[1] And these are the words of the book, which Baruch
the son of Nerias, the son of Maasias, the son of Sedecias, the son of Asadias,
the son of Chelcias, wrote in Babylon,
[2] In the fifth year, and in the seventh day of the month, what time as
the Chaldeans took
[3] And Baruch did read the words of this book in the hearing of
Jechonias the son of Joachim king of Juda, and in the ears of all the people
that came to hear the book,
[4] And in the hearing of the nobles, and of the king's sons, and in the
hearing of the elders, and of all the people, from the lowest unto the highest,
even of all them that dwelt at Babylon by the river Sud.
[5] Whereupon they wept, fasted, and prayed before the Lord.
[6] They made also a collection of money according to every man's power:
[7] And they sent it to Jerusalem unto Joachim the high priest, the son
of Chelcias, son of Salom, and to the priests, and to all the people which were
found with him at Jerusalem,
[8] At the same time when he received the vessels of the house of the
Lord, that were carried out of the temple, to return them into the land of
Juda, the tenth day of the month Sivan, namely, silver vessels, which Sedecias
the son of Josias king of Jada had made,
[9] After that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried away
Jechonias, and the princes, and the captives, and the mighty men, and the
people of the land, from Jerusalem, and brought them unto Babylon.
[10] And they said, Behold, we have sent you money to buy you burnt
offerings, and sin offerings, and incense, and prepare ye manna, and offer upon
the altar of the Lord our God;
[11] And pray for the life of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and for
the life of Balthasar his son, that their days may be upon earth as the days of
heaven:
[12] And the Lord will give us strength, and lighten our eyes, and we
shall live under the shadow of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and under the
shadow of Balthasar his son, and we shall serve them many days, and find favour
in their sight.
[13] Pray for us also unto the Lord our God, for we have sinned against
the Lord our God; and unto this day the fury of the Lord and his wrath is not
turned from us.
[14] And ye shall read this book which we have sent unto you, to make
confession in the house of the Lord, upon the feasts and solemn days.
[15] And ye shall say, To the Lord our God belongeth righteousness, but
unto us the confusion of faces, as it is come to pass this day, unto them of
Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
[16] And to our kings, and to our princes, and to our priests, and to
our prophets, and to our fathers:
[17] For we have sinned before the Lord,
[18] And disobeyed him, and have not hearkened unto the voice of the
Lord our God, to walk in the commandments that he gave us openly:
[19] Since the day that the Lord brought our forefathers out of the land
of Egypt, unto this present day, we have been disobedient unto the Lord our
God, and we have been negligent in not hearing his voice.
[20] Wherefore the evils cleaved unto us, and the curse, which the Lord
appointed by Moses his servant at the time that he brought our fathers out of
the
[21] Nevertheless we have not hearkened unto the voice of the Lord our
God, according unto all the words of the prophets, whom he sent unto us:
[22] But every man followed the imagination of his own wicked heart, to
serve strange gods, and to do evil in the sight of the Lord our God.
[1] Therefore the Lord hath made good his word, which
he pronounced against us, and against our judges that judged Israel, and
against our kings, and against our princes, and against the men of Israel and
Juda,
[2] To bring upon us great plagues, such as never happened under the
whole heaven, as it came to pass in Jerusalem, according to the things that
were written in the law of Moses;
[3] That a man should eat the flesh of his own son, and the flesh of his
own daughter.
[4] Moreover he hath delivered them to be in subjection to all the
kingdoms that are round about us, to be as a reproach and desolation among all
the people round about, where the Lord hath scattered them.
[5] Thus we were cast down, and not exalted, because we have sinned
against the Lord our God, and have not been obedient unto his voice.
[6] To the Lord our God appertaineth righteousness: but unto us and to
our fathers open shame, as appeareth this day.
[7] For all these plagues are come upon us, which the Lord hath
pronounced against us
[8] Yet have we not prayed before the Lord, that we might turn every one
from the imaginations of his wicked heart.
[9] Wherefore the Lord watched over us for evil, and the Lord hath
brought it upon us: for the Lord is righteous in all his works which he hath
commanded us.
[10] Yet we have not hearkened unto his voice, to walk in the
commandments of the Lord, that he hath set before us.
[11] And now, O Lord God of Israel, that hast brought thy people out of
the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and high arm, and with signs, and with
wonders, and with great power, and hast gotten thyself a name, as appeareth
this day:
[12] O Lord our God, we have sinned, we have done ungodly, we have dealt
unrighteously in all thine ordinances.
[13] Let thy wrath turn from us: for we are but a few left among the
heathen, where thou hast scattered us.
[14] Hear our prayers, O Lord, and our petitions, and deliver us for
thine own sake, and give us favour in the sight of them which have led us away:
[15] That all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God, because
Israel and his posterity is called by thy name.
[16] O Lord, look down from thine holy house, and consider us: bow down
thine ear, O Lord, to hear us.
