Bible Strands
Jeremiah 36:12
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.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Micaiah son of Gemariah descends to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace to address a group of royal officials. This action occurs immediately after he hears the scroll’s contents and before he reports them to the assembled leaders.
The words — לִשְׁכַּת הַסֹּפֵר (lishkat hasofer) translates literally to "the room of the scribe," designating a specific administrative space within the palace. The verb וַיֵּרֶד (vayyered), "and he went down," records a physical movement toward that official location.
The thread — The officials named here appear in Jeremiah 26:22 and 2 Kings 22:12 as court figures during Jehoiakim’s reign and Josiah’s reforms. Their role continues in Jeremiah 36:25, where they urge the king not to burn the scroll.
Why it lands — The text places a divine message directly before the political leadership, showing that earthly structures cannot contain or ignore it. The reader is asked to recognize that authority figures are summoned to confront the words they have heard, regardless of their comfort or status.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 26:22 Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor along with some other men.
- 2 Kings 22:12 and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the servant of the king:
- Jeremiah 36:25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them.
- Jeremiah 41:1 In the seventh month, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family and one of the king’s chief officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah, and they ate a meal together there.
- 2 Kings 22:3 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the scribe, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the LORD, saying,
- 2 Kings 22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
- 2 Kings 24:8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 28:1 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, near the beginning of the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people:
- Jeremiah 36:10 From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, which was in the upper courtyard at the opening of the New Gate of the house of the LORD, Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the hearing of all the people.
- Jeremiah 36:20 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.