The Book of Baruch | Les VersetsBibliques

THE PROPHECY OF BARUCH

The book of Baruch, is an ancient text said to have been written by Baruch, secretary and friend of Jeremiah, the Old Testament prophet. The text still exists in Greek and in several translations from Greek into Latin, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian and other languages. Although the book of Baruch was incorporated into the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible) and the Vulgate (the Latin version of the Bible officially promulgated in 1590 by the Catholic Church as the Sistine Vulgate), it is apocryphal to the Hebrew and Protestant canons. In the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, the book of Baruch is included in the prophetic books. It is named after Baruch, who was the scribe of the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 36:4 "So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah."

First Book of Baruch

Chapter 1

These are the words of the book written by Baruch, the son of Neriah, descended from Massiah, from Sedekiah, from Hasadiah, from Hilkiah.
They were written in the fi fth year, on the seventh day of the month, at the time when the Chaldeans had taken Jerusalem and burned it.
Baruch read the words of this book to Jeconiah, the son of Joachim, the king of Judah, in the presence of all the people who had come together to hear it read.
He read it in the hearing of the nobles and the king’s sons, of the elders and all the people, from the smallest to the greatest— that is, all those who were living in Babylon near the river Sudi.
Then the people wept and fasted and prayed before the Lord.
They also collected money according to what each one could afford.
And this, they sent to Jerusalem, to the priest Jehoiakim, son of Hilkiah, the son of Shallum, and to the other priests and people who dwelt in Jerusalem with him.
This same Baruch had undertaken to carry back to Judea, on the tenth day of the month of Sivan, the sacred vessels which had been taken away from the temple of the Lord.
These were the silver vessels made by Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah, after Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had carried off Jeconiah, the artisans, the nobles and the people of the land and had taken them captive to Babylon.
The letter said: Look, we are sending you money; buy with it victims for the holocaust and for sin offerings and incense; prepare oblations and offer them on the Altar of the Lord our God.
Pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and of Balthasar, his son, so that they may be successful in all that they do.
Thus the Lord will give strength and light to our eyes. We will live under the protection of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and of his son, Balthasar. We shall have a long life serving them and we shall find favor before them.
Pray to the Lord our God for us also, for we have sinned against the Lord our God; even to this day the anger of the Lord and his fury have not been turned away from us.
Finally, read this book which we are sending to you, so that you can read it publicly in the house of the Lord on the day of the Feast and on other suitable days.
You will say: May everyone recognize the justice of our God but, on this day, shame and confusion befit the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem— our kings and princes, our priests, our prophets, and our fathers,
Because we have sinned before the Lord.
We have disobeyed him and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God, nor have we followed the commandments which the Lord had put before us.
From the day that the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until this day, we have disobeyed the Lord our God and we have rebelled against him instead of listening to his voice.
Because of this, from the day on which the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, so as to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the evils and the curse which the Lord pronounced by Moses, his servant, have dogged our footsteps right down to the present day.
We did not listen to the voice of the Lord our God speaking through the words of the prophets whom he sent to us.
But each one of us followed his perverted heart, serving false gods and doing what displeases the Lord our God.

