Jeremiah 36:5

Jer 36:5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I [am] shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD:

Ver. 5. I am shut up.] Or, I am detained, or restrained; haply by some legal pollution that he had contracted, as by touching a dead carcase, &c.; or by some bodily infirmity, or by the lying in wait of his enemies, or by the Spirit of God, {as Act 16:6-7} for a punishment to the Jews by the prophet’s absence and silence, and for the safety of his servant in those perilous times.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jer 36:5-6. Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up — It is not said, that “he was shut up in prison” at this time: but barely that he was shut up, or confined, as עצורsignifies, that is, under some such confinement, or restraint, as precluded his going to the house of the Lord. Therefore go thou and read in the roll, &c., upon the fasting day — Not the day of the yearly fast, mentioned Lev 23:27, but on a day appointed for a national fast, of which we read more, Jer 36:9, proclaimed by Jehoiakim, probably to avert the calamity hanging over them from the Chaldeans, or from the drought. And it was undoubtedly because of the concourse of people which the prophet knew would then be in the temple that he chose that day, when some would be present from all parts of Judah. It was the opinion, indeed, of Archbishop Usher and Dean Prideaux, that the roll was twice read by Baruch in the temple, and that the first reading was on the tenth day of the seventh month, being the great day of atonement, in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim. “But this,” says Blaney, “I am persuaded is a mistake; and that the reasons urged by the latter of those two learned men, in support of this hypothesis, are by no means conclusive. I see no good reason for concluding that the roll was read publicly in the temple more than once; nor does Josephus, who speaks of its being read in the ninth month of the fifth year, (Antiquities, lib. 10. cap. 6,) give the least hint of its having been read before; if it had been, I think we might naturally expect to be informed how it was received by those who heard it the first time, as well as by those who heard it the second. From the utter silence on this head, the contrary may be presumed, and we may fairly conjecture the case to have been pretty nearly as follows. Toward the latter end of Jehoiakim’s fourth year, after Nebuchadnezzar had replaced him on the throne, and had left the city, it is possible that both king and people, freed from former apprehensions, began again to indulge their wicked inclinations; and therefore Jeremiah was ordered to lay before them at once all the evils that still threatened them, and from which nothing but speedy repentance could protect them. In consequence of this charge, he caused Baruch to write a collection of all his prophecies, and to have them in readiness to read at a fit opportunity. Perhaps the collection was not fully completed before the fifth year was already begun; but the season pitched on, as most convenient for reading this tremendous publication, was the day on which the people should assemble to deplore, before God, the calamity with which he had visited them just twelve months before. Accordingly, at that time Baruch read openly in the temple what he had written, and the immediate consequences of such reading are here related at large.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

36:5 Jeremiah was either a prisoner under house arrest, or he had been banished from the Temple grounds.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Meaning, in prison, through the malice of the Priests.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

I am shut up--not in prison, for there is no account of his imprisonment under Jehoiakim, and Jer 36:19, Jer 36:26 are inconsistent with it: but, "I am prevented," namely, by some hindrance; or, through fear of the king, to whose anger Baruch was less exposed, as not being the author of the prophecy.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

5. I am shut up] The same verb occurs chs. Jer_33:1, Jer_39:15, in the sense of in confinement. Here, however, it cannot have that force (see Jer_36:19), but simply means that he was hindered from addressing the people by ceremonial uncleanness (cp. 1Sa_21:7, where the Hebrew verb “detained” is the same) or some other cause, perhaps danger to his life arising from the extreme unpopularity of his recent utterances.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up,.... In prison, according to Jarchi; but this is not likely, for then there would have been no occasion for an order to take him, Jer 36:26. Grotius thinks he was obliged by the king's order to stay at home; possibly he might be restrained by the Spirit of God, or had not freedom in his own mind to go abroad; there might be a restraint, an impulse upon his spirit, by the Spirit of God. Some think he was under some legal pollution, which made him unfit to go into the temple: for it follows:

