Baruch

¹¹ Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy—

¹² and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement and all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

¹³ In their sight I instructed Baruch,

¹⁴ “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these deeds—both the sealed copy and the open copy of the deed of purchase—and put them in a clay jar to preserve them for a long time.

¹⁶ After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD:

¹⁷ “Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!

⁴ So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.

⁵ Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot enter the house of the LORD;

⁶ so you are to go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting, and in the hearing of the people you are to read the words of the LORD from the scroll you have written at my dictation. Read them in the hearing of all the people of Judah who are coming from their cities.

⁸ So Baruch son of Neriah did everything that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him. In the house of the LORD he read the words of the LORD from the scroll.

⁹ Now in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a fast before the LORD was proclaimed to all the people of Jerusalem and all who had come there from the cities of Judah.

¹⁰ From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.

¹³ And Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people.

¹⁴ Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come here.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them.

¹⁵ “Please sit down,” they said, “and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.

¹⁶ When they had heard all these words, they turned to one another in fear and said to Baruch, “Surely we must report all these words to the king.”

¹⁷ “Tell us now,” they asked Baruch, “how did you write all these words? Was it at Jeremiah’s dictation?”

¹⁸ “It was at his dictation,” Baruch replied. “He recited all these words to me and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.”

²⁶ Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.

²⁷ After the king had burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:

²⁸ “Take another scroll and rewrite on it the very words that were on the original scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned.

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and at Jeremiah’s dictation he wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

Rather, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, so that they may put us to death or exile us to Babylon!”

⁵ Instead, Johanan son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the whole remnant of Judah, those who had returned to the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been scattered,

⁶ the men, the women, the children, the king’s daughters, and everyone whom Nebuzaradan captain of the guard had allowed to remain with Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as well as Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch son of Neriah.