Jeremiah 36:18

Modern

“It was at his dictation,” Baruch replied. “He recited all these words to me and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

Traditional

Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.

Literal

And Baruch gave the answer to them: “From his mouth he called out to me all these words, and I was writing upon the book in ink.

Latin

Dixit autem eis Baruch: Ex ore suo loquebatur quasi legens ad me omnes sermones istos, et ego scribebam in volumine atramento.

Hebrew

English

“It was at his dictation,” Baruch replied. “He recited all these words to me and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

The officials wanted to learn where the scroll came from and what its messages meant.

This description of Jehoiakim’s cynical response to God's call for repentance and obedience (Jeremiah 36:3, 7) highlights the hopelessness of the situation.
Nowhere else does the Old Testament offer such detailed information about preserving spoken messages in written form.

These two chapters reflect on events from twenty years ago when Jehoiakim was king.

Theme notes and profiles

Jeremiah 36:4
So 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.
Jeremiah 36:2
“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.
Proverbs 26:4–5
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.
Jeremiah 43:2–3
Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to reside there.’

Baruch: Jeremiah's scribe who recorded and delivered his prophecies