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The Bible · 790 of 1189

Jeremiah 45

1.The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, 2. Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; 3. Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.

4.Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. 5. And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.

Asked of Guide

Why does God tell Baruch “seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not” when promising to spare his life?

Jeremiah answers Baruch’s lament by promising survival without prosperity: God says the land He built He will break down and He will “bring evil upon all flesh,” so Baruch’s life will be kept only as a fugitive possession. The message targets expectations—Baruch’s wish for stability or honor meets a reality of exile and loss, and God explicitly withholds worldly advancement while granting mere life.

This chapter echoes themes in Ecclesiastes about survival without fulfillment and in Jeremiah 39–45 where personal preservation often comes at the cost of national disaster. Jeremiah gives Baruch a concrete, grim assurance: you will live, but you must abandon hope for greatness in a shattered world.

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