Baruch’s complaint
1God gave Jeremiah a message for Neriah’s son, Baruch, a scribe who wrote onto a scroll the prophecies Jeremiah dictated. At the time, Josiah’s son Jehoiakim was into his fourth year [1] as king of Judah. 2This was the message the LORD and God of Israel had for Baruch:You complained, “Oh no! I've been carrying around all this pain and now the LORD throws sorrow on my back. [2] It’s too much. I’m exhausted and I've had all I can take.”
God says it’s going to get worse
4Well, here’s the bad news. Everything I’ve built here in Judah is coming down. Every plant I’ve given roots to in this land is coming out. I’m going to rip out the plants and tear down the cities.5But you want your life to take a turn for the better? [3] Let it go. I’m turning disaster loose on everyone. But I’ll give you this much, I’ll let you live through what’s coming. No matter where you go during that time, I’ll let you keep your life as a prize you can take from the coming war.
