Sep 4 - Baruch 4-6
Baruch
1" ‘This is the book of the commandments of God and of the law, which exists in eternity. All those who keep it will attain to life, but those who have forsaken it, to death2Convert, O Jacob, and embrace it, walk in the way of its splendor, facing its light3Do not surrender your glory to another, nor your value to a foreign people4We have been happy, O Israel, because the things that are pleasing to God have been made clear to us5Be ever more peaceful in soul, O people of God, the memorial of Israel6You have been sold to the nations, not into destruction, but because of this, in resentment, you provoked God to wrath, and so you have been delivered to adversity7For you have exasperated him who made you, the eternal God, by sacrificing to evil spirits, and not to God8For you have forgotten God, who nurtured you, and you have saddened Jerusalem, your nurse9For she saw the wrath of God approaching you, and she said, "Listen, region of Zion, for God has brought upon me great sorrow10For I have seen the captivity of my people, my sons and daughters, which the Eternal has led over them11For I nurtured them with joy, but I sent them away with weeping and sorrow12Let no one rejoice over me, a widow and a desolation, for I am forsaken by many because of the sins of my sons, because they strayed from the law of God13And they have not known his righteousness, nor walked in the ways of the commandments of God, nor have they advanced with justice along the paths of his truth14Let the region of Zion approach, and remember the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Eternal led over them15For he has brought a far away people upon them, a guilty people, and of another language16who have not reverenced the aged, nor had mercy on the children, and who have led away the beloved of the widow, leaving me deserted and alone, without sons17But as for me, how am I able to help you18For he who has brought these evils upon you, will rescue you from the hands of your enemies19Walk on, sons, walk on, for I have been abandoned and I am alone20I have taken off the garment of peace and have put on the sackcloth of supplication, and I will cry out to the most High in my days21Be ever more peaceful, sons. Cry out to the Lord, and he will rescue you from the hand of the hostile leaders22For I have placed my hope in your eternal salvation, and joy approaches me from the Holy One, over the mercy which will come to you by our eternal salvation23For I sent you forth with sorrow and weeping, but the Lord will restore you to me with joy and gladness for eternity24For just as the neighbors of Zion have seen your captivity from God, so also will they soon see your salvation from God, which will overcome you with great honor and eternal splendor25Sons, endure patiently the wrath that has come upon you, for your enemy has persecuted you, but you will quickly see his destruction and you will climb over his neck26My delicate ones have walked rough ways, for they were regarded as a flock torn apart by enemies27Be ever more peaceful in soul, sons, and call out to the Lord, for you will be remembered by him who led you away28For as much as you thought to go astray from God, ten times as much again he will require of you when converting29For he who led you into evil, he himself will again lead you to eternal happiness with your salvation.30Be ever more peaceful in soul, Jerusalem, for he who has named you, has been affected by you31The criminals who have troubled you, will perish, and those who rejoiced in your ruin, will be punished32The cities that your sons have served, will be punished, and also, she who received your sons33For just as she was glad at your ruin, and she rejoiced in your fall, so also will she be grieved in her own desolation34and the exaltation of her multitude will be cut off, and her gladness will be turned to sorrow35For fire will overcome her from the Eternal for many days, and she will be inhabited by evil spirits for a long time36Look around, Jerusalem, towards the east, and see the happiness that comes to you from God37For behold, your sons approach, whom you sent away scattered. They approach, gathering together, from the east all the way to the west, at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the honor of God
1" ‘Take off, O Jerusalem, the garment of your sorrow and troubles, and put on your beauty and the honor of that eternal glory, which you have from God2God will surround you with a double garment of justice, and he will set a crown on your head of everlasting honor3For God will reveal his splendor in you to all who are under heaven4For your name will be given to you by God for eternity: the peace of justice and the honor of piety5Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand in exaltation, and look around towards the east, and see your sons, gathering together, from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun, by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the remembrance of God6For they went out from you on foot, led by the enemies, but the Lord will lead them to you, being carried in honor like sons of the kingdom7For God has resolved to humble every high mountain and the longstanding cliffs, and to fill up the steep valleys in order to level the ground, so that Israel may walk diligently in the honor of God8Yet the woods and every sweet-smelling tree have provided shade for Israel by the commandment of God9For God will lead Israel with joy into the light of his majesty, with mercy and justice, which is from him.’
