Chapter 77
1 And I, Baruch, went thence and came to the people, and assembled them together from the greatest to the least, and said unto them: 2 “Hear, ye children of Israel, behold how many ye are who remain of the twelve tribes of Israel. 3 For to you and to your fathers the Lord gave a Law more:
excellent than to all peoples. 4 And because your brethren transgressed the commandments of the Most High, He brought vengeance upon you and upon them, And He spared not the former, And the latter also He gave into captivity, And left not a residue of them.
5 And behold! ye are here with me;
6 If, therefore, ye direct your ways aright, You also shall not depart as your brethren departed, But they shall come to you.
7 For He is merciful Whom ye worship, And He is gracious in Whom ye hope, And He is true, so that He shall do (you) good and not evil.
8 Have ye not seen here what hath befallen Zion?
9 Or do ye, perchance, think that the place had sinned, And that on this account it was overthrown? Or that the land had wrought foolishness, And that therefore it was delivered up?
10 And know ye not that on account of you who did sin, That which sinned not was overthrown, And, on account of those who wrought wickedly, That which wrought not foolishness was delivered up to (its) enemies?” 11 And the whole people answered and said unto me: “So far as we can recall the good things which the Mighty One hath done unto us, we do recall them; and those things which we do not remember He in His mercy knoweth. 12 Nevertheless, do this for us thy people: write also to our brethren in Babylon an epistle of doctrine and a scroll of hope, that thou mayest confirm them also before thou dost depart from us.
13 For the shepherds of Israel have perished, And the lamps which gave light are extinguished, And the fountains have withheld their stream whence we used to drink.
14 And we are left in the darkness, And amid the trees of the forest, And the thirst of the wilderness.”
15 And I answered and said unto them: “Shepherds and lamps and fountains came from the Law; And though we depart, yet the Law abideth. 16 If, therefore, ye have respect to the Law, And are intent upon wisdom, A lamp shall not be wanting, And a shepherd shall not fail, And a fountain shall not dry up.
17 Nevertheless, as ye said unto me, I will write also unto your brethren in Babylon, and I will send by means of men, and I will write in like manner to the nine tribes and a half, and send by means of a bird.” 18 And it came to pass on the one and twentieth day in the eighth month that I, Baruch, came and sat down under the oak, under the shadow of the branches, and no man was with me, but I was alone. 19 And I wrote these two epistles: one I sent by an eagle to the nine and a half tribes; and the other I sent to those that were at Babylon, by means of three men. 20 And I called the eagle, and spake these words unto it: 21 “The Most High hath made thee that thou shouldst be higher than all birds. 22 And now go, and tarry not in (any) place, nor enter a nest, nor settle upon any tree, till thou hast passed over the breadth of the many waters of the river Euphrates, and hast gone to the people that dwell there, and cast down to them this epistle. 23 Remember, moreover, that, at the time of the deluge, Noah received from the dove the fruit of the olive, when he sent it forth from the ark. 24 Yea, also the ravens ministered to Elijah, bearing him food, as they had been commanded.
25 Solomon also, in the time of his kingdom, whithersoever he wished to send or seek for anything, commanded a bird (to go thither), and it obeyed him as he commanded it. 26 And now let it not weary thee, and turn not to the right hand nor to the left, but fly and go by a direct way, that thou mayest preserve the command of the Mighty One, according as I said unto thee.”
Chapter 78
1 These are the words of that epistle which Baruch, the son of Neriah, sent to the nine and a half tribes, which were across the river Euphrates, in which these things were written. 2 Thus saith Baruch, the son of Neriah, to the brethren carried into captivity: “Mercy and peace. 3 I bear in mind, my brethren, the love of Him Who created us, Who loved us from of old, and never hated us, but above all educated us. 4 And truly I know that, behold, all we the twelve tribes are bound by one bond, inasmuch as we are born from one father. 5 Wherefore I have been the more careful to leave you the words of this epistle before I die, that ye may be comforted regarding the evils which have come upon you, and that ye may be grieved also regarding the evil that hath befallen your brethren; and again, also, that ye may justify His judgement which He hath decreed against you that ye should be carried away captive — for what ye have suffered is disproportioned to what ye have done — in order that, at the last times, ye may be found worthy of your fathers. 6 Therefore, if ye consider that ye have now suffered those things for your good, that ye may not finally be condemned and tormented, then ye shall receive eternal hope; if, above all, ye destroy from your heart vain error, on account of which ye departed hence. 7 For if ye so do these things, He will continually remember you, He Who always promised on our behalf to those who were more excellent than we, that He will never forget nor forsake us, but with much mercy will gather together again those who were dispersed.
Chapter 79
1 Now, my brethren, learn first what befell Zion: how that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up against us. 2 For we have sinned against Him Who made us, and we have not kept the commandments which He commanded us, yet He hath not chastened us as we deserved. 3 For what befell you we also suffer in a pre-eminent degree, for it befell us also.
Chapter 80
1 And now, my brethren, I make known unto you that when the enemy had surrounded the city, the angels of the Most High were sent, and they overthrew the fortifications of the strong wall, and they destroyed the firm iron corners, which could not be rooted out. 2 Nevertheless, they hid all the vessels of the sanctuary, lest the enemy should get possession of them. 3 And when they had done these things, they delivered thereupon to the enemy the overthrown wall, and the plundered house, and the burnt temple, and the people who were overcome because they were delivered up, lest the enemy should boast and say: ‘Thus by force have we been able to lay waste even the house of the Most High in war.’ 4 Your brethren also they have bound and led away to Babylon, and have caused them to dwell there. 5 But we have been left here, being very few. 6 This is the tribulation about which I wrote to you. 7 For assuredly I know that (the consolation of) the inhabitants of Zion consoleth you; so far as ye knew that it was prospered (your consolation) was greater than the tribulation which ye endured in having departed from it.
Chapter 81
1 But regarding consolation, hear ye the word. 2 For I was mourning regarding Zion, and I prayed for mercy from the Most High, and I said:
3 ‘How long will these things endure for us? And will these evils come upon us always?’
4 And the Mighty One did according to the multitude of His mercies, And the Most High according to the greatness of His compassion. And He revealed unto me the word that I might receive consolation. And He showed me visions that I should not again endure anguish. And He made known to me the mystery of the times, And the advent of the hours He showed me.
Chapter 82
1 Therefore, my brethren, I have written to you, that ye may comfort yourselves regarding the multitude of your tribulations. 2 For know ye that our Maker will assuredly avenge us on all our enemies, according to all that they have done to us, also that the consummation which the Most High will make is very high, and His mercy that is coming, and the consummation of His judgement, is by no means far off.
3 For lo! we see now the multitude of the prosperity of the Gentiles, Though they act impiously, But they shall be like a vapour.
4 And we behold the multitude of their power, Though they do wickedly, But they shall be made like unto a drop.
5 And we see the firmness of their might. Though they resist the Mighty One every hour, But they shall be accounted as spittle.
6 And we consider the glory of their greatness, Though they do not keep the statutes of the Most High, But as smoke shall they pass away.
7 And we meditate on the beauty of their gracefulness, Though they have to do with pollutions, But as grass that withers shall they fade away.
8 And we consider the strength of their cruelty, Though they remember not the end (thereof), But as a wave that passeth shall they be broken.
9 And we remark the boastfulness of their might, Though they deny the beneficence of God, Who gave (it) to them, But they shall pass away as a passing cloud.