TRV
Translation
King James Version
But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.
KJV (with Strong's)
But the king H4428 commanded H6680 Jerahmeel H3396 the son H1121 of Hammelech H4429, and Seraiah H8304 the son H1121 of Azriel H5837, and Shelemiah H8018 the son H1121 of Abdeel H5655, to take H3947 Baruch H1263 the scribe H5608 and Jeremiah H3414 the prophet H5030: but the LORD H3068 hid H5641 them.
Complete Jewish Bible
Then the king ordered Yerachme'el the king's son, S'rayahu the son of 'Azri'el and Shelemyahu the son of 'Avde'el to arrest Barukh the scribe and Yirmeyahu the prophet; but ADONAI hid them.
Berean Standard Bible
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.
American Standard Version
And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Jehovah hid them.
World English Bible Messianic
The king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but the LORD hid them.
Geneva Bible (1599)
But the King commanded Ierahmeel the sonne of Hammelech, and Seraiah the sonne of Azriel, and Shelemiah the sonne of Abdiel, to take Baruch the scribe, and Ieremiah the Prophet, but the Lord hid them.
Young's Literal Translation
And the king commandeth Jerahmeel son of Hammelek, and Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Jehovah doth hide them.
In the KJVVerse 19,869 of 31,102
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Commentary on Jeremiah 36 verses 20–32
20 ¶ And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.
21 So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king.
22 Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.
23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
24 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.
25 Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.
26 But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.
27 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,
28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.
29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?
30 Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.
31 And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.
32 Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.
We have traced the roll to the people, and to the princes, and here we are to follow it to the king; and we find,
I. That, upon notice given him concerning it, he sent for it, and ordered it to be read to him, Jer 36:20, Jer 36:21. He did not desire that Baruch would come and read it himself, who could read it more intelligently and with more authority and affection than any one else; nor did he order one of his princes to do it (though it would have been no disparagement to the greatest of them), much less would he vouchsafe to read it himself; but Jehudi, one of his pages now in waiting, who was sent to fetch it, is bidden to read it, who perhaps scarcely knew how to make sense of it. But those who thus despise the word of God will soon make it to appear, as this king did, that they hate it too, and have not only low, but ill thoughts of it.
II. That he had not patience to hear it read through as the princes had, but, when he had heard three or four leaves read, in a rage he cut it with his penknife, and threw it piece by piece into the fire, that he might be sure to see it all consumed, Jer 36:22, Jer 36:23. This was a piece of as daring impiety as a man could lightly be guilty of, and a most impudent affront to the God of heaven, whose message this was. 1. Thus he showed his impatience of reproof; being resolved to persist in sin, he would by no means bear to be told of his faults. 2. Thus he showed his indignation at Baruch and Jeremiah; he would have cut them in pieces, and burnt them, if he had had them in his reach, when he was in this passion. 3. Thus he expressed an abstinent resolution never to comply with the designs and intentions of the warnings given him; he will do what he will, whatever God by his prophets says to the contrary. 4. Thus he foolishly hoped to defeat the threatenings denounced against him, as if God knew not how to execute the sentence when the roll was gone in which it was written. 5. Thus he thought he had effectually provided that the things contained in this roll should spread no further, which was the care of the chief priests concerning the gospel, Act 4:17. They had told him how this roll had been read to the people and to the princes. "But," says he, "I will take a course that shall prevent its being read any more." See what an enmity there is against God in the carnal mind, and wonder at the patience of God, that he bears with such indignities done to him.
III. That neither the king himself nor any of his princes were at all affected with the word: They were not afraid (Jer 36:24), no, not those princes that trembled at the word when they heard it the first time, Jer 36:16. So soon, so easily, do good impressions wear off. They showed some concern till they saw how light the king made of it, and then they shook off all that concern. They rent not their garments, as Josiah, this Jehoiakim's own father, did when he had the book of the law read to him, though it was not so particular as the contents of this roll were, nor so immediately adapted to the present posture of affairs.
IV. That there were three of the princes who had so much sense and grace left as to interpose for the preventing of the burning of the roll, but in vain, Jer 36:25. If they had from the first shown themselves, as they ought to have done, affected with the word, perhaps they might have brought the king to a better mind and have persuaded him to bear it patiently; but frequently those that will not do the good they should put it out of their own power to do the good they would.
