They read Jeremiah’s scroll

36 When Jehoiakim had been the king of Judah for almost four years, Yahweh gave this message to me: 2 “Get a scroll, and write on it the messages that I have given to you regarding Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Write all of the messages, starting from the time that I gave you the first message, when Josiah was the king, up until now. 3 When the people of Judah hear again about all the disasters that I plan to cause them to experience, perhaps each one of them will repent. If they do that, I will be able to forgive them for the wrong/evil things that they have done.”

4 So I summoned Baruch, the son of Neraiah. Then, as I dictated to him all the messages that Yahweh had spoken to me, he wrote them on a scroll. 5 Then I said to him, “I am not allowed to leave here and go to the temple. 6 So, you go to the temple on the next day when the people are ◄fasting/abstaining from food►, and read to them the messages from Yahweh that you wrote while I dictated them to you. Read them aloud to all the people who are there, including the people of Judah who come there from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will turn from their evil behavior and request Yahweh to act mercifully toward them. They must do that, because Yahweh is very angry with them and has threatened to punish them severely.”

8 Baruch did what I told him to do. He went to the temple and read to the people all those messages from Yahweh. 9 He did it in December on a day when their leaders had proclaimed that all the people in Jerusalem and the people who had come there from other towns in Judah should fast to please/honor Yahweh. It was when Jehoiakim had been king for almost five years. 10 Baruch read to all the people the messages that he had written on the scroll. He read them while he was in the temple, in the room where Gemariah stayed. He was the son of Shaphan, who had previously been the king’s secretary. That room was close to the upper courtyard of the temple, near the entrance to the temple that is called the New Gate.

11 When Micaiah, who was the son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan, heard those messages from Yahweh, 12 he went down to the secretary’s room in the palace, where all the king’s officials were meeting. Elishama the king’s secretary was there. Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Acbor, Gemariah, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials of the king were also there. 13 When Micaiah told them about the messages that Baruch had been reading to the people, 14 the officials sent Jehudi, who was the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Shelemiah and great-grandson of Cushi, to tell Baruch to come and read the messages to them, also. So Baruch took the scroll and went to them. 15 They said to him, “Please sit down and read it to us.” So Baruch did what they requested.

16 After they had heard all the messages, they were afraid. They looked at each other and then they said, “We must tell these messages to the king!” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “How did you get this scroll? Did Jeremiah dictate to you all the messages on this scroll?”

18 Baruch replied, “Yes, Jeremiah dictated them to me, and I wrote them with ink on this scroll.”

19 Then the officials told Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must both hide. Do not tell anyone where you are!”

20 They put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the king’s secretary. Then they went to the king, who was in the courtyard, and reported to him everything that Baruch had read to them.