2 Baruch

5. Baruch's Complaint and God's Reassurance

5 1    And I answered and said:

       'So then I am destined to grieve for Zion,

       For your enemies will come to this place and pollute Your sanctuary,

       And lead your inheritance into captivity,

       And make themselves masters of those whom you have loved,

       And they will depart again to the place of their idols,

       And will boast before them:

       And what will you do for Your great name?'

2       And the Lord said unto me:

       'My name and My glory are unto all eternity;

       And My judgment shall maintain its right in its own time.

3     And you shall see with your eyes

       That the enemy will not overthrow Zion,

       Nor shall they burn Jerusalem,

       But be the ministers of the Judge for the time.

4       But do you go and do whatsoever I have said unto you.

5       And I went and took Jeremiah, and Adu, and Seriah, and Jabish, and Gedaliah, and all the honorable men of the people, and I led them to the valley of Kidron, and I narrated to them all that had been said to me. 6 And they lifted up their voice, and they all wept. 7 And we sat there and fasted until the evening.

6—8. Invasion of the Chaldeans and their Entrance into the City after the Sacred Vessels were hidden and the City's Walls overthrown by Angels

6 1 And it came to pass on the morrow that, lo! the army of the Chaldees surrounded the city, and at the time of the evening, I, Baruch, left the people, and I went forth and stood by the oak. 2 And I was grieving over Zion, and lamenting over the captivity which had come upon the people. 3 And lo! suddenly a strong spirit raised me, and bore me aloft over the wall of Jerusalem. 4 And I beheld, and lo! four angels standing at the four corners of the city, each of them holding a torch of fire in his hands. 5 And another angel began to descend from heaven. and said unto them: 'Hold your lamps, and do not light them till I tell you. 6 For I am first sent to speak a word to the earth, and to place in it what the Lord the Most High has commanded me.' 7 And I saw him descend into the Holy of Holies, and take from there the veil, and holy ark, and the mercy-seat, and the two tables, and the holy raiment of the priests, and the altar of incense, and the forty-eight precious stones, wherewith the priest was adorned and all the holy vessels of the tabernacle. 8 And he spoke to the earth with a loud voice:

       'Earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the mighty God,

       And receive what I commit to you,

       And guard them until the last times,

       So that, when you are ordered, you may restore them,

       So that strangers may not get possession of them.

9       For the time comes when Jerusalem also will be delivered for a time,

       Until it is said, that it is again restored for ever.'

10     And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up.

7 1 And after these things I heard that angel saying unto those angels who held the lamps: 'Destroy, therefore, and overthrow its wall to its foundations, lest the enemy should boast and say:

       " We have overthrown the wall of Zion,

       And we have burnt the place of the mighty God."'

2       And they have seized the place where I had been standing before.

8 1 Now the angels did as he had commanded them, and when they had broken up the corners of the walls, a voice was heard from the interior of the temple, after the wall had fall saying:

2       'Enter, you enemies,

       And come, you adversaries;

       For he who kept the house has forsaken (it).'

3       And I, Baruch, departed. 4 And it came to pass after these things that the army of the Chaldees entered and seized the house, and all that was around it. And they led the people away captive and slew some of them, and bound Zedekiah the king, and sent him to the king of Babylon.

9—12. First Fast of seven Days: Baruch to remain amid the Ruins of Jerusalem and Jeremiah to accompany the Exiles to Babylon. Baruch's Dirge over Jerusalem

9 1 And I, Baruch, came, and Jeremiah, whose heart was found pure from sins, who had not been captured in the seizure of the City. 2 And we rent our garments, we wept, and mourned, and fasted seven days.

10 1 And it came to pass after seven days, that the word of God carne to me, and said unto me: 2 'Tell Jeremiah to go and support the captivity of the people unto Babylon. But do you remain here amid the desolation of Zion, and I will show to you after these days 'what will befall at the end of days.' And I said to Jeremiah as the Lord commanded me. And he, indeed, departed with the people, but I, Baruch, returned and sat before the gates of the temple, and I lamented with the following lamentation over Zion and said:

6    'Blessed is he who was not born,

     Or he, who having been born, has died.

7    But as for us who live, woe unto us,

     Because we see the afflictions of Zion,

     And what has befallen Jerusalem.