I cannot go into the house of the Lord: labouring either under some bodily infirmity, or ceremonial defilement, or was forbidden by the king. What was the true cause is not certain; but so it was, that either he was discharged, or disabled, or disqualified, from going into the house of God.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Shut up - Hindered from going; perhaps through fear of Jehoiakim.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Shut up. Not that the prophet was now in prison; for the contrary appears from ver. 19., but that he kept himself shut up, by reason of the persecutions he had lately met with. See chap. xxvi. (Challoner) --- If he had been confined, as Grotius asserts, the king would easily have found him. (Calmet) --- He and Baruch retired to some secret place, as most priests (Worthington) did formerly in England, (Haydock) that they might better exercise their functions than they could do in the hands of the persecutors. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

5. Shut up — Rather, hindered. There is no proof that Jeremiah was in custody at this time.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I am shut up. Not so; Jeremiah was not detained by material force. Some strong reason he had (perhaps of a ceremonial kind), but as it was irrelevant to the narrative, it is not given. Render, I am detained. (same verb as in 1Sa_21:7)

Vers. 5-21. The reading of the roll.

I THE READER. Baruch, the secretary of Jeremiah, is sent to read the roll. We do not know what cause detains the prophet. He has often made bold utterances in public before this. But if he cannot go the truth must not be hidden. "The Word of God is not bound". (2Ti_2:9) Truth is more important than the speaker. It matters little who is the messenger; all importance attaches to the message. Men forget this when they run after a Jeremiah and neglect a Baruch, though the scribe may be the bearer of the prophet"s teachings. We should recollect how much more important the gospel preached is than the man who preaches it. If a Chrysostom, a Paul, or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel but the true gospel of Christ, "let him be anathema." But if Christ is proclaimed, we must be thankful for that, though the preacher and his conduct may not quite approve themselves to us. (Php_1:18) Perhaps it was best that the prophet should not appear in person to repeat his message. His presence might reuse personal feelings to the neglect of bin message. He desired the truth to carry its own fair weight. Baruch did his work bravely and modestly. In repeating the prophet"s unpopular words, he would invite the odium that attached to them to pass on to himself. But his duty was to read the roll. God would see to the consequences. With this courage there was a remarkable modesty. The occasion was a tempting opportunity for Baruch to exercise his own powers by way of comment of addition. But he said nothing beyond what was written in the roll. He knew his place. The scribe is not a prophet. Why should not the great sermons of great preachers be sometimes read in our churches?

II THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE READING. The roll was read to three audiences.

1. The people (vers. 9, 10). The Bible is a book for the people, not for the priests or the learned only. The occasion of that reading was "a fasting day" (ver. 6). Then the people would be in the best mood for receiving the call to repentance. We should learn to speak "in season." The place of the reading was the temple (ver. 10). Instruction should be associated with worship.

2. The princes (vers. 11-19). Divine truth is of importance to all classes. They who are in responsible positions are especially called upon to study the signs of the times.

3. The king (vers. 20, 21). It was necessary that what concerned the fate of the kingdom should receive the most careful consideration of its monarch. Even kings must bow before the utterance of truth. A prophet can speak with authority to a king.

III THE EFFECT OF READING. The effect on the people is not here indicated. Probably little moral good came of it; but there was evidently some impression made if the feelings of one man, Michaiah, may be taken in illustration. This man was so much stirred by what he heard that he immediately reported it to the princes at the court (vers. 11-13). From this report other consequences flowed. If but one man out of a great congregation is seriously impressed by a sermon, that sermon has not failed; possibly through the one man it may be instrumental in effecting vast and lasting good. When the roll was read to the princes they were first dismayed (ver. 16). How graphic is that picture of the great men of the kingdom as "they turned shuddering one to another," terrified and confounded by the prophet"s words! Perhaps some of them had heard the same words before unmoved. The time may come when the most hardened will be roused. The terror of princes might be a wholesome beginning of a genuine repentance. But if no appropriate action followed, it would soon die away, leaving the conscience the more hardened and demoralized. We need to "bring forth fruits meet for repentance." The princes inquired as to the origin of the roll. Were its words true? On what authority were they written? Such inquiries are reasonable. We should have a reason for accepting what we believe to be a Divine message. Yet it is dangerous to divert attention from the moral weight of truth by too much intellectual criticism about literary curiosities. The princes reported the matter to the king with a warning to Baruch patriotic and generous conduct. The king"s reception of the book was very different. Unlike the princes, who neither accepted the message without question, nor rejected it for its unpleasant contents, but inquired calmly and carefully as to the authority of it, Jehoiakim flew into a rage and hastily destroyed it. What an act of supreme folly! The truth was not the less important because the record of it was burnt. "We can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth". (2Co_13:8)

Vers. 5-8. Vicarious ministry in holy things.

