Baruch 3

¹O Lord Almighty, you God of Israel, the soul in anguish and the troubled spirit cries to you. ²Hear, O Lord, and have mercy; for you are a merciful God. Yes, have mercy upon us, because we have sinned before you. ³For you are enthroned forever, and we keep perishing. ⁴O Lord Almighty, you God of Israel, hear now the prayer of the dead Israelites, and of the children of those who were sinners before you, who didn’t listen to the voice of you their God; because of this, these plagues cling to us. ⁵Don’t remember the iniquities of our fathers, but remember your power and your name at this time. ⁶For you are the Lord our God, and we will praise you, O Lord. ⁷For this cause, you have put your fear in our hearts, to the intent that we should call upon your name. We will praise you in our captivity, for we have called to mind all the iniquity of our fathers who sinned before you. ⁸Behold, we are yet this day in our captivity where you have scattered us, for a reproach and a curse, and to be subject to penalty according to all the iniquities of our fathers who departed from the Lord our God. ⁹Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life! Give ear to understand wisdom! ¹⁰How is it, O Israel, that you are in your enemies’ land, that you have become old in a strange country, that you are defiled with the dead, ¹¹that you are counted with those who are in Hades? ¹²You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom. ¹³If you had walked in the way of God, you would have dwelled in peace forever. ¹⁴Learn where there is wisdom, where there is strength, and where there is understanding, that you may also know where there is length of days and life, where there is the light of the eyes and peace. ¹⁵Who has found out her place? Who has come into her treasuries? ¹⁶Where are the princes of the heathen, and those who ruled the beasts that are on the earth, ¹⁷those who had their pastime with the fowls of the air, and those who hoarded up silver and gold, in which people trust, and of their getting there is no end? ¹⁸For those who diligently sought silver, and were so anxious, and whose works are past finding out, ¹⁹they have vanished and gone down to Hades, and others have come up in their place. ²⁰Younger men have seen the light and lived upon the earth, but they haven’t known the way of knowledge, ²¹nor understood its paths. Their children haven’t embraced it. They are far off from their way. ²²It has not been heard of in Canaan, neither has it been seen in Teman. ²³The sons also of Agar who seek understanding, which are in the land, the merchants of Merran and Teman, and the authors of fables, and the searchers out of understanding—none of these have known the way of wisdom or remembered her paths. ²⁴O Israel, how great is the house of God! How large is the place of his possession! ²⁵It is great and has no end. It is high and unmeasurable. ²⁶Giants were born that were famous of old, great of stature, and expert in war. ²⁷God didn’t choose these, nor did he give the way of knowledge to them, ²⁸so they perished, because they had no wisdom. They perished through their own foolishness. ²⁹Who has gone up into heaven, taken her, and brought her down from the clouds? ³⁰Who has gone over the sea, found her, and will bring her for choice gold? ³¹There is no one who knows her way, nor any who comprehend her path. ³²But he that knows all things knows her, he found her out with his understanding. He who prepared the earth for all time has filled it with four-footed beasts. ³³It is he who sends forth the light, and it goes. He called it, and it obeyed him with fear. ³⁴The stars shone in their watches, and were glad. When he called them, they said, “Here we are.” They shone with gladness to him who made them. ³⁵This is our God. No other can be compared to him. ³⁶He has found out all the way of knowledge, and has given it to Jacob his servant and to Israel who is loved by him. ³⁷Afterward she appeared upon earth, and lived with men.