1This is a copy of the letter that Jeremiah sent to those who would be taken captive into Babylon by the king of Babylon, so as to prophesy to them according to the warning he had received about them from God. "Because of the sins which you have sinned before God, you will be carried away into the captivity of Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon2And so, having been taken into Babylon, you will be there many years and for a long time, even to seven generations, yet after this, I will lead you away from there with peace3But now, you will see in Babylon gods of gold and of silver, and of stone and of wood, carried upon shoulders, an awful display for the peoples4See to it, then, that you do not in effect become like these strangers and become afraid, so that in awe you would be carried away into their midst5And so, seeing the turmoil, behind you and in front of you, as they are worshiping, say in your hearts, ‘You ought to be adored, O Lord.6For my angel is with you. And I myself will examine your souls7For their tongue is polished by the craftsman, and they themselves are even inlaid with gold and silver, yet they are false and unable to speak8And, just like a virgin who loves to decorate herself, so do they take up gold and make designs with it9Their gods have crowns of certified gold upon their heads, from which the priests subtract gold and silver, and spend it on themselves10Moreover, they even give from it to prostitutes, and use it to adorn kept women, and when they receive it back from the kept women, they use it to adorn their gods11But these cannot be freed from rust and moths12Although they are covered with a purple garment, they must wipe off their face, because of the dust of the house, which is very great around them13Yet he who holds a scepter like a man, like the judge of the region, cannot put to death one who sins against him14And though he holds in his hand a sword and an axe, yet he cannot free himself from war and robbers. From this let it be known to you that they are not gods15Therefore, do not fear them. For just as the vessel a man uses becomes useless when broken, so also are their gods16When they are set up in a house, their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those who enter17And like one who has offended the king and is surrounded at every door, or like a corpse about to be carried to the grave, so do the priests secure the doors with bars and locks, lest they be plundered by robbers18They light candles to them, and in great number, and still they are unable to see, for they are like logs in the house19It is truly said that the creeping things, which are of the earth, gnaw their hearts, and yet when these devour them and their garments, they do not feel it20Their faces are made black by the smoke that is made in the house21Over their bodies and over their heads fly owls and swallows and birds, and similarly, even cats22From this you should understand that they are not gods. Therefore, neither should you fear them23Furthermore, the gold which they have is shiny, but unless someone wipes off the rust, they will not shine. And even when they were molten, they did not feel it24They acquire all kinds of costly things, yet there is no breath in them25Without feet, they are carried upon shoulders, showing their unworthiness to all men. And so, may those who worship them be confounded26Because of this, if they fall to the ground, they do not get up by themselves; and if someone sets it upright, they will not stand firm on their own; yet, just like the dead, offerings are placed next to them27The priests themselves sell their sacrifices, and they spend it wastefully; and, in like manner, their wives take part of it, never sharing anything with the sick or the beggars28Fertile and menstruous women contaminate their sacrifices. And so, knowing from this that they are not gods, you should not fear them29For what reason are they called gods? It is because the women serve before the gods of silver and gold and wood30and the priests sit in their houses, with torn garments, and their heads and beards shaven, and nothing on their heads31But they roar, shouting out to their gods, just as at a feast for the dead32The priests take away the garments of their gods, and clothe their wives and their sons33And whether they endure evil from someone, or good, they are not able to repay it. They can neither establish a king, nor remove him34Similarly, they can neither give riches, nor avenge evil. If anyone makes a vow to them, and does not keep it, they cannot require it35They cannot free a man from death, nor rescue the weak from the strong36They cannot restore sight to the blind, nor free a man from need37They will not have mercy on the widow, nor do good to orphans38Their gods of wood, and