Chapter 2

That is why the Lord our God has carried out the word which he spoke against us, against the judges who have governed Israel, against our kings, our princes and the people of Israel and Judah.
No one under the sky has ever seen the like of what happened in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the Book of Moses.
For people among us came to eat their son’s and daughter’s flesh.
And he handed them over into the power of all the surrounding kingdoms, so that they were cursed and humiliated among the neighboring peoples among whom the Lord had scattered them.
Submission and not command has been our lot, because we have sinned against the Lord our God and have not listened to his voice.
Just is the Lord our God, whereas shame and confusion befit us and our ancestors right down to this day.
All those evils which the Lord prophesied concerning us have fallen upon us.
And we have not begged the Lord to make each of us turn away from the thoughts of our evil hearts.
Then the Lord kept watch over the evils and allowed them to come upon us, for the Lord is just in all that he has commanded us to do.
We have not listened to his voice nor followed the commands which the Lord has ordered us to keep.
And now, Lord God of Israel, you who brought your people out of Egypt with a strong hand, with miracles and wonders and great power, you who stretched out your arm and made for yourself a name such as you have today, we have sinned.
We have been godless and unjust, Lord, careless about all your commands.
May your fury be turned away from us, for there are very few of us left among the nations in which you have scattered us.
Hear our supplication and our prayer, O Lord, deliver us, for your own honor and let us find favor with those who deported us.
Let all the earth know that you are the Lord our God, because Israel and its people bear your name.
Lord, look down from your holy dwelling place and think of us; Lord, incline your ear and listen;
Lord, open your eyes and consider: it is not the dead, lying in the netherworld, who will praise your glory and justice, since their spirit has been taken from their breast.
Grieving under his burden, and walking bowed down and exhausted, the man with eyes sore from weeping and who is hungry—these are they, who can give you glory and justice, O Lord.
For it is not on account of the merits of our ancestors and of our kings that we pour out our cry for pity before you, O Lord our God.
You have sent down on us your fury and your anger as you announced through your servants, the prophets, saying:
“Thus says the Lord: Bend your shoulders and serve the king of Babylon and you will dwell in the land that I gave to your ancestors.
But if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord your God and serve the king of Babylon.
I will bring to an end in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem the song of joy and gladness, the song of the bridegroom and the bride, and the whole country will become a desert without inhabitants.
We did not listen to your invitation to serve the king of Babylon and so you carried out what you had foretold by your servants, the prophets, that the bones of our kings and our ancestors would be taken from their graves.
See, they have been exposed to the heat of the day and the cold of the night; they died in cruel sufferings, by famine, by the sword and by plagues.
And you have reduced the nation which bears your name to the state in which it is today because of the wickedness of the people of Judah.
However, you have acted towards us, O Lord our God, indulgently and with great tenderness.
As you foretold by your servant Moses, the day you ordered him to write down your law in the presence of the children of Israel saying,
If you do not listen to my voice, this great and vast multitude will be reduced to a small remnant among the nations where I shall scatter them.
For I know well that they will not listen to me because they are a stiff-necked people. But in the land of their exile their hearts will be converted 31 and they will know that I am the Lord their God.
And I will give them a heart and listening ears, that they may praise me in the land of their exile and remember my name.
They will repent of their stiff-necked obstinacy and their evil deeds, because they will remember what happened to their ancestors who had sinned before the Lord.
And I will lead them into the land which I have promised by oath to their ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and they will take possession of it. I will increase their number and it will no longer diminish.
I will make with them an everlasting Covenant; I will be their God and they shall be my people. I will no longer drive my people Israel from the land which I have given them.

Chapter 3

Almighty Lord, God of Israel, a soul in anguish and a discouraged spirit cries out to you.
Listen, Lord, and have pity, for we have sinned against you.
For you reign forever, while we perish forever.
Lord, all powerful God of Israel, listen, then, to the prayers of the dead of Israel. We are the sons of those who sinned against you, who did not listen to the voice of their God; and this is why disgrace has come upon us.
Do not remember any longer the wrongdoing of our fathers, but remember at this time your power and your name.
For you are the Lord, our God and we will praise you, Lord.
That is why you have put your fear into our hearts and we call upon your name. And we will praise you in our exile for we have removed from our hearts all the wrong of our fathers who sinned against you.
We are here today, in our exile, where you have scattered us, to be insulted, cursed and condemned for the wrongdoing of our fathers, who separated themselves from the Lord our God. Who has found wisdom?
Listen, Israel, to the commands of life, give ear so as to learn prudence.
Why, Israel! Why are you in the land of your foes? Why are you growing old in a foreign country, contaminated by pagans?
Counted among those who go to the pit?
You have abandoned the source of Wisdom.
If you had walked in the way of God, peace would be your dwelling place forever.
Learn where is Wisdom, where is Strength and Understanding, that you may know, at the same time, where are length of days and life, light of the eyes and Peace.
Who will fi nd Wisdom’s dwelling? Who will enter her storage rooms?
Where are the leaders of the nations, those who commanded the beasts of the earth?
Who played with the birds of the heavens, who piled up silver and gold—in which people put their trust— and who never tired of collecting it?
Amassing money was their only concern, their business beyond measure.
But they have disappeared, they have gone down to the dead and others have risen in their place.
A younger generation is there on the earth and enjoys the light, but they have not known the ways of knowledge.
They have not seen his tracks nor have they met him, 21 and their children after them did not leave their paths.
No one in Canaan has heard of Wisdom, no one has seen her in Teman.
The sons of Agar, who seek knowledge of the earth, the traders of Midian and Teman, the tellers of fables and philosophers, they have not known the path of Wisdom, they have not discovered her ways.
O Israel, how great is the house of God, how vast his dominion!
It is great and has no limits. It is lofty, wide and immeasurable.
There were born the ancient and famous giants of high stature and skillful in war.
God did not choose them, he did not teach them the ways of Wisdom.
And they perished because of their folly, because they lacked knowledge.
Who has ascended to Heaven that he may lay hold of her and bring her down from the clouds?
Who has crossed seas and found her, and bought her with the purest of gold?
There is no one who knows her path, no one who thinks of her way.
But he who knows everything recognizes her. He has found her in his own intellect. He who created the earth, for all time, and has filled it with four-footed beings.
He who sends the light, and it goes, who recalls it, and trembling, it obeys.
The stars shine, full of joy, to keep their night watches. He calls them and they answer, “Here we are.” They shine with joy for their Creator.
It is he who is our God, no other can be compared with him.
He has found the way of understanding and has given her to Jacob his servant and to Israel his well-beloved.
Afterward did he shew himself upon earth, and conversed with men.

