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エホヤキム、エレミヤの巻物を焼く
1ヨシヤの子でユダ王国のエホヤキム王の第四年に、主からエレミヤに次のことばがありました。 2「巻物を取り、わたしがイスラエル、ユダ、その他の国々について語ったことをみな書き記しなさい。ヨシヤの時代に語ったことから始め、わたしのことばを残らず書き留めるのだ。 3ユダの民は、わたしがこれからしようとしている恐ろしいことが文字になっているのを見て、悔い改めるかもしれない。そうすれば、わたしは彼らを赦す。」 4そこでエレミヤは、ネリヤの子バルクを呼びました。バルクはエレミヤの口述どおり、全部の預言を筆記しました。 5書き終わったあと、エレミヤはバルクに言いました。「私は囚人の身だから、 6次の断食の日、私の代わりに神殿でこれを読み上げなさい。その日は、人々がユダ全国から上って来る。 7もしかしたら、彼らは悪の道を離れ、手遅れにならないうちに主に赦しを求めるかもしれない。もっとも、ここに書かれている神ののろいは、すでに宣告ずみなのだが。」 8バルクは言われたとおり、神殿で、神のことばをひと言ももらさず人々の前で読みました。
9このことは、ヨシヤの子エホヤキム王の第五年に当たる十二月の断食日に起こりました。その日、ユダ全国から、神殿の儀式に参列するために人々が上って来ました。 10バルクは巻物を読むため、シャファンの子の書記ゲマルヤの事務所へ行きました。この事務所は新しい門の入口に近く、境内の奥の集会所のそばにありました。 11シャファンの子ゲマルヤの子ミカヤは、神のことばを聞くと、 12宮殿の会議室へ報告に行きました。ちょうど、役人たちが待っています。そこは、書記官エリシャマをはじめ、シェマヤの子デラヤ、アクボルの子エルナタン、シャファンの子ゲマルヤ、ハナヌヤの子ゼデキヤのほかに、同じ職務につく人たちがいました。 13ミカヤが事情を伝えると、 14-15役人たちはクシの子シェレムヤの子ネタヌヤの子エフディを使いに出し、バルクに、彼自身の口から神のことばを語るため、出向くようにと言わせました。バルクは同意しました。 16バルクが読み終えると、一同はおびえきって言いました。「ぜひ王のお耳に入れなければ。 17何はともあれ、このことばはどこから手に入れたのだ。エレミヤが口述したのか。」 18バルクは、エレミヤの口述どおり書き写したと説明しました。 19役人たちはバルクに忠告しました。「さあ、二人とも身を隠しなさい。居場所をだれにも知らせてはいけない。」 20それから、巻物を書記官エリシャマの部屋に隠し、王に報告するために出かけました。
21報告を聞いた王は、さっそくエフディに、その巻物を取って来させました。エフディはそれを書記官エリシャマのところから持って来て、王と側近の者たちの前で読みました。 22ちょうど十二月で寒かったため、王は宮殿の暖房設備のある部屋にいて、暖炉の前に座っていました。 23エフディが三、四段読むたびに、王はナイフでその部分を切り裂き、火に投げ入れたので、とうとう巻物は全部灰になってしまいました。 24-25ところが、エルナタンとデラヤとゲマルヤのほかは、だれも抗議もしません。この三人は、巻物を焼かないようにと訴えましたが、王は耳を貸しませんでした。そのほかの家来は、王のひどい仕打ちを見ても、感情を外に出しませんでした。 26王は王子エラフメエルとアズリエルの子セラヤとアブデエルの子シェレムヤに命じて、バルクとエレミヤを逮捕させようとしました。しかし、主は二人を隠したのです。
27王が巻物を焼いたのち、主はエレミヤに命じました。 28「別の巻物を手に入れ、前のように、わたしの言ったことをすべて書き、 29そのうえで王に言うのだ。『主は、こう宣告する。前の巻物には、バビロン王がこの国を荒らし、何もかも壊すと書いてあったので、おまえは怒って焼いた。 30そこで、ユダ王国のエホヤキム王について、次の一項目をつけ加える。彼には、ダビデの王座につく者がいなくなる。彼の死体は捨てられ、太陽の炎熱と夜の霜にさらされる。 31わたしは彼とその家族、家来たちを、それぞれの罪のゆえに罰する。彼らに、またユダとエルサレムの全住民に、予告しておいたすべての災いを下す。わたしの警告を聞こうとしなかったからだ。』」 32エレミヤは、もう一つの巻物を取り、先に言ったことをみなバルクに口述しました。ただし、今度は、前にはなかったこともつけ加えてありました。
Jehoiakim Burns Up Jeremiah’s Scroll
1A 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, 2“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. 3The 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.”
4So 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. 5Then Jeremiah said to him, “I’m not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. 6So 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. 7They 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.”
8Baruch, 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. 9It 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. 10Baruch 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.
11Micaiah was the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan. Micaiah heard Baruch reading all the Lord’s words that were written on the scroll. 12Then 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. 13Micaiah told all of them what he had heard. He told them everything Baruch had read to the people from the scroll. 14All 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. 15The officials said to him, “Please sit down. Read the scroll to us.”
So Baruch read it to them. 16They 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.” 17They said to Baruch, “Tell us. How did you happen to write all these things? Did Jeremiah tell you to do this?”
18“Yes,” Baruch replied. “He told me to write down all these words. So I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”
19Then the officials spoke to Baruch. They said, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”
20The 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. 21The 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. 22It was the ninth month. The king was sitting in his winter apartment. A fire was burning in the fire pot in front of him. 23Jehudi 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. 24The king and some of his attendants heard all these words. But they weren’t afraid. They didn’t tear their clothes. 25Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll. But he wouldn’t listen to them. 26Instead, 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.
27A 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, 28“Get another scroll. Write on it all the words that were on the first one. King Jehoiakim burned that one up. 29Also 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?’ ” 30So 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. 31I 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.” ’ ”
32So 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.
