Baruch 6

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 'Because of the sins which you have committed before God you are to be deported to Babylon byNebuchadnezzar king of the Babylonians.	1 A copy of the letter which Jeremiah sent to those who were being led captive to Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to convey to them what God had commanded him:
2 Once you have reached Babylon you wil stay there for many years, as long as seven generations; afterwhich I shall bring you home in peace.	2 When you reach Babylon you will be there many years, a period seven generations long; after which I will bring you back from there in peace.
3 Now in Babylon you wil see gods made of silver, of gold, of wood, being carried shoulder-high, andfilling the gentiles with fear.	3 And now in Babylon you will see borne upon men's shoulders gods of silver and gold and wood, which cast fear upon the pagans.
4 Be on your guard! Do not imitate the foreigners, do not have any fear of their gods	4 Take care that you yourselves do not imitate their alien example and stand in fear of them,
5 as you see their worshippers prostrating themselves before and behind them. Instead, say in yourhearts, "Master, it is you that we must worship."	5 when you see the crowd before them and behind worshiping them. Rather, say in your hearts, "You, O LORD, are to be worshiped!";
6 For my angel is with you; your lives wil be in his care.	6 for my angel is with you, and he is the custodian of your lives.
7 'Overlaid with gold and silver, their tongues polished smooth by a craftsman, they are counterfeit andhave no power to speak.	7 Their tongues are smoothed by woodworkers; they are covered with gold and silver-but they are a fraud, and cannot speak.
8 As though for a girl fond of finery, these people take gold and make crowns for the heads of their gods.	8 People bring gold, as to a maiden in love with ornament,
9 And sometimes, the priests filch gold and silver from their gods to spend on themselves, even givingsome of it to the prostitutes on the terrace.	9 and furnish crowns for the heads of their gods. Then sometimes the priests take the silver and gold from their gods and spend it on themselves,
10 They dress up these gods of silver, gold and wood, in clothes, like human beings; on their own theycannot protect themselves from either tarnish or woodworm;	10 or give part of it to the harlots on the terrace. They trick them out in garments like men, these gods of silver and gold and wood;
11 when they have been dressed in purple cloaks, their faces have to be dusted, because of the templedust which settles thick on them.	11 but though they are wrapped in purple clothing, they are not safe from corrosion or insects.
12 One holds a sceptre like the governor of a province, yet is powerless to put to death anyone whooffends him;	12 They wipe their faces clean of the house dust which is thick upon them.
13 another holds sword and mace in his right hand, yet is powerless to defend himself against war orthieves.	13 Each has a scepter, like the human ruler of a district; but none does away with those that offend against it.
14 From this it is evident that they are not gods; do not be afraid of them.	14 Each has in its right hand an axe or dagger, but it cannot save itself from war or pillage. Thus it is known they are not gods; do not fear them.
15 'Just as a pot in common use becomes useless once it is broken, so are these gods enshrined insidetheir temples.	15 As useless as one's broken tools
16 Their eyes are ful of dust raised by the feet of those who enter.	16 are their gods, set up in their houses; their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those who enter.
17 Just as the doors are locked on al sides on someone who has offended a king and is under sentenceof death, so the priests secure the temples of these gods with gates and bolts and bars for fear of burglary.	17 Their courtyards are walled in like those of a man brought to execution for a crime against the king; the priests reinforce their houses with gates and bars and bolts, lest they be carried off by robbers.
18 They light more lamps for them than they do for themselves, and the gods see none of them.	18 They light more lamps for them than for themselves, yet not one of these can they see.
19 They are like one of the temple beams, which are said to be gnawed away from within; the termitescreep out of the ground and eat them and their clothes too, and they feel nothing.	19 They are like any beam in the house; it is said their hearts are eaten away. Though the insects out of the ground consume them and their garments, they do not feel it.
20 Their faces are blackened by the smoke that rises from the temple.	20 Their faces are blackened by the smoke of the house.
21 Bats, swal ows, birds of every kind perch on their bodies and heads, and so do cats.	21 Bats and swallows alight on their bodies and on their heads; and cats as well as birds.
22 From this, you can see for yourselves that they are not gods; do not be afraid of them.	22 Know, therefore, that they are not gods, and do not fear them.
23 'The gold with which they are parading their futility before the world is supposed to make them lookbeautiful, but if someone does not rub off the tarnish, these gods wil not be shining much on their own, and evenwhile they were being cast, they felt nothing.	23 Despite the gold that covers them for adornment, unless someone wipes away the corrosion, they do not shine; nor did they feel anything when they were molded.
24 However much was paid for them, there is still no breath of life in them.	24 They are bought at any price, and there is no spirit in them.
