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.
Yehoiakim Hyew Yeremia Nhoma Mmobɔwee
1Yudahene Yosia babarima Yehoiakim afe a ɛto so anan mu, saa asɛm yi fi Awurade nkyɛn baa Yeremia hɔ: 2“Fa nhoma mmobɔwee, na kyerɛw nsɛm a maka akyerɛ wo fa Israel, Yuda ne aman a aka no ho nyinaa, efi bere a mifii ase kasa kyerɛɛ wo wɔ Yosia adedi bere so de besi nnɛ no gu so. 3Ebia, sɛ Yudafo te amanehunu biara a mayɛ mʼadwene sɛ mede bɛba wɔn so no a, wɔn mu biara bɛdan afi nʼamumɔyɛ ho na afei mede wɔn amumɔyɛ ne wɔn bɔne bɛkyɛ wɔn.”
4Enti Yeremia frɛɛ Neria babarima Baruk, na bere a ɔreka nsɛm a Awurade aka akyerɛ no nyinaa no, Baruk kyerɛw guu nhoma mmobɔwee no mu. 5Afei Yeremia ka kyerɛɛ Baruk se, “Meda dua mu; merentumi nkɔ Awurade asɔredan mu. 6Enti kɔ Awurade fi mmuadadi da bi na kenkan nsɛm a efi Awurade nkyɛn a meka ma wokyerɛw guu nhoma mmobɔwee no so no kyerɛ nnipa no. Kenkan kyerɛ Yudafo a wofi wɔn nkurow so aba no. 7Ebia wɔde wɔn nkotosrɛ bɛba Awurade anim na wɔn mu biara adan afi nʼamumɔyɛ akwan no so, efisɛ abufuw ne abufuwhyew nsɛm a Awurade aka atia saa nnipa yi so.” 8Neria babarima Baruk yɛɛ biribiara a odiyifo Yeremia kyerɛɛ no sɛ ɔnyɛ no, ɔkenkan Awurade nsɛm a ɛwɔ nhoma mmobɔwee no mu wɔ Awurade asɔredan no mu. 9Ɔsram a ɛto so akron wɔ Yudahene Yosia babarima Yehoiakim adedi afe a ɛto so anum so no, wɔpaee Awurade anim mmuadadi maa nnipa a wɔwɔ Yerusalem nyinaa ne wɔn a wofi Yuda nkurow so aba no. 10Baruk kenkan Yeremia nsɛm a ɛwɔ nhoma mmobɔwee no mu kyerɛɛ nnipa a wɔwɔ Awurade asɔredan no mu nyinaa; fii Safan babarima Gemaria a ɔyɛ ɔkyerɛwfo no pia a ɛwɔ asɔredan no atifi adiwo na ɛbɛn Ɔpon Foforo no mu.
11Bere a Safan babarima Gemaria babarima Mikaia tee Awurade nsɛm a ɛwɔ nhoma mmobɔwee no mu no, 12ɔkɔɔ ɔkyerɛwfo no dan a ɛwɔ ahemfi hɔ no mu, faako a na adwumayɛfo no nyinaa: ɔkyerɛwfo Elisama, Semaia babarima Delaia, Akbor babarima Elnatan, Safan babarima Gemaria, Hanania babarima Sedekia ne adwumayɛfo a wɔaka no nyinaa tete. 13Mikaia kaa nsɛm a Baruk kenkan fii nhoma mmobɔwee no mu nyinaa kyerɛɛ wɔn no akyi no, 14adwumayɛfo no nyinaa somaa Kusi babarima Selemia babarima Netania babarima Yehudi sɛ ɔnkɔka nkyerɛ Baruk se, “Fa nhoma mmobɔwee a wokenkan fii mu kyerɛɛ nnipa no bra, na bra.” Enti Neria babarima Baruk kɔɔ wɔn hɔ a na okura nhoma mmobɔwee no. 15Wɔka kyerɛɛ no se, “Yɛsrɛ wo tena ase, na kenkan kyerɛ yɛn.”
