The Bible Says
Jeremiah 36:20-26 Meaning

Jeremiah 36:20-26 takes place in Jerusalem, the center of Judah’s political and spiritual life in the late seventh century BC. King Jehoiakim, who reigned from 609 BC to 598 BC, is present in his royal court, where decisions of national importance were made. Continuing from the previous passage, Jeremiah 36:20 states, So they went to the king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they reported all the words to the king (v. 20). The officials who had heard the scroll’s contents earlier now bring a report directly to the king, signifying the gravity of Jeremiah’s message recorded by Baruch the scribe.

Elishama's chamber served as a repository for important documents, indicating that the scroll itself was treated with some measure of respect or at least recognized as significant enough to be placed under the scribe's care. The scribe, as a trusted royal functionary, safeguarded the scroll in an official setting. Such chambers often housed records of royal decrees and policies, making this an appropriate, if temporary, place for a prophetic scroll.

The action of delivering the contents of the scroll to the king reveals the increasing tension around the words of prophecy. Although the text does not explicitly describe the officials’ emotions, their act of speaking to the king underscores their awareness of the scroll’s perilous implications for the nation and the monarch.

King Jehoiakim’s direct command to retrieve the scroll in Jeremiah 36:21 demonstrates his curiosity or at least a willingness to hear what Jeremiah’s scroll proclaimed: Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king (v. 21). Jehudi is entrusted with this task, affirming his standing within the royal circle. The king’s decision to have the scroll read aloud before both himself and his officials reflects the practice of publicly receiving and assessing vital information.

The description suggests the formality and significance of a royal assembly. The king and his audience include Judah’s leadership, individuals with authority to shape the kingdom’s direction. By having Jehudi read the scroll, the king grants communal importance to the message, turning these words from Jeremiah’s mouth into a subject of national discussion.

Yet even within this structured environment, the spiritual weight of the prophecy stands in tension with the political sphere. The king’s gathering represents earthly power, while the scroll conveys divine authority through Jeremiah’s words. How these two forces will collide or converge is the key drama that unfolds.

Jeremiah 36:22 gives a description of the context in which the king finds himself in: Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him (v. 22). The winter house refers to a heated chamber within the royal palace, used during colder seasons. Ancient Near Eastern palaces often featured such specialized rooms for warmth and comfort, particularly needed in the cooler months that occurred around November or December on the Hebrew calendar.

This setting offers a vivid contrast: the king enjoys physical warmth and the luxury of royal living, even as the words of the scroll threaten to disrupt his sense of power and security. The ninth month detail situates this moment historically and seasonally, capturing how the climate of Jerusalem in late autumn or early winter necessitates fire for comfort. It was during this month of the year that the final stages leading to the Babylonian crisis were brewing, intensifying Jeremiah's warnings.

The readiness of the fire in the brazier foreshadows the destructive act that soon follows. Even before the king hears all of the scroll’s content, the elements necessary for its burning are already before him––symbolizing the presence of physical and spiritual forces about to clash.

Jeremiah 36:23 confirms the role of the brazier in the narrative: When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier (v. 23) Ancient Hebrew scrolls were written in columns, allowing for division and organized reading. That the king impatiently reacts after merely hearing three or four sections underscores his contempt for the message. He does not wait for the entire reading, indicating a determined rejection of Jeremiah’s warnings.

The scribe’s knife likely was used for trimming the edges of papyrus or parchment. Here it becomes an instrument of destruction, turning an object meant for intellectual and spiritual clarity into a tool for erasing God’s Word. By cutting the scroll piece by piece, the king demonstrates a deliberate and calculated show of defiance.

The final destruction comes as those partial pieces are thrown into the fire. Consuming the scroll in flames is symbolic of King Jehoiakim’s attempt to erase the prophetic word, believing he can dismiss divine truth by physically destroying the document. However, the burning act would only affirm that the king sets himself in opposition to God’s purposes.

In the religious context of ancient Israel and Judah, hearing a divine rebuke from a prophet often caused individuals to fear judgment or to show remorse. The next verse shows the opposite: Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments (v. 24). The expected outward sign of sorrow or repentance would be to tear one’s garments. Their refusal to do so reveals the hardness of their hearts. 

The king’s servants, despite standing in the presence of the cut and burning scroll, appear desensitized to spiritual conviction. This corporate disregard underscores how the entire royal court has embraced a culture of resistance to God’s instructions. Though the scroll’s words carried warnings of impending judgment, they respond with cold indifference.

The lack of fear emphasizes the wide gulf between Jeremiah’s prophetic call for repentance and the leaders’ rejection. This scene captures the spiritual atmosphere of the court under King Jehoiakim’s rule and foreshadows the disaster that will befall Judah for ignoring God’s message.

In a moment that contrasts with the larger group's indifference, three officials entreat the king to stop: Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them (v. 25). Their courage in warning the king demonstrates that not everyone in the royal court shares in the callousness. They understand the significance of Jeremiah’s words and attempt to preserve them.

Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah appear as voices of reason amid a culture of rejection. Their objection shows that some within the court recognized that destroying the scroll was a dangerous affront to God’s message. However, collective moral fortitude cannot sustain itself against the outright will of a determined monarch.

Tragically, King Jehoiakim’s stubbornness overpowers their pleas. His refusal to heed anyone’s counsel showcases a heart bent on silencing divine correction at all costs. Rather than being open to warning, the king’s pride seals his rejection.

Finally, in Jeremiah 36:26, we see how swiftly tyranny follows upon disobedience to God’s word: And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them (v. 26) King Jehoiakim not only destroys the prophecy but also orders the arrest of its messengers. Jerahmeel is identified as the king’s son, placing him in the immediate royal lineage. Seraiah and Shelemiah, belonging to recognized families, further underscore that high-ranking individuals are deployed to capture Jeremiah and Baruch.

Baruch, who served as Jeremiah’s scribe, worked closely alongside the prophet to record and proclaim God’s words. Jeremiah himself, operating in the early 7th century to the early 6th century BC, is already known for his bold statements against Judah’s leadership and the warning of Babylonian invasion. In commanding their capture, Jehoiakim intensifies his rebellion, seeking to root out the channel of divine revelation altogether.

Nevertheless, the verse concludes with a statement of divine intervention––God protects Jeremiah and his faithful scribe. The king, though powerful in worldly terms, cannot override the LORD’s purposes. This hidden protection confirms that no earthly ruler can fully extinguish God’s message or His messengers.