25 Being unable to walk, they have to be carried on men's shoulders, which shows how futile they are. Itis humiliating for their worshippers, too, who have to stand them up again if they fal over.	25 Having no feet, they are carried on men's shoulders, displaying their shame to all; and those who worship them are put to confusion
26 Once they have been stood up, they cannot move on their own; if they tilt askew, they cannot rightthemselves; offerings made to them might as wel be made to the dead.	26 because, if they fall to the ground, the worshipers must raise them up. They neither move of themselves if one sets them upright, nor come upright if they fall; but one puts gifts beside them as beside the dead.
27 Whatever is sacrificed to them, the priests re-sel and pocket the profit; while their wives salt down partof it, but give nothing to the poor or to the helpless. As to the sacrifices themselves, why, women during theirperiods and women in childbed are not afraid to touch them!	27 Their priests resell their sacrifices for their own advantage. Even their wives cure parts of the meat, but do not share it with the poor and the weak;
28 From all this you can tel that they are not gods; do not be afraid of them.	28 the menstruous and women in childbed handle their sacrifices. Knowing from this that they are not gods, do not fear them.
29 'Indeed, how can they even be cal ed gods, when women do the offering to these gods of silver, goldand wood?	29 How can they be called gods? For women bring the offerings to these gods of silver and gold and wood;
30 In their temples, the priests stay sitting down, their garments torn, heads and beard shaved and headsuncovered;	30 and in their temples the priests squat with torn tunic and with shaven hair and beard, and with their heads uncovered.
31 they roar and shriek before their gods as people do at funeral feasts.	31 They shout and wail before their gods as others do at a funeral banquet.
32 The priests take robes from the gods to clothe their own wives and children.	32 The priests take some of their clothing and put it on their wives and children.
33 Whether these gods are treated badly or well, they are incapable of paying back either treatment; asincapable too of making or unmaking kings,	33 Whether they are treated well or ill by anyone, they cannot requite it; they can neither set up a king nor remove him.
34 equal y incapable of distributing wealth or money. If anyone fails to honour a vow he has made tothem, they cannot cal him to account.	34 Similarly, they cannot give anyone riches or coppers; if one fails to fulfill a vow to them, they cannot exact it of him.
35 They can neither save anyone from death nor rescue the weak from the strong,	35 They neither save a man from death, nor deliver the weak from the strong.
36 nor restore sight to the blind, nor save anyone in trouble,	36 To no blind man do they restore his sight, nor do they save any man in an emergency.
37 nor take pity on a widow, nor be generous to an orphan.	37 They neither pity the widow nor benefit the orphan.
38 These wooden gods overlaid with gold and silver are about as much use as rocks cut out of themountain side. Their worshippers wil be confounded!	38 These gilded and silvered wooden statues are like stones from the mountains; and their worshipers will be put to shame.
39 So how can anyone think or say that they are gods?	39 How then can it be thought or claimed that they are gods?
40 'The Chaldaeans themselves do them no honour; if they find someone who is dumb and cannot speak,they present him to Bel, entreating him for the gift of speech, as though he could perceive it!	40 Even the Chaldeans themselves have no respect for them; for when they see a deaf mute, incapable of speech, they bring forward Bel and ask the god to make noise, as though the man could understand;
41 And they are incapable of drawing the conclusion and abandoning those gods -- such is their lack ofperception.	41 and they are themselves unable to reflect and abandon these gods, for they have no sense.
42 Women with strings round their waists sit in the streets, burning bran like incense;	42 And their women, girt with cords, sit by the roads, burning chaff for incense;
43 when one of these has been picked up by a passer-by and been to bed with him, she then gloats overher neighbour for not having been thought as worthy as herself and for not having had her string broken.	43 and whenever one of them is drawn aside by some passer-by who lies with her, she mocks her neighbor who has not been dignified as she has, and has not had her cord broken.
44 Whatever is done for them is spurious. So how can anyone think or say that they are gods?	44 All that takes place around these gods is a fraud: how then can it be thought or claimed that they are gods?
45 'Made by woodworkers and goldsmiths, they are only what those workmen decide to make them.	45 They are produced by woodworkers and goldsmiths, and they are nothing else than what these craftsmen wish them to be.
46 Their makers have not long to live themselves, so how can the things they make be gods?	46 Even those who produce them are not long-lived;
47 Their legacy to their descendants is nothing but delusion and dishonour.	47 how then can what they have produced be gods? They have left frauds and opprobrium to their successors.
48 If war or disasters befal them, the priests discuss where best to hide themselves and these gods;	48 For when war or disaster comes upon them, the priests deliberate among themselves where they can hide with them.
49 how can anyone fail to realise that they are not gods, if they cannot save themselves from war or fromdisasters?	49 How then can one not know that these are no-gods, which do not save themselves either from war or from disaster?