Enti Baruk kenkan kyerɛɛ wɔn. 16Wɔtee saa nsɛm yi nyinaa no, wɔde ehu hwehwɛɛ wɔn ho wɔn ho anim na wɔka kyerɛɛ Baruk se, “Ɛsɛ sɛ yɛka saa nsɛm yi nyinaa kyerɛ ɔhene.” 17Afei wobisaa Baruk se, “Ka kyerɛ yɛn, ɛyɛɛ dɛn na wokyerɛw eyinom nyinaa? Yeremia na ɔka ma wokyerɛw ana?”
18Baruk buae se, “Yiw, ɔno na ɔkaa saa nsɛm yi nyinaa ma mede adubiri kyerɛw guu nhoma mmobɔwee no mu.”
19Na adwumayɛfo no ka kyerɛɛ Baruk se, “Wo ne Yeremia, munkohintaw. Monnkyerɛ obiara mo akyi kwan.”
20Wɔde nhoma mmobɔwee no kosiee ɔkyerɛwfo Elisama dan mu akyiri no, wɔkɔɔ ɔhene no nkyɛn wɔ nʼabangua no mu kɔkaa biribiara kyerɛɛ no. 21Ɔhene no somaa Yehudi se, ɔnkɔfa nhoma mmobɔwee no mmra. Yehudi kɔfa fii ɔkyerɛwfo Elisama dan mu, bɛkenkan kyerɛɛ ɔhene ne adwumayɛfo a wogyinagyina ne ho no nyinaa. 22Na ɛyɛ ɔsram a ɛto so akron a na ɔhene no te awɔwbere dan mu reto ogya a esi nʼanim. 23Bere biara a Yehudi bɛkenkan nhoma mmobɔwee no afaafa bɛyɛ abiɛsa anaa anan no, ɔhene no de ɔkyerɛwfo afoa, twitwa de gu ogya no mu, kosii sɛ nhoma mmobɔwee no nyinaa hyewee. 24Ɔhene no ne nʼasomfo a wɔtee saa nsɛm yi nyinaa no ammɔ hu, na wɔansunsuane wɔn ntade mu nso. 25Ɛwɔ mu sɛ Elnatan, Delaia ne Gemaria srɛɛ ɔhene no sɛ ɔnhyew nhoma mmobɔwee no, nanso wantie wɔn. 26Mmom ɔhene no hyɛɛ ne babarima Yerahmeel, Asriel babarima Seraia ne Abdeel babarima Selemia se, wɔnkɔkyere ɔkyerɛwfo Baruk ne odiyifo Yeremia mmra. Nanso na Awurade de wɔn asie.
27Ɔhene no hyew nhoma mmobɔwee a na nsɛm a Baruk akyerɛw afi Yeremia anum wɔ mu no akyi no, Awurade asɛm baa Yeremia nkyɛn se, 28“Fa nhoma mmobɔwee foforo, na kyerɛw nsɛm a ɛwɔ kan mmobɔwee a Yudahene Yehoiakim hyew no gu mu. 29Afei ka kyerɛ Yudahene Yehoiakim se, ‘Sɛɛ na Awurade se: Wohyew nhoma mmobɔwee no kae se: “Adɛn nti na wokyerɛw wɔ mu se ɔkwan biara so, Babiloniahene bɛba abɛsɛe asase yi na watɔre so nnipa ne mmoa nyinaa ase?” 30Ɛno nti, sɛɛ na Awurade ka fa Yudahene Yehoiakim ho: Ɔrennya obi ntena Dawid ahengua so. Wɔbɛtow ne funu akyene a, wɔrensie no, na wada owia hyew ne anadwo awɔw mu. 31Mɛtwe ɔno ne ne mma ne nʼasomfo aso wɔ wɔn amumɔyɛ nti; mede amanehunu biara a mahyɛ atia wɔn bɛba wɔn ne wɔn a wɔte Yerusalem ne Yudafo so, efisɛ wɔantie.’ ”
32Na Yeremia faa nhoma mmobɔwee foforo, na ɔka maa ne kyerɛwfo Baruk kyerɛwee. Ɔkaa biribiara a na ɛwɔ nhoma mmobɔwee no a ɔhene Yehoiakim hyew no no so. Na ɔde nsɛm pii kaa ho.
