Tuesday in Epiphany

11Verse 11. When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, 12Verse 12. he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13Verse 13. And Micaiah reported to them all the words he had heard Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people. 14Verse 14. Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come here.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them. 15Verse 15. “Please sit down,” they said, “and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing. 16Verse 16. When they had heard all these words, they turned to one another in fear and said to Baruch, “Surely we must report all these words to the king.” 17Verse 17. “Tell us now,” they asked Baruch, “how did you write all these words? Was it at Jeremiah’s dictation?” 18Verse 18. “It was at his dictation,” Baruch replied. “He recited all these words to me and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.” 19Verse 19. Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must hide yourselves and tell no one where you are.” 20Verse 20. So the officials went to the king in the courtyard. And having stored the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, they reported everything to the king. 21Verse 21. Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing beside him. 22Verse 22. Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning before him. 23Verse 23. And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns, Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife and throw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire. 24Verse 24. Yet in hearing all these words, the king and his servants did not become frightened or tear their garments. 25Verse 25. Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26Verse 26. 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.

2Verse 2. Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. 3Verse 3. I do not say this to condemn you. I have said before that you so occupy our hearts that we live and die together with you. 4Verse 4. Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride in you; I am filled with encouragement; in all our troubles my joy overflows. 5Verse 5. For when we arrived in Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were pressed from every direction — conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6Verse 6. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the arrival of Titus, 7Verse 7. and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more. 8Verse 8. Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Although I did regret it— for I see that my letter caused you sorrow, but only for a short time— 9Verse 9. yet now I rejoice, not because you were made sorrowful, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you felt the sorrow that God had intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10Verse 10. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 11Verse 11. Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 12Verse 12. So even though I wrote to you, it was not on account of the one who did wrong or the one who was harmed, but rather that your earnestness on our behalf would be made clear to you in the sight of God.