Chapter 45
A Message to Baruch.[a] 1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, son of Neriah, when he wrote on a scroll words from Jeremiah’s own mouth in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah:(A) 2 Thus says the Lord, God of Israel, to you, Baruch. 3 You said, “Woe is me! the Lord has added grief to my pain.(B) I have worn myself out with groaning; rest eludes me.” 4 You must say this to him. Thus says the Lord: What I have built, I am tearing down; what I have planted, I am uprooting: all this land.(C) 5 And you, do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them! I am bringing evil on all flesh—oracle of the Lord—but I will grant you your life as spoils of war, wherever you may go.(D)
Footnotes
- 45:1–5 At the conclusion of his narrative, Baruch appends a message Jeremiah had given him when he first wrote down Jeremiah’s words (cf. 36:4). The future revealed by the prophet overwhelmed Baruch; now he learns his own safety is assured, even though the Lord will destroy Judah.