Baruch 2

NEW JERUSALEM	DOUAI-RHEIMS
1 And so the Lord has carried out the sentence which he passed on us, on our judges who governedIsrael, on our kings and leaders and on the people of Israel and of Judah;	1 And now, O Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, the soul in anguish, and the troubled spirit crieth to thee:
2 what he did to Jerusalem has never been paral eled under the wide heavens -- in conformity with whatwas written in the Law of Moses;	2 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy, for thou art a merciful God, and have pity on us: for we have sinned before thee.
3 we were each reduced to eating the flesh of our own sons and daughters.	3 For thou remainest for ever, and shall we perish everlastingly?
4 Furthermore, he has handed them over into the power of all the kingdoms that surround us, to be thecontempt and execration of all the neighbouring peoples among whom the Lord scattered them.	4 O Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, hear now the prayer of the dead of Israel, and of their children, that have sinned before thee, and have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord their God, wherefore evils have cleaved fast to us.
5 Instead of being masters, they found themselves enslaved, because we had sinned against the Lord ourGod by not listening to his voice.	5 Remember not the iniquities of our fathers, but think upon thy hand, and upon thy name at this time:
6 Saving justice is the Lord's; we and our ancestors have only the look of shame we bear today.	6 For thou art the Lord our God, and we will praise thee, O Lord:
7 Al those disasters which the Lord pronounced against us have now befallen us.	7 Because for this end thou hast put thy fear in our hearts, to the intent that we should call upon thy name, and praise thee in our captivity, for we are converted from the iniquity of our fathers, who sinned before thee.
8 And yet we have not tried to win the favour of the Lord by each of us renouncing the dictates of our ownwicked heart;	8 And behold we are at this day in our captivity, whereby thou hast scattered us to be a reproach, and a curse, and an offence, according to all the iniquities of our fathers, who departed from thee, O Lord our God.
9 so the Lord has been alert to our misdeeds and has brought disaster down on us, since the Lord isupright in everything he had commanded us to do,	9 Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life: give ear, that thou mayst learn wisdom.
10 and we have not listened to his voice so as to fol ow the commandments which the Lord had ordainedfor us.	10 How happeneth it, O Israel, that thou art in thy enemies' land?
11 And now, Lord, God of Israel, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with signs andwonders, with great power and with outstretched arm, to win yourself a name such as you have today,	11 Thou art grown old in a strange country, thou art defiled with the dead: thou art counted with them that go down into hell.
12 we have sinned, we have committed sacrilege; Lord our God, we have broken al your precepts.	12 Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom :
13 Let your anger turn from us since we are no more than a little remnant among the nations where youhave dispersed us.	13 For if thou hadst walked in the way of God, thou hadst surely dwelt in peace for ever.
14 Listen, Lord, to our prayers and our entreaties; deliver us for your own sake and let us win the favour ofthe people who have deported us,	14 Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding: that thou mayst know also where is length of days and life, where is the light of the eyes, and peace.
15 so that the whole world may know that you are the Lord our God, since Israel and his descendantsbear your name.	15 Who hath found out her place? and who hath gone in to her treasures?
16 Look down, Lord, from your holy dwel ing-place and think of us, bow your ear and listen,	16 Where are the princes of the nations, and they that rule over the beasts that are upon the earth?
17 open your eyes, Lord, and look; the dead down in Sheol, whose breath has been taken from theirbodies, are not the ones to give glory and due recognition to the Lord;	17 That take their diversion with the birds of the air.
18 whoever is overcome with affliction, who goes along bowed down and frail, with failing eyes andhungering soul, that is the one to give you glory and due recognition, Lord.	18 That hoard up silver and gold, wherein men trust, and there is no end of their getting? who work in silver and are solicitous, and their works are unsearchable.
19 We do not rely on the merits of our ancestors and of our kings to offer you our humble plea, Lord ourGod.	19 They are cut off, and are gone down to hell, and others are risen up in their place.
20 No, you have sent down your anger and your fury on us, as you threatened through your servants theprophets when they said,	20 Young men have seen the light, and dwelt upon the earth: but the way of knowledge they have not known,
21 'The Lord says this: Bend your necks and serve the king of Babylon, and you wil remain in the countrywhich I gave to your ancestors.	21 Nor have they understood the paths thereof, neither have their children received it, it is far from their face.
22 But if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord and serve the king of Babylon	22 It hath not been heard of in the land of Chanaan, neither hath it been seen in Theman.
23 then I shal silence the shouts of rejoicing and mirth and the voices of bridegroom and bride in thetowns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, and the whole country will be reduced to desert, with noinhabitants.'	23 The children of Agar also, that search after the wisdom that is of the earth, the merchants of Merrha, and of Theman, and the tellers of fables, and searchers of prudence and understanding: but the way of wisdom they have not known, neither have they remembered her paths.
24 But we would not listen to your voice and serve the king of Babylon, and so you carried out what youhad threatened through your servants the prophets: that the bones of our kings and of our ancestors would bedragged from their resting places.	24 O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of his possession!
25 They were indeed tossed out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. And people died indreadful agony, from famine, sword and plague.	25 It is great, and hath no end: it is high and immense.
26 And so, because of the wickedness of the House of Israel and the House of Judah, you have madethis House, that bears your name, what it is today.	26 There were the giants, those renowned men that were from the beginning, of great stature, expert in war.
27 And yet, Lord our God, you have treated us in a way worthy of al your goodness and boundlesstenderness,	27 The Lord chose not them, neither did they find the way of knowledge: therefore did they perish.
28 just as you had promised through your servant Moses, the day you told him to write your Law in thepresence of the Israelites, and said,	28 And because they had not wisdom, they perished through their folly.
29 'If you do not listen to my voice, this great and innumerable multitude wil certainly be reduced to a tinyfew among the nations where I shal scatter them-	29 Who hath gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds?
30 for I knew that, being an obstinate people, they would not listen to me. But in the country of their exile,they will come to themselves	30 Who hath passed over the sea, and found her, and brought her preferably to chosen gold?
31 and acknowledge that I am the Lord their God. I shal give them a heart and an attentive ear,	31 There is none that is able to know her ways, nor that can search out her paths :
32 and they will sing my praises in the country of their exile, they will remember my name;	32 But he that knoweth all things, knoweth her, and hath found her out with his understanding: he that prepared the earth for evermore, and filled it with cattle and fourfooted beasts:
33 they wil stop being obstinate and, remembering what became of their ancestors who sinned before theLord, will turn from their evil deeds.	33 He that sendeth forth light, and it goeth: and hath called it, and it obeyeth him with trembling.
34 Then I shal bring them back to the country which I promised on oath to their ancestors Abraham, Isaacand Jacob, and make them masters in it. I shal make their numbers grow; they wil not dwindle again.	34 And the stars have given light in their watches, and rejoiced:
35 And I shal make an everlasting covenant with them; so that I am their God and they are my people.And never again shal I drive my people Israel out of the country which I have given them.'	35 They were called, and they said: Here we are: and with cheerfuIness they have shined forth to him that made them.
	36 This is our God, and there shall no other be accounted of in comparison of him.
	37 He found out all the way of knowledge, and gave it to Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved.
	38 Afterwards he was seen upon earth, and conversed with men.