Baruch 3

¹“ ‘And now, O Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, the soul in anguish and the troubled spirit cry out to you

²Listen, O Lord, and be merciful, for you are a merciful God, and so be merciful to us, for we have sinned before you

³For you are enthroned in eternity, but we will pass away in time

⁴O Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, listen now to the prayer of the dead of Israel and of their sons, who have sinned before you and have not listened to the voice of the Lord their God, and have joined themselves to evil

⁵Remember not the iniquities of our fathers, but remember your hand and your name at this time

⁶For you are the Lord our God, and we will praise you, O Lord

⁷And for this reason, you have imparted your fear into our hearts, and also, so that we may call upon your name and may praise you in our captivity, for we are converted from the iniquity of our fathers, who sinned before you

⁸And, behold, we are still in our captivity on this day, where you have scattered us into disgrace, and into slander, and into sin, according to all the iniquities of our fathers, who withdrew from you, O Lord our God

⁹Listen, O Israel, to the commandments of life! Pay attention, so that you may learn prudence

¹⁰How is it, O Israel, that you are in the land of your enemies

¹¹that you have grown old in a foreign land, that you are defiled with the dead, that you are regarded as among those who are descending into hell

¹²You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom

¹³For if you had walked in the way of God, you would certainly have lived in everlasting peace

¹⁴Learn where prudence is, where virtue is, where understanding is, so that you may know at the same time where long life and prosperity are, where the light of the eyes and peace are

¹⁵Who has discovered its place? And who has entered its treasure chamber

¹⁶Where are the leaders of the peoples, and those who rule over the beasts that are upon the earth

¹⁷who play among the birds of the air

¹⁸who store up treasures of silver and gold, in which men trust, and with whom there is no end to their acquiring, who work with silver and are anxious about it, and whose works are inexplicable

¹⁹They have been banished and have descended to hell, and others are risen up in their place

²⁰The youth have seen the light and have dwelt upon the earth, yet they are ignorant of the way of instruction

²¹They have neither understood the paths of it, nor have their sons accepted it. It is far from their face

²²It has not been heard of in the land of Canaan, nor has it been seen in Teman

²³It is likewise with the sons of Hagar, who search for the practicality that is of the earth, the negotiators of Merran and Teman, and the storytellers, and the searchers of discretion and intelligence. Yet the way of wisdom they have not known, nor have they called to mind its paths

²⁴O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of his possession

²⁵It is great and has no end! It is exalted and immense

²⁶There were those who were called giants, who existed from the beginning, of great stature, expert in war

²⁷The Lord did not choose them, nor did they discover the way of instruction; for this reason they perished

²⁸and, because they did not have wisdom, they passed away as a result of their foolishness

²⁹Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds

³⁰Who has crossed the sea, and found her, and brought her, chosen instead of gold

³¹There is no one who is able to know her ways, nor any who can search out her paths

³²Yet he who knows the universe is familiar with her, and in his foresight he invented her, he who prepared the earth for time without end, and filled it with cattle and four-footed beasts

³³who sends out the light, and it goes, and who summoned it, and it obeyed him in fear

³⁴Yet the stars have given light from their posts, and they rejoiced

³⁵They were called, and so they said, “Here we are,” and they shined with cheerfulness to him who made them

³⁶This is our God, and no other can compare to him

³⁷He invented the way of all instruction, and delivered it to Jacob his child, and to Israel his beloved

³⁸After this, he was seen on earth, and he conversed with men