V. That Jehoiakim, when he had thus in effect burnt God's warrant by which he was arrested, as it were in a way of revenge, now that he thought he had got the better, signed a warrant for the apprehending of Jeremiah and Baruch, God's ministers (Jer 36:26): But the Lord hid them. The princes bade them abscond (Jer 36:19), but it was neither the princes' care for them nor theirs for themselves that secured them; it was under the divine protection that they were safe. Note, God will find out a shelter for his people, though their persecutors be ever so industrious to get them into their power, till their hour be come; nay, and then he will himself be their hiding place.
VI. That Jeremiah had orders and instructions to write in another roll the same words that were written in the roll which Jehoiakim had burnt, Jer 36:27, Jer 36:28. Note, Though the attempts of hell against the word of God are very daring, yet not one iota or tittle of it shall fall to the ground, nor shall the unbelief of man make the word of God of no effect. Enemies may prevail to burn many a Bible, but they cannot abolish the word of God, can neither extirpate it nor defeat the accomplishment of it. Though the tables of the law were broken, they were renewed again; and so out of the ashes of the roll that was burnt arose another Phoenix. The word of the Lord endures for ever.
VII. That the king of Judah, though a king, was severely reckoned with by the King of kings for this indignity done to the written word. God noticed what it was in the roll that Jehoiakim took so much offense at. Jehoiakim was angry because it was written therein, saying, Surely the king of Babylon shall come and destroy this land, Jer 36:29. And did not the king of Babylon come two years before this, and go far towards the destroying of this land? He did so (Ch2 36:6, Ch2 36:7) in his third year, Dan 1:1. So that God and his prophets had therefore become his enemies because they told him the truth, told him of the desolation that was coming, but at the same time putting him into a fair way to prevent it. But, if this be the thing he takes so much amiss, let him know, 1. That the wrath of God shall come upon him and his family, in the first place, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. He shall be cut off, and in a few weeks his son shall be dethroned, and exchange his royal robes for prison-garments, so that he shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; the glory of that illustrious house shall be eclipsed, and die in him; his dead body shall lie unburied, or, which comes all to one, he shall be buried with the burial of an ass, that is, thrown into the next ditch; it shall lie exposed to all weathers, heat and frost, which will occasion its putrefying and becoming loathsome the sooner. "Not that his body" (says Mr. Gataker) "could be sensible of such usage, or himself, being deceased, of aught that should befal his body; but that the king's body in such a condition should be a hideous spectacle, and a horrid monument of God's heavy wrath and indignation against him, unto all that should behold it." Even his seed and his servants shall fare the worse for their relation to him (Jer 36:31), for they shall be punished, not for his iniquity, but so much the sooner for their own. 2. That all the evil pronounced against Judah and Jerusalem in that roll shall be brought upon them. Though the copy be burnt, the original remains in the divine counsel, which shall again be copied out after another manner in bloody characters. Note, There is no escaping God's judgments by struggling with them. Who ever hardened his heart against God, and prospered?
VIII. That, when the roll was written anew, there were added to the former many like words (Jer 36:32), many more threatenings of wrath and vengeance; for, since they will yet walk contrary to God, he will heat the furnace seven times hotter. Note, As God is in one mind, and none can turn him, so he has still more arrows in his quiver; and those who contend with God's woes do but prepare for themselves heavier of the same kind.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 20–32. Public domain.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 36:26 records King Jehoiakim's furious and defiant response to the prophetic scroll dictated by Jeremiah and written by Baruch. Following his sacrilegious act of burning the scroll, the king commanded his officials to apprehend both the prophet Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch. However, the verse culminates in a powerful declaration of divine intervention: "but the LORD hid them," a testament to God's absolute sovereignty and His unwavering protection over His messengers and His inviolable word in the face of human rebellion and hostility.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse is rich in Contrast, setting the king's furious command and human efforts against the LORD's quiet, yet absolute, intervention. This creates a powerful dramatic effect, highlighting the futility of human power when it opposes divine will. There is also significant Irony at play: the king attempts to destroy the word of God and silence its messengers, but God's protection ensures that the word not only survives but is later re-written with even greater severity, demonstrating the indestructible nature of divine truth and the ultimate impotence of human rebellion. The phrase "the LORD hid them" functions as a clear statement of Divine Intervention, an explicit declaration of God's direct, miraculous action in human affairs, underscoring His active role in protecting His purposes and His people.