Jeremiah 36:29
in Jeremiah 36You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah that this is what the LORD says: You have burned the scroll and said, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon would surely come and destroy this land and deprive it of man and beast?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah thou shalt say, Thus saith Jehovah: 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?
KJV
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?
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This verse in Jeremiah 36
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The king of Babylon ... - These words do not prove that Nebuchadnezzar had not already come, and compelled Jehoiakim to become his vassal. The force lies in the last words, which predict such a coming as would make the land utterly desolate: and this would be the result of the king throwing off the Chaldaean yoke.
This site's exposition
After the king had burned the scroll
on Jeremiah 36:27-31
After the burning, Jeremiah is told to write “the very words that were on the original scroll.” The sentence on Jehoiakim follows: “He will have no one to sit on David’s throne.” Verse 31 extends the judgment to his descendants, his servants, and the people of Jerusalem and Judah.
This site's exposition
Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon would surely come
The king's question names what angered him. Barnes notes that Nebuchadnezzar had already come once, and he places the offense in the last words, a coming that would leave the land empty. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown add that this word reached Jehoiakim in writing, with Jeremiah in hiding.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the L ORD in the L ORD 's house. In the beginning of Ezekiel's prophecy we meet with a roll written in vision, for discovery of the things therein contained to the prophet himself, who was to receive and digest them, Ezek. ii.
He did so ( 2 Chron. xxxvi. 6, 7 ) in his third year, Dan. i. 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.
And thou shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
say to Jehoiakim--not in person, as Jeremiah was "hidden" (Jer 36:26), but by the written word of prophecy. saying, Why--This is what the king had desired to be said to Jeremiah if he should be found; kings often dislike the truth to be told them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
30 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| יְהוֹיָקִ֤ים | yehoyakim | Jehoiakim | H3079 → | 37 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָה֙ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| תֹּאמַ֔ר | tomar | you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כֹּ֖ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אַ֠תָּה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| שָׂרַ֜פְתָּ | sarafta | you burned | H8313 → | 117 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמְּגִלָּ֤ה | hamegilah | the scroll | H4039 → | 21 times |
| הַזֹּאת֙ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מַדּוּעַ֩ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | 72 times |
| כָּתַ֨בְתָּ | katavta | did you write | H3789 → | 224 times |
| עָלֶ֜יהָ | ʾaleiha | on it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לֵאמֹ֗ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בֹּֽא־ | bo'- | certainly <come> | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יָב֤וֹא | yavo' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| בָּבֶל֙ | bavel | Babylon | H894 → | 262 times |
| וְהִשְׁחִית֙ | vehishchit | and he will destroy | H7843 → | 146 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֣רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַזֹּ֔את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| וְהִשְׁבִּ֥ית | vehishbit | and he will cause to cease | H7673 → | 71 times |
| מִמֶּ֖נָּה | mimenah | from it | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| אָדָ֥ם | ʾadam | human being | H120 → | 551 times |
| וּבְהֵמָֽה׃ ס | uvehemah | and animal | H929 → | 190 times |
וְעַל־and to
veal-H5921 →5755 times
יְהוֹיָקִ֤יםJehoiakim
yehoyakimH3079 →37 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָה֙Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
תֹּאמַ֔רyou will say
tomarH559 →5305 times
כֹּ֖הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אַ֠תָּהyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
שָׂרַ֜פְתָּyou burned
saraftaH8313 →117 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמְּגִלָּ֤הthe scroll
hamegilahH4039 →21 times
הַזֹּאת֙<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
מַדּוּעַ֩why?
madua'H4069 →72 times
כָּתַ֨בְתָּdid you write
katavtaH3789 →224 times
עָלֶ֜יהָon it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
לֵאמֹ֗ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
בֹּֽא־certainly <come>
bo'-H935 →2568 times
יָב֤וֹאhe will come
yavo'H935 →2568 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
בָּבֶל֙Babylon
bavelH894 →262 times
וְהִשְׁחִית֙and he will destroy
vehishchitH7843 →146 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֣רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הַזֹּ֔את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
וְהִשְׁבִּ֥יתand he will cause to cease
vehishbitH7673 →71 times
מִמֶּ֖נָּהfrom it
mimenahH4480 →1188 times
אָדָ֥םhuman being
ʾadamH120 →551 times
וּבְהֵמָֽה׃ סand animal
uvehemahH929 →190 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 45:9Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—one clay pot among many. Does the clay ask the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?
it leads to
- Romans 9:20–21
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
- Isaiah 64:8
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
- Isaiah 10:15
Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or…
- Isaiah 29:16
You have turned things upside down, as if the potter were regarded as clay. Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pottery say of…
- Jeremiah 18:6
“O house of Israel, declares the LORD, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of…
- Romans 9:20–21
Through
Deuteronomy 29:19because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.’ This…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 7:24
Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
- Jeremiah 7:24
Through
Isaiah 30:10They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
it leads to
- Romans 16:18
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
- Ezekiel 13:7–10
Haven’t you seen a false vision and spoken a lying divination when you proclaim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ even though I have not spoken?
- Romans 16:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
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About Jeremiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceBabil Governorate (archaeological site)BabylonAncient Mesopotamian city and imperial capital; site of the Israelite exile and a recurring biblical symbol of worldly power.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.