Jeremiah 36:1-10·~1 min

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

The word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim ordering him to take a scroll and write all the words spoken against Israel, Judah, and the nations from Josiah's days onward. The stated purpose is merciful: perhaps the house of Judah will hear of the disaster and each person will turn from evil so that the LORD may forgive their iniquity and sin.

I¹n the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ²“Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today. ³Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the calamity I plan to bring upon them, each of them will turn from his wicked way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

Verse 1In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, the word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah.

This verse dates the origin of the scroll command.

Verse 2Jeremiah is told to take a scroll and write all the words spoken against Israel, Judah, and the nations from Josiah's time onward.

This verse turns Jeremiah's spoken ministry into written witness.

Verse 3Perhaps Judah will hear of the coming disaster, turn from evil, and receive forgiveness.

This verse states the merciful aim behind the warning.

Jeremiah calls Baruch and dictates all the LORD's words to him for writing on the scroll. Since Jeremiah is barred from entering the house of the LORD, he instructs Baruch to go on a day of fasting, read the scroll in the temple before the people, and hope that their supplication will rise before the LORD and turn them from the evil He has announced.

⁴So 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. ⁵Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I am restricted; I cannot enter the house of the LORD; ⁶so 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. ⁷Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD, and each one will turn from his wicked way; for great are the anger and fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” ⁸So 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.

Verse 4Jeremiah summons Baruch, who writes on the scroll all the LORD's words as Jeremiah dictates them.

This verse establishes Baruch as the faithful scribe of the prophetic message.

Verse 5Jeremiah tells Baruch that he is prevented from going to the house of the LORD himself.

This verse explains why the scroll must be publicly read by another.

Verse 6Baruch is instructed to read the scroll in the house of the LORD on a fast day before both Jerusalem and those coming from Judah's towns.

This verse directs the written word to the widest possible covenant audience.

Verse 7Jeremiah hopes their plea will come before the LORD and that each will turn from his evil way, because the LORD's anger is great.

This verse restates repentance as the desired response.

Verse 8Baruch does all Jeremiah commands and reads the scroll in the house of the LORD.

This verse models obedient transmission of the prophetic word.

In Jehoiakim's fifth year a fast is proclaimed before the LORD, and Baruch reads Jeremiah's words from the scroll in the house of the LORD from the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan. The reading takes place in the hearing of all the people who have come from Judah's cities into Jerusalem.

⁹Now 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. ¹⁰From 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.

Verse 9In the fifth year of Jehoiakim, in the ninth month, a fast is proclaimed before the LORD for all Jerusalem and the people coming from Judah's cities.

This verse provides the public moment in which the reading occurs.

Verse 10Baruch reads Jeremiah's words from the scroll in the temple from the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan in the hearing of all the people.

This verse places the written prophecy before the nation in a formal setting.

Passage shape

A quiet block diagram: each row is one authored paragraph movement, with verse numbers kept visible for scanning and deeper work.

vv. 1-3
The word of the LORD comes to Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim ordering him to take a scroll and write all the words spoken against Israel, Judah, and the nations from Josiah's days onward. The stated purpose is merciful: perhaps the house of Judah will hear of the disaster and each person will turn from evil so that the LORD may forgive their iniquity and sin.
This paragraph introduces the scroll as a written embodiment of prophetic warning aimed at repentance.
1 2 3
vv. 4-8
Jeremiah calls Baruch and dictates all the LORD's words to him for writing on the scroll. Since Jeremiah is barred from entering the house of the LORD, he instructs Baruch to go on a day of fasting, read the scroll in the temple before the people, and hope that their supplication will rise before the LORD and turn them from the evil He has announced.
This paragraph transfers Jeremiah's prophetic task to Baruch without changing the urgency or content of the message.
4 5 6 7 8
vv. 9-10
In Jehoiakim's fifth year a fast is proclaimed before the LORD, and Baruch reads Jeremiah's words from the scroll in the house of the LORD from the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan. The reading takes place in the hearing of all the people who have come from Judah's cities into Jerusalem.
This paragraph shows the written word reaching the gathered nation in the temple itself.
9 10

Section summaryIn Jehoiakim's fourth year the LORD tells Jeremiah to write all the words spoken against Israel, Judah, and the nations onto a scroll so that Judah might hear, turn, and be forgiven. Because Jeremiah is restricted from entering the temple, Baruch writes at Jeremiah's dictation and later reads the scroll publicly in the temple on a fasting day before all the gathered people.

Role in the chapterThis opening section establishes the scroll as a durable extension of Jeremiah's prophetic ministry and sets its purpose as a last appeal to repentance.