[17] Open thine eyes, and behold; for the dead that are in the graves,
whose souls are taken from their bodies, will give unto the Lord neither praise
nor righteousness:
[18] But the soul that is greatly vexed, which goeth stooping and
feeble, and the eyes that fail, and the hungry soul, will give thee praise and
righteousness, O Lord.
[19] Therefore we do not make our humble supplication before thee, O
Lord our God, for the righteousness of our fathers, and of our kings.
[20] For thou hast sent out thy wrath and indignation upon us, as thou
hast spoken by thy servants the prophets, saying,
[21] Thus saith the Lord, Bow down your shoulders to serve the king of
[22] But if ye will not hear the voice of the Lord, to serve the king of
Babylon,
[23] I will cause to cease out of the cites of Judah, and from without
Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of joy, the voice of the
bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: and the whole land shall be desolate of
inhabitants.
[24] But we would not hearken unto thy voice, to serve the king of
[25] And, lo, they are cast out to the heat of the day, and to the frost
of the night, and they died in great miseries by famine, by sword, and by
pestilence.
[26] And the house which is called by thy name hast thou laid waste, as
it is to be seen this day, for the wickedness of the house of
[27] O Lord our God, thou hast dealt with us after all thy goodness, and
according to all that great mercy of thine,
[28] As thou spakest by thy servant Moses in the day when thou didst
command him to write the law before the children of Israel, saying,
[29] If ye will not hear my voice, surely this very great multitude
shall be turned into a small number among the nations, where I will scatter
them.
[30] For I knew that they would not hear me, because it is a stiffnecked
people: but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves.
[31] And shall know that I am the Lord their God: for I will give them
an heart, and ears to hear:
[32] And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and think
upon my name,
[33] And return from their stiff neck, and from their wicked deeds: for
they shall remember the way of their fathers, which sinned before the Lord.
[34] And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an
oath unto their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they shall be lords of
it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished.
[35] And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God,
and they shall be my people: and I will no more drive my people of
[1] O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in
anguish the troubled spirit, crieth unto thee.
[2] Hear, O Lord, and have mercy; ar thou art merciful: and have pity
upon us, because we have sinned before thee.
[3] For thou endurest for ever, and we perish utterly.
[4] O Lord Almighty, thou God of Israel, hear now the prayers of the
dead Israelites, and of their children, which have sinned before thee, and not
hearkened unto the voice of thee their God: for the which cause these plagues
cleave unto us.
[5] Remember not the iniquities of our forefathers: but think upon thy
power and thy name now at this time.
[6] For thou art the Lord our God, and thee, O Lord, will we praise.
[7] And for this cause thou hast put thy fear in our hearts, to the
intent that we should call upon thy name, and praise thee in our captivity: for
we have called to mind all the iniquity of our forefathers, that sinned before
thee.
[8] Behold, we are yet this day in our captivity, where thou hast
scattered us, for a reproach and a curse, and to be subject to payments,
according to all the iniquities of our fathers, which departed from the Lord
our God.
[9]
[10] How happeneth it Israel, that thou art in thine enemies' land, that
thou art waxen old in a strange country, that thou art defiled with the dead,
[11] That thou art counted with them that go down into the grave?
[12] Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom.
[13] For if thou hadst walked in the way of God, thou shouldest have
dwelled in peace for ever.
[14] Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding;
that thou mayest know also where is length of days, and life, where is the
light of the eyes, and peace.
[15] Who hath found out her place? or who hath come into her treasures ?
[16] Where are the princes of the heathen become, and such as ruled the
beasts upon the earth;
[17] They that had their pastime with the fowls of the air, and they
that hoarded up silver and gold, wherein men trust, and made no end of their
getting?
[18] For they that wrought in silver, and were so careful, and whose
works are unsearchable,
[19] They are vanished and gone down to the grave, and others are come
up in their steads.
[20] Young men have seen light, and dwelt upon the earth: but the way of
knowledge have they not known,
[21] Nor understood the paths thereof, nor laid hold of it: their
children were far off from that way.
[22] It hath not been heard of in Chanaan, neither hath it been seen in
Theman.
[23] The Agarenes that seek wisdom upon earth, the merchants of Meran
and of Theman, the authors of fables, and searchers out of understanding; none
of these have known the way of wisdom, or remember her paths.
[24] O Israel, how great is the house of God! and how large is the place
of his possession!
[25] Great, and hath none end; high, and unmeasurable.
[26] There were the giants famous from the beginning, that were of so
great stature, and so expert in war.
[27] Those did not the Lord choose, neither gave he the way of knowledge
unto them:
[28] But they were destroyed, because they had no wisdom, and perished
through their own foolishness.
[29] Who hath gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down
from the clouds?
[30] Who hath gone over the sea, and found her, and will bring her for
pure gold?
[31] No man knoweth her way, nor thinketh of her path.
[32] But he that knoweth all things knoweth her, and hath found her out
with his understanding: he that prepared the earth for evermore hath filled it
with fourfooted beasts:
[33] He that sendeth forth light, and it goeth, calleth it again, and it
obeyeth him with fear.