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 36:26 stands as a powerful testament to the enduring truth that no human authority, however mighty or malicious, can ultimately thwart the purposes of God or silence His spoken word. The king's attempt to seize Jeremiah and Baruch, driven by a desire to suppress an uncomfortable truth, is met with the quiet but absolute sovereignty of Yahweh. This divine protection underscores God's unwavering commitment to His covenant and His faithfulness to those He calls to proclaim His message, even in the face of mortal danger. It reveals that God's plan is not contingent upon human compliance or vulnerable to human opposition, but rather unfolds according to His perfect will, demonstrating that His counsel will stand and His word will accomplish its intended purpose.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 36:26 offers profound encouragement and a stark warning for believers today. For those who faithfully proclaim God's truth, especially in a world often hostile to it, this verse provides a comforting assurance: our ultimate safety and the efficacy of God's word do not depend on human power or favorable circumstances, but on the sovereign hand of God. Just as He supernaturally hid Jeremiah and Baruch from the king's wrath, He is able to protect His servants and ensure His message prevails, even when faced with intense opposition, persecution, or attempts at suppression. This should embolden us to speak truth boldly, knowing that the Lord is our ultimate defender and that His word, unlike human decrees, cannot be burned, silenced, or destroyed. Conversely, for those who might be tempted to resist or suppress God's truth, this passage serves as a solemn reminder of the futility of such efforts; human rebellion against divine revelation ultimately leads to greater judgment, as seen in Jehoiakim's subsequent fate and the eventual fall of Jerusalem. We are called to stand with God's word, not against it.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did King Jehoiakim want to seize Jeremiah and Baruch?
Answer: King Jehoiakim wanted to seize Jeremiah and Baruch because he was enraged by the prophecies contained in the scroll they had written and read. These prophecies foretold severe divine judgment against Judah and Jerusalem, including the king's own downfall and the destruction of the city, due to their widespread unfaithfulness and sin. Jehoiakim's act of defiantly burning the scroll (as detailed in Jeremiah 36:23) demonstrated his utter contempt for God's word, and his subsequent command to seize the prophet and scribe was a desperate attempt to silence the messengers and suppress the uncomfortable, condemning truth they proclaimed.
How did the LORD "hide" Jeremiah and Baruch?
Answer: The Bible does not provide specific details on the precise method God used to "hide" Jeremiah and Baruch. The Hebrew word çâthar (H5641) implies an active, intentional act of concealment, suggesting a direct divine intervention. It could have been through various supernatural means, such as making them invisible to their pursuers, diverting the king's search parties through divine providence, or providing a safe, secret refuge that was divinely protected from discovery. The emphasis of the text is not on the 'how' but on the 'who'—that it was the LORD Himself, Yahweh, who intervened directly and supernaturally to protect His servants, ensuring their safety and the continuation of His vital prophetic message.
What happened to Jeremiah and Baruch after this event?
Answer: After this miraculous concealment, Jeremiah was commanded by the LORD to take another scroll and dictate all the previous words, plus many more, concerning Jehoiakim and Judah (as detailed in Jeremiah 36:27-32). This demonstrated unequivocally that God's word cannot be destroyed or silenced by human defiance; indeed, it returned with even greater force and specificity. Baruch remained Jeremiah's faithful scribe and companion, enduring persecution alongside the prophet and continuing to record God's messages. Both continued their prophetic ministry, ultimately witnessing the fulfillment of many of Jeremiah's prophecies with the Babylonian exile and the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 36:26, with its stark contrast between human rebellion against divine truth and God's sovereign protection of His messengers and His word, finds its ultimate fulfillment and deepest meaning in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Just as Jeremiah was God's prophet, bringing an unwelcome word of judgment and salvation to a rebellious generation, so too was Jesus the ultimate Prophet, the very Word made flesh, who came embodying and speaking the full truth of God (see John 1:18). Like King Jehoiakim, many in Israel, particularly the religious and political leaders, vehemently rejected Jesus's message, seeking to silence Him and put Him to death (as seen in their plotting in John 11:47-53). Yet, just as the LORD supernaturally hid Jeremiah and Baruch until His purposes for them were fulfilled, God protected Jesus until His appointed time for ultimate sacrifice, allowing Him to complete His earthly ministry and proclaim the full counsel of God's kingdom. The ultimate "hiding" and triumph over all human opposition is seen in Christ's resurrection, where death itself could not hold Him (as powerfully proclaimed in Acts 2:24). Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus demonstrated that God's word, embodied in Him, is indestructible and will always accomplish its purpose, bringing judgment to the rebellious and eternal salvation to all who believe, securing the ultimate and final victory over all who oppose the divine will.