16. When they had heard it all, they expressed their alarm to one another. Then they said to Baruch, “We must certainly give the king a report about everything you have read!”
17. Then they asked Baruch, “How did you come to write all these words? Do they actually come from Jeremiah’s mouth?”
18. Baruch answered, “Yes, they came from his own mouth. He dictated all these words to me and I wrote them down in ink on this scroll.”
19. Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. You must not let anyone know where you are.”
20. The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the royal secretary, for safekeeping. Then they went to the court and reported everything to the king.
21. The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He went and got it from the room of Elishama, the royal secretary. Then he himself read it to the king and all the officials who were standing around him.
22. Since it was the ninth month of the year, the king was sitting in his winter quarters. A fire was burning in the firepot in front of him.