Jeremiah 36 25

Jeremiah 36:25 kjv

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.

Jeremiah 36:25 nkjv

Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah implored the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them.

Jeremiah 36:25 niv

Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

Jeremiah 36:25 esv

Even when Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.

Jeremiah 36:25 nlt

Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn't listen.

Jeremiah 36 verses

Jeremiah 36 25 meaning

Jeremiah 36:25 details a specific moment during King Jehoiakim's destructive act against the prophetic scroll. It records that despite the king's resolve, several high-ranking officials—Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah—courageously appealed to him to stop burning the scroll. However, their earnest intercession was ultimately futile, as King Jehoiakim completely disregarded their pleas and persisted in his defiance against the word of the Lord. The verse underscores the king's obdurate heart and the profound rejection of divine counsel through his human agents.

Jeremiah 36 25 Context

Jeremiah 36 describes a crucial turning point in Judah's spiritual history before the Babylonian exile. God commanded Jeremiah to record all the prophecies delivered to Israel and Judah from Josiah's reign, with the specific purpose of calling the people to repentance and avert the coming judgment. Jeremiah dictated these messages to his scribe Baruch, who then read them publicly in the Temple and later to an assembly of royal officials (princes). These officials, having heard the severity of the prophecies, feared and urged Baruch and Jeremiah to hide while they reported the words to King Jehoiakim.

This specific verse, Jeremiah 36:25, follows immediately after the detailed account of Jehoiakim receiving the scroll, listening to three or four columns, then defiantly cutting the scroll with a scribe's knife and throwing it into a burning brazier until the entire scroll was consumed. Verse 25 highlights that Jehoiakim did not act entirely unchecked; specific individuals within his court, recognized as powerful and influential princes—Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah—implored him to stop. Their intervention demonstrates a moral and political opposition to the king's blasphemous act. The fact that the king did not listen to these significant figures underscores his utter disregard not just for the divine message but also for the counsel of some of his wisest advisors, reinforcing his determined course of rebellion against God. Historically, Jehoiakim's reign was characterized by apostasy, injustice, and direct defiance of Jeremiah's prophetic warnings, culminating in this symbolic act of destroying God's word.

Jeremiah 36 25 Word analysis

• Nevertheless (וְגַם - wəḡam): A conjunction translating to "and also" or "but also." Here it acts as an emphatic adversative, highlighting a contrast or surprising detail against the general flow. Despite the king's determined actions, a counter-force of reason was present.

• Elnathan (אֶלְנָתָן - ʾelnātān): Meaning "God has given." This individual was significant, later identified as the maternal grandfather of Jehoiachin (2 Kgs 24:8) and previously involved in a different incident (Jer 26:22-23) where he pursued the prophet Uriah. His presence here arguing against destroying the scroll shows a complex, possibly conflicted, political landscape or a moment where the danger was too clear to ignore.

• and Delaiah (וּדְלָיָהוּ - ûḏəlāyāhū): Meaning "Yahweh has delivered." Another prince, son of Shemaiah. His name invokes the covenant God, placing him among those who implicitly recognized God's authority.

• and Gemariah (וּגְמַרְיָהוּ - ûḡəmāryāhū): Meaning "Yahweh has accomplished" or "Yahweh has finished." Son of Shaphan, who was crucial in Josiah's rediscovery of the Law (2 Kgs 22). This family connection might suggest a heritage of respect for God's written word, making his intercession particularly significant.

• had urged (הִתְחַמְּקוּ - hiṯḥaməqū): From the root חמק (ḥāmaḵ), typically meaning "to turn aside," "to turn away." In the Hithpael stem, as used here, it often signifies earnest entreaty or intercession, a turning of oneself towards someone with an urgent plea. It conveys strong, perhaps repeated, persuasion and not just a casual suggestion, indicating the gravity they perceived.

• the king (אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ - ʾeṯ-hammeleḵ): The direct object marker with "the king" specifies Jehoiakim as the direct target of their plea.

