Three days later, however, Ebed-melech brought with the provisions the news that Jehoiakim had burned the scroll. Upon hearing this, all the spirit of hopefulness left Jeremiah. He lost his temper and, at once, dictated the following prophecy against Jehoiakim:
"Concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, thou shalt say,"
Thus saith the Lord:
"'Thou has burned this roll, saying "Why hast thou written therein saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?"'
"Therefore, thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah:
"'He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them.'"
Then Jeremiah took another papyrus and began once more the laborious task of dictating his discourses to Baruch.
Those were indeed days of pain and sorrow for Jeremiah and Baruch. They were not troubled so much by Jehoiakim's designs upon their lives—for Ebed-melech kept them well informed on the progress of the search—as they were by the preparations for rebellion. They knew that this was the beginning of the end.
At one time the faithful, old Ethiopian warned them that the search party was near at hand. They were forced to hide in a cave for two days. It was then that Jeremiah cried:
"Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth."
This danger past, Jeremiah and Baruch continued their laborious task of finishing the new scroll of prophecies. Then came Spring, and with it Jehoiakim's rebellion.