Baruch 2

NEW JERUSALEM	Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
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 "'So the Lord confirmed his word, which he spoke against us, and against our judges who judged Israel, and against our kings and against our princes and against the men of 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 Under the whole heaven there has not been done the like of what he has done in Jerusalem, in accordance with what is written in the law of Moses,
3 we were each reduced to eating the flesh of our own sons and daughters.	3 that we should eat, one the flesh of his son and another 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 he gave them into subjection to all the kingdoms around us, to be a reproach and a desolation among all the surrounding peoples, where the Lord has scattered them.
5 Instead of being masters, they found themselves enslaved, because we had sinned against the Lord ourGod by not listening to his voice.	5 They were brought low and not raised up, because we sinned against the Lord our God, in not heeding his voice.
6 Saving justice is the Lord's; we and our ancestors have only the look of shame we bear today.	6 "'Righteousness belongs to the Lord our God, but confusion of face to us and our fathers, as at this day.
7 Al those disasters which the Lord pronounced against us have now befallen us.	7 All those calamities with which the Lord threatened us have come upon 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 Yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord by turning away, each of us, from the thoughts of his wicked heart.
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 kept the calamities ready, and the Lord has brought them upon us, for the Lord is righteous in all his works which he has commanded us to do.
10 and we have not listened to his voice so as to fol ow the commandments which the Lord had ordainedfor us.	10 Yet we have not obeyed his voice, to walk in the statutes of the Lord which he set before us.
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 didst bring thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and with signs and wonders and with great power and outstretched arm, and hast made thee a name, as at this day,
12 we have sinned, we have committed sacrilege; Lord our God, we have broken al your precepts.	12 we have sinned, we have been ungodly, we have done wrong, O Lord our God, against all thy ordinances.
13 Let your anger turn from us since we are no more than a little remnant among the nations where youhave dispersed us.	13 Let thy anger turn away from us, for we are left, few in number, among the nations where thou hast 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 Hear, O Lord, our prayer and our supplication, and for thy own sake deliver us, and grant us favor in the sight of those who have carried us into exile;
15 so that the whole world may know that you are the Lord our God, since Israel and his descendantsbear your name.	15 that all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by thy name.
16 Look down, Lord, from your holy dwel ing-place and think of us, bow your ear and listen,	16 O Lord, look down from thy holy habitation, and consider us. Incline thy ear, O Lord, and hear;
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 thy eyes, O Lord, and see; for the dead who are in Hades, whose spirit has been taken from their bodies, will not ascribe glory or justice 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 person that is greatly distressed, that goes about bent over and feeble, and the eyes that are failing, and the person that hungers, will ascribe to thee glory and righteousness, O 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 because of any righteous deeds of our fathers or our kings that we bring before thee our prayer for mercy, 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 For thou hast sent thy anger and thy wrath upon us, as thou didst declare by thy servants 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: Bend your shoulders and serve the king of Babylon, and you will remain 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 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord and will not serve the king of Babylon,
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 I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the region about Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, and the whole land will be a desolation without 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 "'But we did not obey thy voice, to serve the king of Babylon; and thou hast confirmed thy words, which thou didst speak by thy servants the prophets, that the bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers would be brought out of their graves;
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 to the heat of day and the frost of night. They perished in great misery, by famine and sword and pestilence.
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 the house which is called by thy name thou hast made as it is today, because of the wickedness 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 "'Yet thou hast dealt with us, O Lord our God, in all thy kindness and in all thy great compassion,
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 as thou didst speak by thy servant Moses on the day when thou didst command him to write thy law in the presence of the people of Israel, saying,
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 "If you will not obey my voice, this very great multitude will surely turn into a small number among the nations, 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 they will not obey me, for they are a stiff-necked people. But in the land of their exile they will come to themselves,
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. I will give them a heart that obeys and ears that 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 exile, 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 will turn from their stubbornness and their wicked deeds; for they will remember the ways of their fathers, who sinned before the Lord.
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 I will bring them again into the land which I swore to give to their fathers, to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, and they will rule over it; and I will increase 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 I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God and they shall be my people; and I will never again remove my people Israel from the land which I have given them."