[34] The stars shined in their watches, and rejoiced: when he calleth
them, they say, Here we be; and so with cheerfulness they shewed light unto him
that made them.
[35] This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in
comparison of him
[36] He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto
Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved.
[37] Afterward did he shew himself upon earth, and conversed with men.
[1] This is the book of the commandments of God, and
the law that endureth for ever: all they that keep it shall come to life; but
such as leave it shall die.
[2] Turn thee, O Jacob, and take hold of it: walk in the presence of the
light thereof, that thou mayest be illuminated.
[3] Give not thine honour to another, nor the things that are profitable
unto thee to a strange nation.
[4] O Israel, happy are we: for things that are pleasing to God are made
known unto us.
[5] Be of good cheer, my people, the memorial of
[6] Ye were sold to the nations, not for [your] destruction: but because
ye moved God to wrath, ye were delivered unto the enemies.
[7] For ye provoked him that made you by sacrificing unto devils, and
not to God.
[8] Ye have forgotten the everlasting God, that brought you up; and ye
have grieved
[9] For when she saw the wrath of God coming upon you, she said,
Hearken, O ye that dwell about Sion: God hath brought upon me great mourning;
[10] For I saw the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the
Everlasting brought upon them.
[11] With joy did I nourish them; but sent them away with weeping and
mourning.
[12] Let no man rejoice over me, a widow, and forsaken of many, who for
the sins of my children am left desolate; because they departed from the law of
God.
[13] They knew not his statutes, nor walked in the ways of his
commandments, nor trod in the paths of discipline in his righteousness.
[14] Let them that dwell about Sion come, and remember ye the captivity
of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting hath brought upon them.
[15] For he hath brought a nation upon them from far, a shameless
nation, and of a strange language, who neither reverenced old man, nor pitied
child.
[16] These have carried away the dear beloved children of the widow, and
left her that was alone desolate without daughters.
[17] But what can I help you?
[18] For he that brought these plagues upon you will deliver you from
the hands of your enemies.
[19] Go your way, O my children, go your way: for I am left desolate.
[20] I have put off the clothing of peace, and put upon me the sackcloth
of my prayer: I will cry unto the Everlasting in my days.
[21] Be of good cheer, O my children, cry unto the Lord, and he will
deliver you from the power and hand of the enemies.
[22] For my hope is in the Everlasting, that he will save you; and joy
is come unto me from the Holy One, because of the mercy which shall soon come
unto you from the Everlasting our Saviour.
[23] For I sent you out with mourning and weeping: but God will give you
to me again with joy and gladness for ever.
[24] Like as now the neighbours of Sion have seen your captivity: so
shall they see shortly your salvation from our God which shall come upon you
with great glory, and brightness of the Everlasting.
[25] My children, suffer patiently the wrath that is come upon you from
God: for thine enemy hath persecuted thee; but shortly thou shalt see his
destruction, and shalt tread upon his neck.
[26] My delicate ones have gone rough ways, and were taken away as a
flock caught of the enemies.
[27] Be of good comfort, O my children, and cry unto God: for ye shall
be remembered of him that brought these things upon you.
[28] For as it was your mind to go astray from God: so, being returned,
seek him ten times more.
[29] For he that hath brought these plagues upon you shall bring you
everlasting joy with your salvation.
[30] Take a good heart, O Jerusalem: for he that gave thee that name
will comfort thee.
[31] Miserable are they that afflicted thee, and rejoiced at thy fall.
[32] Miserable are the cities which thy children served: miserable is
she that received thy sons.
[33] For as she rejoiced at thy ruin, and was glad of thy fall: so shall
she be grieved for her own desolation.
[34] For I will take away the rejoicing of her great multitude, and her
pride shall be turned into mourning.
[35] For fire shall come upon her from the Everlasting, long to endure;
and she shall be inhabited of devils for a great time.
[36] O Jerusalem, look about thee toward the east, and behold the joy
that cometh unto thee from God.
[37] Lo, thy sons come, whom thou sentest away, they come gathered
together from the east to the west by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in
the glory of God.
[1] Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of mourning and
affliction, and put on the comeliness of the glory that cometh from God for
ever.
[2] Cast about thee a double garment of the righteousness which cometh
from God; and set a diadem on thine head of the glory of the Everlasting.
[3] For God will shew thy brightness unto every country under heaven.
[4] For thy name shall be called of God for ever The peace of
righteousness, and The glory of God's worship.
[5] Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high, and look about toward the
east, and behold thy children gathered from the west unto the east by the word
of the Holy One, rejoicing in the remembrance of God.
[6] For they departed from thee on foot, and were led away of their
enemies: but God bringeth them unto thee exalted with glory, as children of the
kingdom.
[7] For God hath appointed that every high hill, and banks of long
continuance, should be cast down, and valleys filled up, to make even the
ground, that Israel may go safely in the glory of God,
[8] Moreover even the woods and every sweetsmelling tree shall
overshadow Israel by the commandment of God.
[9] For God shall lead Israel with joy in the light of his glory with
the mercy and righteousness that cometh from him.