50 And since they are only made of wood overlaid with gold or silver, it wil later become apparent thatthey are spurious; it wil be obvious to everyone, to nations as to kings, that they are not gods but the work ofhuman hands, and that there is no divine activity in them.	50 They are wooden, gilded and silvered; they will later be known for frauds. To all peoples and kings it will be clear that they are not gods, but human handiwork; and that God's work is not in them.
51 Does anyone still need convincing that they are not gods?	51 Who does not know that they are not gods?
52 'They can neither appoint a king over a country, nor give rain to humankind,	52 They set no king over the land, nor do they give men rain.
53 nor regulate their own affairs, nor rescue anyone who suffers a wrong; they are as helpless as crowsbetween sky and ground.	53 They neither vindicate their own rights, nor do they recover what is unjustly taken, for they are unable;
54 If fire fal s on the temple of these wooden gods overlaid with gold or silver, their priests fly to safetywhile they for their part stay there like beams, to be burnt.	54 they are like crows between heaven and earth. For when fire breaks out in the temple of these wooden or gilded or silvered gods, though the priests flee and are safe, they themselves are burnt up in the fire like beams.
55 They cannot put up any resistance to a king or to enemies.	55 They cannot resist a king, or enemy forces.
56 So how can anyone think or say that they are gods?	56 How then can it be admitted or thought that they are gods? are safe from neither thieves nor bandits, these wooden and silvered and gilded gods;
57 'These wooden gods overlaid with gold or silver cannot evade thieves or marauders; strong men mayrob them of their gold and silver and make off with the robes they are dressed in; yet they are powerless to helpeven themselves.	57 those who seize them strip off the gold and the silver, and go away with the clothing that was on them, and they cannot help themselves.
58 Better to be a king displaying his prowess, a household pot of use to its owner, than to be thesecounterfeit gods; or merely the door of a house, protecting what is inside, than these counterfeit gods; or awooden pil ar in a palace than these counterfeit gods.	58 How much better to be a king displaying his valor, or a handy tool in a house, the joy of its owner, than these false gods; or the door of a house, that keeps safe those who are within, rather than these false gods; or a wooden post in a palace, rather than these false gods!
59 The sun, the moon and the stars, which shine and have been given work to do, are obedient;	59 The sun and moon and stars are bright, and obedient in the service for which they are sent.
60 similarly, the lightning, as it flashes, is a fine sight; in the same way, the wind blows across everycountry,	60 Likewise the lightning, when it flashes, is a goodly sight; and the same wind blows over all the land.
61 the clouds execute the order God gives them to pass over the whole earth, and the fire, sent fromabove to consume mountain and forest, carries out its orders.	61 The clouds, too, when commanded by God to proceed across the whole world, fulfill the order;
62 Now these gods are not their equals, either in beauty or in power.	62 and fire, sent from on high to burn up the mountains and the forests, does what has been commanded. But these false gods are not their equal, whether in beauty or in power;
63 So, no one can think or say that they are gods, powerless as they are to administer justice or to doanyone any good.	63 so that it is unthinkable, and cannot be claimed, that they are gods. They can neither execute judgment, nor benefit man.
64 Therefore, knowing that they are not gods, do not be afraid of them.	64 Know, therefore, that they are not gods, and do not fear them.
65 'For they can neither curse nor bless kings,	65 Kings they neither curse nor bless.
66 nor produce signs in heaven for the nations, nor shine like the sun, nor shed light like the moon.	66 They show the nations no signs in the heavens, nor are they brilliant like the sun, nor shining like the moon.
67 The animals are better off than they are, being able to look after themselves by making for cover.	67 The beasts which can help themselves by fleeing to shelter are better than they are.
68 There is not the slightest shred of evidence that they are gods; so do not be afraid of them!	68 Thus in no way is it clear to us that they are gods; so do not fear them.
69 'Their wooden gods overlaid with gold and silver are like a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers --protecting nothing.	69 For like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, that is no protection, are their wooden, gilded, silvered gods.
70 Or again, their wooden gods overlaid with gold and silver are like a thorn-bush in a garden -- any kind of bird may perch on it -- or like a corpse thrown out into the dark.	70 Just like a thornbush in a garden on which perches every kind of bird, or like a corpse hurled into darkness, are their silvered and gilded wooden gods.
71 From the purple and linen rotting on their backs you can tell that they are not gods; and in the end,eaten away, they wil be the dishonour of the country.	71 From the rotting of the purple and the linen upon them, it can be known that they are not gods; they themselves will in the end be comsumed, and be a disgrace in the land.
72 Better, then, someone upright who has no idols; dishonour wil never come near him.'	72 The better for the just man who has no idols: he shall be far from disgrace!