Amidst the general alarm a fast was proclaimed; in the ninth month, in the winter of 600, the whole nation was summoned to Jerusalem, and there it entreated the Lord to avert the impending evil from the land. The nation, in great excitement and fear as to what the future might bring on it, crowded to the Temple as though it would find security there. Jeremiah meanwhile commanded his faithful disciple, Baruch, to write down the prophetic exhortation which he had uttered some years before, and in which he had predicted that Judah herself, as well as all the nations around her, would be reduced to subjection to the young Chaldæan empire. After Baruch had inscribed this address on a roll, Jeremiah commanded him to read it in front of the Temple, in the presence of all the inhabitants of the capital and the entire country. The prophet himself was from some cause prevented from being present, and therefore Baruch was to represent him. Baruch, though not without hesitation, undertook this task. In an open hall, in the upper court of the Temple, he read the contents of the scroll to the whole nation. The address made a deep impression on the people, confronted as they were with the impending danger of an attack from Nebuchadnezzar's army, which now lay but a short distance from Jerusalem. A young man, Michaiah, son of Gemariah, hastened to the princes who had assembled in one of the halls of the palace, and there, agitated as he was, he communicated to them what he had heard. The alarmed princes invited Baruch to read again, in their presence, Jeremiah's scroll. Each word fell heavily on their hearts, and they were seized with terror. They, therefore, determined to inform the king of what they had heard, hoping that he, too, would be moved and convinced that he must give up all opposition to Nebuchadnezzar. For a moment they hoped for the best, when Jehoiakim commanded that the scroll be brought and read to him. But as each leaf was read, it was, by the king's order, handed to him, and he threw it into the fire. The princes witnessed this act of defiance with dismay, and entreated the king not to draw down destruction on them. He, however, paid no heed to them, and continued to throw the pages into the fire until the whole scroll was consumed. Jehoiakim then issued an order that the prophet of evil and his disciple be sought, in order that they might be killed as Uriah had been. Happily, the anxious princes had previously made arrangements to save Jeremiah and Baruch by hiding them in a secure place.