8    I will call the Sirens from the sea,

     And you Lilin, come you from the desert,

     And you Shedim and dragons from the forests:

     Awake and gird up your loins unto mourning,

     And take up with me the dirges,

     And make lamentation with me.

9    Ye husbandmen, sow not again;

     And, O earth, wherefore give  you your harvest fruits?

     Keep within you the sweets of your sustenance.

10  And thou, vine, why further do you give your wine;

     For an offering will not again be made from there in Zion,

     Nor will first-fruits again be offered.

11     And do ye, O heavens, 'withhold your dew,

       And open not the treasuries of rain:

12     And do thou, O sun withhold the light of your rays.

       And do thou, O moon, extinguish the multitude of your light;

       For why should light rise again

       Where the light of Zion is darkened?

13     And you, you bridegrooms, enter not in,

       And let not the brides adorn themselves with garlands;

       And, you women, pray not that you may bear.

14     For the barren shall above all rejoice,

       And those who have no sons shall be glad,

       And those who have sons shall have anguish.

15     For why should they bear in pain,

       Only to bury in grief?

16     Or why, again, should mankind have sons?

       Or why should the seed of their kind again be named,

       Where this mother is desolate,

       And her sons are led into captivity?

17     From this time forward speak not of beauty,

       And discourse not of gracefulness.

18     Moreover, you priests) take you the keys of the sanctuary,

       And cast them into the height of heaven,

       And give them to the Lord and say:

       "Guard Your house Thyself,

       For lo! we are found false stewards."

19     And you, you virgins; who weave fine linen

       And silk with gold of Ophir,

       Take with haste all (these) things

       And cast (them) into the fire,

       That it may bear them to Him who made them,

       And the flame send them to Him who created them,

       Lest the enemy get possession of them.'

11 1 Moreover, I, Baruch, say this against you, Babylon:

       'If you had prospered,

       And Zion had dwelt in her glory,

       Yet the grief to us had been great

       That you should be equal to Zion.

2       But now, lo! the grief is infinite,

       And the lamentation measureless,

       For lo! you are prospered

       And Zion desolate.

3       Who will be judge regarding these things?

       Or to whom shall we complain regarding that which has befallen us?

       O Lord, how have you borne (it)?

4       Our fathers went to rest without grief,

       And lo! the righteous sleep in the earth in tranquility;

5       For they knew not this anguish,

       Nor yet had they heard of that which had befallen us.

6       Would that you had ears, O earth,

       And that you had a heart, O dust:

       That you might go and announce in Sheol,

       And say to the dead:

7       "Blessed are you more than we who live."'

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12 1 But I will say this as I think.

And I will speak against you, O land, which alt prospering.

2 The noonday does not always burn.

Nor do the rays of the sun constantly give light.

3 Do not expect Land hope] that you will always he prosperous and rejoicing.

And be not greatly up lifted and boastful.

4 For assuredly in its own season shall the (divine) wrath awake against you.

Which now in long-suffering is held in as it were by reins.

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12:5—13. Second Fast. Revelation as to the coming judgment on the Heathen.

5 And when I had said these things, I fasted seven days.

       13 1 And it came to pass after these things, that I, Baruch, was standing upon Mount Zion, and lo! a voice came from the height and said unto me: 2 'Stand upon your feet, Baruch, and hear the word of the mighty God.'

3 Because you have been astonished at what has befallen Zion, you shall therefore be assuredly preserved to the consummation of the times, that you may be for a testimony. 4 So that, if ever those prosperous cities say: 5 'Why hath the mighty God brought upon us this retribution?' Say you to them, you and those like you who shall have seen this evil: '(This is the evil) and retribution which is coming upon you and upon your people in its (destined) time that the nations may be thoroughly smitten. 6 And then they shall be in anguish. 7 And if they say at that time:

8       For how long? you will say to them:

       "Ye who have drunk the strained wine,

       Drink you also of its dregs,

       The judgment of the Lofty One

       Who has no respect of persons."'

9       On this account he had aforetime no mercy on His own sons,

       But afflicted them as His enemies, because they sinned,

10     Then therefore were they chastened

       That they might be sanctified.

11     But now, you peoples and nations, you are guilty

        Because you have always trodden down the earth,

        And used the creation unrighteously.

12     For I have always benefited you.

       And you have always been ungrateful for the bene­ficence.

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