in fear. They said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” They said to Baruch, “Tell us. How did you happen to write all these things? Did Jeremiah tell you to do this?”
“Yes,” Baruch replied. “He told me to write down all these words. So I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”
Then the officials spoke to Baruch. They said, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”
The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary. Then they went to the king in the courtyard. They reported everything to him. The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary. Jehudi read it to the king. All the officials were standing beside the king. So they heard it too. It was the ninth month. The king was sitting in his winter apartment. A fire was burning in the fire pot in front of him. Jehudi read three or four sections from the scroll. Then the king cut them off with a secretary’s knife. He threw them into the fire pot. He did that until the entire scroll was burned up in the fire. The king and some of his attendants heard all these words. But they weren’t afraid. They didn’t tear their clothes. Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll. But he wouldn’t listen to them. Instead, the king commanded three men to arrest Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them. The three men were Jerahmeel, Seraiah and Shelemiah. Jerahmeel was a member of the royal court. Seraiah was the son of Azriel. And Shelemiah was the son of Abdeel.
A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It came after the king burned the scroll. On the scroll were the words Baruch had written down. Jeremiah had told him to write them. The message said, “Get another scroll. Write on it all the words that were on the first one. King Jehoiakim burned that one up. Also tell King Jehoiakim, ‘The Lord says, “You burned that scroll. You said to Baruch, ‘Why did you write that the king of Babylon would certainly come? Why did you write that he would destroy this land? And why did you write that he would remove from it people and animals alike?’ ” So now the Lord has something to say about Jehoiakim, the king of Judah. He says, “No one from Jehoiakim’s family line will sit on David’s throne. Jehoiakim’s body will be thrown out. It will lie outside in the heat by day and in the frost at night. I will punish him and his children and his attendants. I will punish them for their sinful ways. I will bring on them all the trouble I said I would. And I will bring it on the people of Jerusalem and Judah. They have not listened to me.” ’ ”
So Jeremiah got another scroll. He gave it to Baruch the secretary. He was the son of Neriah. Jeremiah told Baruch what to write on it. Baruch wrote down all the words that were on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned up in the fire. And many more words were written on it. They were similar to those that had already been written.
Jeremiah 37:1-21
Jeremiah Is Put in Prison
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appointed Zedekiah to be king of Judah. He was the son of Josiah. Zedekiah ruled in place of Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim. Zedekiah and his attendants didn’t pay any attention to what the Lord had said through Jeremiah the prophet. And the people of the land didn’t pay any attention either.
But King Zedekiah sent Jehukal to Jeremiah the prophet. Zedekiah sent Zephaniah the priest along with him. Jehukal was the son of Shelemiah. Zephaniah was the son of Maaseiah. Jehukal and Zephaniah brought the king’s message to Jeremiah. It said, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us.”
At that time Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people. Jeremiah had not yet been put in prison. The armies of Babylon were attacking Jerusalem. They received a report that Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt to help Zedekiah. So armies of Babylon pulled back from Jerusalem.
A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, “The king of Judah has sent you to ask me for advice. Tell him, ‘Pharaoh’s army has marched out to help you. But it will go back to its own land. It will return to Egypt. Then the armies of Babylon will come back here. They will attack this city. They will capture it. Then they will burn it down.’
“The Lord says, ‘Do not fool yourselves. You think, “The Babylonians will leave us alone.” But they will not! Suppose you destroy all the armies of Babylon that are attacking you. Suppose only wounded men are left in their tents. Even then they will come out and burn down this city.’ ”
The armies of Babylon had pulled back from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army. So Jeremiah started to leave the city. He was planning to go to the territory of Benjamin. Jeremiah wanted to get his share of the property among the people there. He got as far as the Benjamin Gate. But the captain of the guard arrested him. He said, “You are going over to the side of the Babylonians!” The captain’s name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah. Shelemiah was the son of Hananiah.
Jeremiah said to Irijah, “That isn’t true! I’m not going to the side of the Babylonians.” But Irijah wouldn’t listen to him. Instead, he arrested Jeremiah. He brought Jeremiah to the officials. They were angry with him. So they had him beaten. Then they took him to the house of Jonathan the secretary. It had been made into a prison. That’s where they put Jeremiah.
Jeremiah was put into a prison cell below ground level. He remained there a long time. Then King Zedekiah sent for him. King Zedekiah had Jeremiah brought to the palace. There the king spoke to him in private. The king asked, “Do you have a message from the Lord for me?”
“Yes,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”
Then Jeremiah continued, “Why have you put me in prison? What crime have I committed against you? What have I done to your attendants or these people? Where are your prophets who prophesied to you? They said, ‘The king of Babylon won’t attack you. He won’t march into this land.’ But now please listen, my king and master. Let me make my appeal to you. Please don’t send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary. If you do, I’ll die there.”
Then King Zedekiah gave the order. His men put Jeremiah in the courtyard of the guard. They gave him a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers. They did it every day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
