Baruch 3

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 Almighty Lord, God of Israel, a soul in anguish, a troubled heart now cries to you:	1 “ ‘And now, O Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, the soul in anguish and the troubled spirit cry out to you.
2 Listen and have pity, Lord, for we have sinned before you.	2 Listen, O Lord, and be merciful, for you are a merciful God, and so be merciful to us, for we have sinned before you.
3 You sit enthroned for ever, while we are perishing for ever.	3 For you are enthroned in eternity, but we will pass away in time.
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.	4 O Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, listen now to the prayer of the dead of Israel and of their sons, who have sinned before you and have not listened to the voice of the Lord their God, and have joined themselves to evil.
5 Do not cal to mind the misdeeds of our ancestors, but remember instead your power and your name.	5 Remember not the iniquities of our fathers, but remember your hand and your name at this time.
6 You are indeed the Lord our God and we wil praise you, Lord,	6 For you are the Lord our God, and we will praise you, O Lord.
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.	7 And for this reason, you have imparted your fear into our hearts, and also, so that we may call upon your name and may praise you in our captivity, for we are converted from the iniquity of our fathers, who sinned before you.
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.	8 And, behold, we are still in our captivity on this day, where you have scattered us into disgrace, and into slander, and into sin, according to all the iniquities of our fathers, who withdrew from you, O Lord our God.
9 Listen, Israel, to commands that bring life; hear, and learn what knowledge means.	9 Listen, O Israel, to the commandments of life! Pay attention, so that you may learn prudence!
10 Why, Israel, why are you in the country of your enemies, growing older and older in an alien land,	10 How is it, O Israel, that you are in the land of your enemies,
11 defiling yourselves with the dead, reckoned with those who go to Sheol?	11 that you have grown old in a foreign land, that you are defiled with the dead, that you are regarded as among those who are descending into hell?
12 It is because you have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!	12 You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom.
13 Had you walked in the way of God, you would be living in peace for ever.	13 For if you had walked in the way of God, you would certainly have lived in everlasting 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.	14 Learn where prudence is, where virtue is, where understanding is, so that you may know at the same time where long life and prosperity are, where the light of the eyes and peace are.
15 But who has found out where she lives, who has entered her treasure house?	15 Who has discovered its place? And who has entered its treasure chamber?
16 Where now are the leaders of the nations and those who ruled even the beasts of earth,	16 Where are the leaders of the peoples, and those who rule over the beasts that are upon the earth,
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,	17 who play among the birds of the air,
18 those who worked so carefully in silver -but of whose works no trace is to be found?	18 who store up treasures of silver and gold, in which men trust, and with whom there is no end to their acquiring, who work with silver and are anxious about it, and whose works are inexplicable?
19 They have vanished, gone down to Sheol. Others have risen to their places,	19 They have been banished and have descended to hell, and others are risen up in their place.
20 more recent generations have seen the day and peopled the earth in their turn, but the way ofknowledge they have not found;	20 The youth have seen the light and have dwelt upon the earth, yet they are ignorant of the way of instruction.
21 they have not recognised the paths she treads. Nor have their children had any grasp of her, remainingfar from her way.	21 They have neither understood the paths of it, nor have their sons accepted it. It is far from their face.
22 Nothing has been heard of her in Canaan, nothing has been seen of her in Teman;	22 It has not been heard of in the land of Canaan, nor has it been seen in Teman.
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.	23 It is likewise with the sons of Hagar, who search for the practicality that is of the earth, the negotiators of Merran and Teman, and the storytellers, and the searchers of discretion and intelligence. Yet the way of wisdom they have not known, nor have they called to mind its paths.
24 How great, Israel, is the house of God, how wide his domain,	24 O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place of his possession!
25 immeasurably wide, infinitely lofty!	25 It is great and has no end! It is exalted and immense!
26 In it were born the giants, famous from the beginning, immensely tal , expert in war;	26 There were those who were called giants, who existed from the beginning, of great stature, expert in war.
27 God's choice did not fall on these, he did not show them the way of knowledge;	27 The Lord did not choose them, nor did they discover the way of instruction; for this reason they perished,
28 they perished for lack of wisdom, perished by their own folly.	28 and, because they did not have wisdom, they passed away as a result of their foolishness.
29 Who has ever climbed the sky and seized her to bring her down from the clouds?	29 Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds?
30 Who has ever crossed the ocean and found her to bring her back in exchange for the finest gold?	30 Who has crossed the sea, and found her, and brought her, chosen instead of gold?
31 No one can learn the way to her, no one can understand the path she treads.	31 There is no one who is able to know her ways, nor any who can search out her paths.
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,	32 Yet he who knows the universe is familiar with her, and in his foresight he invented her, he who prepared the earth for time without end, and filled it with cattle and four-footed beasts,
33 he sends the light -- and it goes, he recal s it -- and trembling it obeys;	33 who sends out the light, and it goes, and who summoned it, and it obeyed him in fear.
34 the stars shine joyful y at their posts;	34 Yet the stars have given light from their posts, and they rejoiced.
35 when he cal s them, they answer, 'Here we are'; they shine to delight their Creator.	35 They were called, and so they said, “Here we are,” and they shined with cheerfulness to him who made them.
36 It is he who is our God, no other can compare with him.	36 This is our God, and no other can compare to him.
37 He has uncovered the whole way of knowledge and shown it to his servant Jacob, to Israel his wel -beloved;	37 He invented the way of all instruction, and delivered it to Jacob his child, and to Israel his beloved.
38 only then did she appear on earth and live among human beings.	38 After this, he was seen on earth, and he conversed with men.