of stone, and of gold, and of silver, are like stones from the mountain; and those who worship them will be confounded39In what way, then, is it to be supposed or said that they are gods40For even the Chaldeans themselves do not honor these, who, when they hear about a mute, unable to speak, they offer him to Bel, asking from him that he may speak41as if these, who are unable to move, would be able to perceive. And even they themselves, when they shall understand this, will abandon them, for, having come to their senses, they do not consider them to be gods42Yet the women, wrapped in cords, sit by the roads, burning olive-stones43And when any one of them, having been attracted by someone passing by, would sleep with him, she reproaches her neighbor because she was not found worthy, as she was, nor was her cord broken44But all things that occur with them are false; in what way, then, is it to be considered or said that they are gods45Yet they have been made by the workmen and the goldsmiths. They will be nothing else but what the priests want them to be46For the artisans themselves, who make them, do not exist for a long time. So then, can these things, which have been made by them, be gods47Yet they have bequeathed falsehoods and disgrace after this to the future48For when they are overcome by battle or evil, the priests consider among themselves where they may hide themselves with them49Therefore, why would they be perceived to be gods, who can neither free themselves from war, nor rescue themselves from evils50For, in as much as they are only wood, inlaid with gold and silver, so let it be known henceforth, by all nations and kings, that they are false; because it has been revealed that they are not gods, but the work of men’s hands, and there is no work of God in them51For this reason, then, it has been accepted that they are not gods, but are works of the hands of men, and no work of God is in them52They have not raised up a king in the region, nor will they give rain to men53They will not discern a judgment for anyone, nor will they free a region from injury, because they can do nothing, like crows in the middle of heaven and earth54And, indeed, when there happens to be a fire in the house of these gods of wood, silver, and gold, the priests will certainly run away and save themselves, but these will truly be burned up like logs in the midst of it55Yet they cannot withstand a king and war. In what way, then, is it to be considered or accepted that they are gods56These gods of wood and stone, inlaid with gold and silver, can free themselves neither from thieves nor from robbers; whoever is stronger than they are57will take up these things, the gold and the silver, and the garments which cover them, and will get away; neither will they be able to help themselves58Therefore, it is better to be a king displaying his power, or a useful vessel in a house, about which he who owns it will boast, or a door in the house, which keeps safe what is inside, than to be these gods of falsehood59For the sun, and the moon, and the constellations, though they are brilliant and have been sent forth to be useful, are obedient60Similarly, the lightning, when it appears and is evident, and, in like manner, the wind blowing in every region61and the clouds, when God orders them to make their rounds over the whole world, each carries out what was commanded62Furthermore, the fire, having been sent from above so that it may consume mountains and woods, does what it has been instructed to do. Yet these are not similar, neither in splendor, nor in power, to any one of them63From this, it should neither be supposed, nor said, that they are gods; since they are neither able to give judgment, nor to accomplish anything for men64And so, knowing that they are not gods, therefore, have no fear of them65For they can neither curse kings, nor bless them66Besides, they show no signs in heaven to the nations; they neither shine like the sun, nor give light like the moon67Beasts are better than they are, for they can flee under a covering, and so protect themselves68Therefore, in no way is it clear to us that they are gods; because of this, you should not fear them69For just as a scarecrow in a cucumber field protects nothing, so are their gods of wood, and silver, and inlaid gold70They are just the same as a white thorn in a garden, on which all the birds sit; they are even like a corpse thrown out into the darkness, just so are these gods of wood, and inlaid gold, and inlaid silver71By the purple, and likewise the Royal purple, moth-eaten garments upon them, you will then know that they are not gods. And finally, they themselves are consumed and will be a disgrace in the region72Better is the just man who has no such images, for he will be far from disgrace.