The "vicar," an ecclesiastical officer of mediaeval times, explain the origin and nature of his duties. Show how large this question of vicarious service, and how universal its necessity, in business, society, the state, the Church, etc. This incident illustrates

I ITS ESSENTIAL NATURE. Not merely that one should do, be, or suffer instead of another, but as representative of him. More or less consciously, sympathetically, adequately. That one man and not another should do a given duty, for instance, may be but the chance of fortune; but that he should do it for and in place of that other is for him to be that other"s "vicar." This essential character of the transaction is not altered by the fact of the superiority, equality, or inferiority of the substitute.

II ITS SUGGESTIVE INTEREST. An element of pathos and mystery. Perhaps the end better served in this than in the alternative way. Conceivable that the reading, the authoritative publication, and the supernatural interest, may have been enhanced rather than otherwise by the substitution.

1. The community of true service. How different in importance, etc., the function of the prophet in receiving the message and communicating it from that of the scribe! yet both are on this occasion indispensable. One man"s service the condition of another"s or its complement. All true service associated in relation to final ends and rewards. (Joh_4:37, 38 Heb_11:40)

2. An impression of urgency produced. This was the message it was absolutely important for Judah to hear at that time. God always speaks at the right time, even when that requires extraordinary efforts and unusual means. The latter on this occasion must have eloquently suggested that now was the "accepted time" and "the day of salvation.

3. The earnestness of the prophet and his Inspirer. Jeremiah was the true friend of the nation and the devoted servant of Jehovah, therefore he did not excuse himself from the task because of its difficulties.

4. How inevitable the message? It was not to be evaded or suppressed. From the prison or hiding place the prophet wilt still be heard.

III ITS ETHICS. Service of the kind here described was justifiable only on the supposition that the original or principal in responsibility is unable to do his own proper work, or that it can be better done by being delegated to another. Jeremiah is careful to explain why he does not do it himself. Would that the reasons for non-attendance in the sanctuary, or inoccupation in spiritual work, were as real and valid in the case of professing Christians!

1. On the part of the person instead of whom the service was rendered. He did not ask his substitute to do what he could do himself; and what he alone could do was done with the utmost care and diligence. It is calculated that the writing out of the roll from the prophet"s dictation occupied nine months, and many delays and difficulties must have been experienced. His solicitude, too, on behalf of the proper delivery of the message by Baruch, is very instructive and inspiring. He sought (God"s end in) the repentance of the people, and everything was to conspire to produce this. By example and moral influence he sought to fill Baruch with his own enthusiasm, and a sense of the importance of the task. The preacher is the vicar of the Church; so with the Sunday school teacher, etc. By prayer, sympathy, and loving cooperation Christians should encourage these.

2. On the part of the substitute. Baruch sought to do his part faithfully and with minute exactitude. His success in producing an impression proved how he exerted himself. A sense of responsibility should ever rest upon those who minister in the house of God. A certain measure of boldness was also required to do such a thug. The people or their princes might turn against him. Boldness is essential to the preaching of the gospel. But there cannot but occur to most readers the parallelism there is in all this to what Christ has undertaken for us. Another temple from whose service we are "shut up" by reason of personal unfitness, or that we remain in the flesh. Christ, our great Forerunner and Vicar, or Substitute, has entered into its holy of holies, with his own eternal sacrifice and intercession. Upon him all our hope must be placed; we must follow him in spirit; and we must imitate Jeremiah in the zeal and labour with which we execute our part of the great process of salvation. M.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

imprisoned in the jail.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.