• not to burn (לְבִלְתִּי שְׂרֹף - ləḇilṭī śərōp̄): "Not to burn." The infinitive "to burn" is here preceded by the negative particle lōʾ (rendered lĕvilĕtī in the construct), creating a strong prohibitive command or plea against the act. Burning, in this context, is not merely destruction but a defiant act of rejection and desecration against a divinely inspired message.

• the scroll (אֶת־הַמְּגִלָּה - ʾeṯ-hamməḡillâ): "The scroll," specifically referring to Baruch's copy of Jeremiah's prophecies. This scroll was not mere parchment; it was the tangible embodiment of God's living word to His people.

• but he would not listen to them (וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֲלֵיהֶם - wĕlōʾ šāmaʿ ʾălêhem): This concluding phrase is crucial. "Listen" (שָׁמַע - šāmaʿ) in Hebrew often means "to hear and obey," implying more than just perceiving sound. Jehoiakim's refusal to šāmaʿ signifies a hardened heart and deliberate disobedience, not only to his advisors but, more profoundly, to the underlying divine authority they implicitly represented in protecting the scroll. It underlines his persistent and unyielding rebellion.

• Words-group analysis:

  • "Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had urged the king": This highlights the internal opposition and moral courage displayed by a faction within the royal court. These were powerful individuals who dared to contradict the king, signifying a deeper conviction regarding the implications of his actions. Their names, implicitly linked to God, suggest a remnant who held some reverence for Yahweh even in a deeply apostate court.
  • "not to burn the scroll": This specific plea directly addressed the sacrilegious nature of the king's actions. It signifies a recognition by these officials of the unique and sacred status of the scroll as a divine communication, even if they did not fully endorse Jeremiah's entire message. Their plea was to avert what they likely saw as a grave national offense with serious consequences.
  • "but he would not listen to them": This firm rejection of counsel underscores the depth of Jehoiakim's obduracy. It paints him as a defiant monarch, bent on his own will, impervious to reason, fear, or divine warning, effectively sealing his own fate and that of his kingdom by refusing the path to repentance.

Jeremiah 36 25 Bonus section

The courageous intercession of Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah suggests a nuanced picture of Jehoiakim's court; not everyone was in lockstep with the king's overt defiance. These men risked royal displeasure and potential repercussions by directly opposing the king's will, which highlights the gravity of the moment and their convictions. The fact that their advice was overridden showcases the destructive power of a single individual's will against collective wisdom and divine revelation. This incident stands as a powerful demonstration that even explicit and multiple warnings, coupled with courageous human intervention, can be stubbornly ignored when a leader has firmly set his heart against God. Jehoiakim's action served as a symbolic public renunciation of the covenant with Yahweh, marking him as a definitive agent of Judah's spiritual demise. His personal defiance provided the theological justification for the severe judgments, including his ignominious death (Jer 22:18-19; 36:30) and the final fall of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 36 25 Commentary

Jeremiah 36:25 acts as a stark testament to King Jehoiakim's hardened heart and profound spiritual rebellion. Despite the courageous and earnest intervention of three high-ranking officials—Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah—who perceived the immense danger of destroying God's prophetic word, the king adamantly refused to heed their counsel. This wasn't merely a political disagreement but a definitive act of a king shutting his ears and heart against both human wisdom and divine instruction. The officials, perhaps out of fear for the impending judgment or respect for the prophetic institution, served as a last-ditch voice of reason. Their names, signifying their connections to Yahweh, further emphasize that God always ensures that there are voices of truth, even in the darkest of times and places, though these voices may be ultimately rejected. Jehoiakim's refusal to "listen" (שָׁמַע - shama), which in the Hebrew worldview implies obeying and acting upon what is heard, illustrates a full-fledged commitment to unbelief and defiance. This act of rejection ensured the inevitability of the severe judgments pronounced against him and Judah, reinforcing that when warnings are so deliberately spurned, consequences become inescapable. It underscores the futility of human attempts to nullify divine truth; God's word cannot be extinguished and ultimately prevails, as demonstrated by the subsequent command for Jeremiah to rewrite the scroll (Jer 36:28).