Baruch 2

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
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 “ ‘For this reason, the Lord our God has fulfilled his word, which he has spoken to us, and to our judges, who have judged Israel, and to our kings, and to our leaders, and to all Israel and Judah.
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 And so the Lord has brought upon us great evils, such as never before happened under heaven, (but which have come to pass in Jerusalem according to what was written in the law of Moses)
3 we were each reduced to eating the flesh of our own sons and daughters.	3 even that a man would eat the flesh of his son and the flesh of his daughter.
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 And so he placed them under the hand of all the kings who surround us, in disgrace and desolation among all the people where the Lord has scattered 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 And we were brought down low and were not raised up, because we sinned against the Lord our God, by not obeying his voice.
6 Saving justice is the Lord's; we and our ancestors have only the look of shame we bear today.	6 To the Lord our God is justice, but to us and to our fathers is confusion of face, just as on this day.
7 Al those disasters which the Lord pronounced against us have now befallen us.	7 For the Lord has pronounced against us all these evils, which have overcome us.
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 we have not beseeched the face of the Lord our God, so that we might return, each one of us from our most sinful ways.
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 And the Lord has watched over us for evil and has brought it upon us, because the Lord is just in all his works that he has commanded us,
10 and we have not listened to his voice so as to fol ow the commandments which the Lord had ordainedfor us.	10 and we have not listened to his own voice, so as to walk according to the teachings of the Lord, which he has set before our face.
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 And now, O Lord God of Israel, who has led your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, and with signs, and with wonders, and with your great power, and with an exalted arm, and has made a name for yourself, just as on this day,
12 we have sinned, we have committed sacrilege; Lord our God, we have broken al your precepts.	12 we have sinned, we become impious, we have acted unjustly, O Lord our God, against all your principles.
13 Let your anger turn from us since we are no more than a little remnant among the nations where youhave dispersed us.	13 May your wrath be turned away from us because, having been forsaken, we are few among the irreligious where you have scattered us.
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 Heed, O Lord, our petitions and our prayers, and deliver us for your own sake, and grant that we may find favor before the face of those who have led us away,
15 so that the whole world may know that you are the Lord our God, since Israel and his descendantsbear your name.	15 so that all the earth may know that you are the Lord our God, and because your name has been invoked over Israel and over his posterity.
16 Look down, Lord, from your holy dwel ing-place and think of us, bow your ear and listen,	16 Gaze upon us, O Lord, from your holy home, and incline your ear, and heed us.
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 Open your eyes and see, because the dead, who are in the underworld, whose spirit has been taken away from their vital organs, will not give honor and justification to the Lord.
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 But the soul that is sorrowful for the greatness of evil, approaches bowed down and weak, and the failing eyes and the hungering soul give glory and justice to you, the Lord.
19 We do not rely on the merits of our ancestors and of our kings to offer you our humble plea, Lord ourGod.	19 For it is not according to the righteousness of our fathers that we pour out our petitions and beg mercy in your sight, O Lord our God,
20 No, you have sent down your anger and your fury on us, as you threatened through your servants theprophets when they said,	20 but because you have sent your wrath and your fury upon us, just as you have spoken by the hand of your children the prophets, saying:
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 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Bow down your shoulder and your neck, and do work for the king of Babylon, and settle in the land which I gave to your fathers,
22 But if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord and serve the king of Babylon	22 because, if you will not listen to the voice of the Lord your God, to serve the king of Babylon, I will cause you to depart from the cities of Judah and from the gates of Jerusalem.
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 And I will take away from you the voice of cheerfulness and the voice of joy, and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, and all the land will be without any trace of its inhabitants.’ ”
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 And they did not listen to your voice, that they should serve the king of Babylon, and so you have fulfilled your words, which you spoke by the hands of your children the prophets, so that the bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers would be carried away from their place.
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 And, behold, they have been cast out into the heat of the sun and the frost of the night, and they have died by means of grievous evils, by famine, and by the sword, and by banishment.
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 And you have set up the temple, in which your name itself was called upon, just as it is on this day, because of the iniquity of the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
27 And yet, Lord our God, you have treated us in a way worthy of al your goodness and boundlesstenderness,	27 And you have accomplished in us, O Lord our God, according to all your goodness and according to all your great mercy,
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 just as you spoke by the hand of your child Moses, in the day when you commanded him to write your law before the sons of Israel,
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 saying: “If you will not listen to my voice, this great multitude will be changed into the least among the peoples, where I will scatter them.
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 For I know that the people will not listen to me, for the people are stiff necked. But they will have a change of their heart in the land of their captivity,
31 and acknowledge that I am the Lord their God. I shal give them a heart and an attentive ear,	31 and they will know that I am the Lord their God. And I will give them a heart, and they will understand, ears, and they will hear.
32 and they will sing my praises in the country of their exile, they will remember my name;	32 And they will praise me in the land of their captivity, and will remember my name.
33 they wil stop being obstinate and, remembering what became of their ancestors who sinned before theLord, will turn from their evil deeds.	33 And they will turn themselves away from their stiff back, and from their wicked deeds, for they will call to mind the way of their fathers, who sinned against me.
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 I will restore them to the land which I pledged to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they will rule over it, and I will multiply them, and they will not be diminished.
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 And I will establish for them a new and everlasting covenant, so that I will be their God and they will be my people. And I will no longer move my people, the sons of Israel, out of the land which I have given them.”