Baruch 3

NEW AMERICAN BIBLE	NEW JERUSALEM
1 "LORD Almighty, God of Israel, afflicted souls and dismayed spirits call to you.	1 Almighty Lord, God of Israel, a soul in anguish, a troubled heart now cries to you:
2 Hear, O LORD, for you are a God of mercy; and have mercy on us, who have sinned against you:	2 Listen and have pity, Lord, for we have sinned before you.
3 for you are enthroned forever, while we are perishing forever.	3 You sit enthroned for ever, while we are perishing for ever.
4 LORD Almighty, God of Israel, hear the prayer of Israel's few, the sons of those who sinned against you; they did not heed the voice of the LORD, their God, and the evils cling to us.	4 Almighty Lord, God of Israel, hear the prayer of the dead of Israel, of the children of those who havesinned against you and have not listened to the voice of the Lord their God; hence the disasters which dog us.
5 Remember at this time not the misdeeds of our fathers, but your own hand and name:	5 Do not cal to mind the misdeeds of our ancestors, but remember instead your power and your name.
6 for you are the LORD our God; and you, O LORD, we will praise!	6 You are indeed the Lord our God and we wil praise you, Lord,
7 For this, you put into our hearts the fear of you: that we may call upon your name, and praise you in our captivity, when we have removed from our hearts all the wickedness of our fathers who sinned against you.	7 since you have put respect for you in our hearts to encourage us to cal on your name. We long topraise you in our exile, for we have rid our hearts of the wickedness of our ancestors who sinned against you.
8 Behold us today in our captivity, where you scattered us, a reproach, a curse, and a requital for all the misdeeds of our fathers, who withdrew from the LORD, our God."	8 Look, today we are still in exile where you have scattered us as something contemptible, accursed,condemned, for al the misdeeds of our ancestors who had abandoned the Lord our God.
9 Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life: listen, and know prudence!	9 Listen, Israel, to commands that bring life; hear, and learn what knowledge means.
10 How is it, Israel, that you are in the land of your foes, grown old in a foreign land, Defiled with the dead,	10 Why, Israel, why are you in the country of your enemies, growing older and older in an alien land,
11 accounted with those destined for the nether world?	11 defiling yourselves with the dead, reckoned with those who go to Sheol?
12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!	12 It is because you have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!
13 Had you walked in the way of God, you would have dwelt in enduring peace.	13 Had you walked in the way of God, you would be living in peace for ever.
14 Learn where prudence is, where strength, where understanding; That you may know also where are length of days, and life, where light of the eyes, and peace.	14 Learn where knowledge is, where strength, where understanding, and so learn where length of days is,where life, where the light of the eyes and where peace.
15 Who has found the place of wisdom, who has entered into her treasuries?	15 But who has found out where she lives, who has entered her treasure house?
16 Where are the rulers of the nations, they who lorded it over the wild beasts of the earth,	16 Where now are the leaders of the nations and those who ruled even the beasts of earth,
17 and made sport of the birds of the heavens: They who heaped up the silver and the gold in which men trust; of whose possessions there was no end?	17 those who sported with the birds of heaven, those who accumulated silver and gold on which alpeople rely, and whose possessions had no end,
18 They schemed anxiously for money, but there is no trace of their work:	18 those who worked so carefully in silver -but of whose works no trace is to be found?
19 They have vanished down into the nether world, and others have risen up in their stead.	19 They have vanished, gone down to Sheol. Others have risen to their places,
20 Later generations have seen the light, have dwelt in the land, But the way to understanding they have not known,	20 more recent generations have seen the day and peopled the earth in their turn, but the way ofknowledge they have not found;
21 they have not perceived her paths, or reached her; their offspring were far from the way to her.	21 they have not recognised the paths she treads. Nor have their children had any grasp of her, remainingfar from her way.
22 She has not been heard of in Canaan, nor seen in Teman.	22 Nothing has been heard of her in Canaan, nothing has been seen of her in Teman;
23 The sons of Hagar who seek knowledge on earth, the merchants of Midian and Teman, the phrasemakers seeking knowledge, These have not known the way to wisdom, nor have they her paths in mind.	23 the children of Hagar in search of worldly wisdom, the merchants of Midian and Teman, the tale-spinners and the philosophers have none of them found the way to wisdom or remembered the paths shetreads.
24 O Israel, how vast is the house of God, how broad the scope of his dominion:	24 How great, Israel, is the house of God, how wide his domain,
25 Vast and endless, high and immeasurable!	25 immeasurably wide, infinitely lofty!
26 In it were born the giants, renowned at the first, stalwarts, skilled in war.	26 In it were born the giants, famous from the beginning, immensely tal , expert in war;
27 Not these did God choose, nor did he give them the way of understanding;	27 God's choice did not fall on these, he did not show them the way of knowledge;
28 They perished for lack of prudence, perished through their folly.	28 they perished for lack of wisdom, perished by their own folly.
29 Who has gone up to the heavens and taken her, or brought her down from the clouds?	29 Who has ever climbed the sky and seized her to bring her down from the clouds?
30 Who has crossed the sea and found her, bearing her away rather than choice gold?	30 Who has ever crossed the ocean and found her to bring her back in exchange for the finest gold?
31 None knows the way to her, nor has any understood her paths.	31 No one can learn the way to her, no one can understand the path she treads.
32 Yet he who knows all things knows her; he has probed her by his knowledge-- He who established the earth for all time, and filled it with four-footed beasts;	32 But the One who knows al discovers her, he has grasped her with his own intel ect, he has set theearth firm for evermore and filled it with four-footed beasts,
33 He who dismisses the light, and it departs, calls it, and it obeys him trembling;	33 he sends the light -- and it goes, he recal s it -- and trembling it obeys;
34 Before whom the stars at their posts shine and rejoice;	34 the stars shine joyful y at their posts;
35 When he calls them, they answer, "Here we are!" shining with joy for their Maker.	35 when he cal s them, they answer, 'Here we are'; they shine to delight their Creator.
36 Such is our God; no other is to be compared to him:	36 It is he who is our God, no other can compare with him.
37 He has traced out all the way of understanding, and has given her to Jacob, his servant, to Israel, his beloved son.	37 He has uncovered the whole way of knowledge and shown it to his servant Jacob, to Israel his wel -beloved;
38 Since then she has appeared on earth, and moved among men.	38 only then did she appear on earth and live among human beings.