Chapter 4

She herself is the book of the commands of God, the law which endures forever. All who hold fast to her will have life but those who abandon her will die.
Come back, Jacob, and embrace her, walk towards brightness under her light.
Do not give up what is your glory or sell your privileges to any strange nation.
We are fortunate, O Israel, for we know what pleases the Lord!
Take courage, my people, you who pre serve the memory of Israel.
You have been sold to the nations but not for your destruction; because you had aroused the anger of God, you were delivered to your enemies.
For you displeased your Creator in sacrificing to demons and not to God.
You have forgotten the Eternal God, the one who nourished you. You have filled Jerusalem with sadness, she who brought you up.
For she saw the anger of God fall on you and she said, “Listen, you neighboring cities of Zion, God has sent me a great sorrow.
I have seen the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Eternal one brought on them.
I had nurtured them in joy; with tears and sadness I saw them leave.
Let no one rejoice on seeing me a widow and abandoned by all. Because of the sins of my children I am now alone, because they have turned away from the law of God.
They have not remembered its precepts; nor have they walked in the ways of his commandments, and followed the discipline which leads to uprightness.
Let them come, the neighbors of Zion, and remember the captivity which the Eternal One laid on my sons and daughters.
For he caused a distant nation to come against them, a ruthless nation with an unknown language. They had no respect for the old, and no pity for the infant.
They took away the only son of the widow, as well as her daughter, and left her alone.
But as for myself, how can I help you?
He who caused these evils to come upon you will deliver you from the hands of your enemies.
Well, my children, go on your way; as for me, I am left alone.
I have taken off the garment of peace and put on again the sackcloth of penance and prayer. I will cry out to the Eternal One all the rest of my days.
Come, take courage, my children, cry out to God. He will deliver you from the violence of the enemy.
Because I hoped for your salvation from the Eternal One, joy has come to me from the Holy One, because of the mercy that will come to you soon from the Eternal One, our Savior.
In tears and mourning, I saw you leave, but in joy and gladness God will bring you back to me forever.
As the neighbors of Zion have seen your captivity so they will soon see your salvation from God, when he manifests to you the great glory and the splendor of the Eternal God.
Children, bear patiently this punishment which came on you from God. The enemy has persecuted you, but you will soon see his downfall and you will trample him underfoot.
My well-beloved children have walked by difficult paths, carried off like a herd stolen by enemies.
Take courage, my children, cry out to God, for he who sent you into exile will remember you.
Thus, as you distanced yourself from God, return to him and seek him ten times more earnestly.
For he who caused these evils to fall on you will bring you salvation and eternal joy.
Take courage, Jerusalem. He who has named you will console you.
Cursed be those who did evil to you and rejoiced in your downfall.
Cursed be those cities in which your children were slaves, cursed the nation in which they had to live.
Just as that nation rejoiced in your downfall and took pleasure in your destruction so will she be afflicted and destroyed.
I will take from her the joy of being a numerous people; her pride will be turned into mourning.
A fire will descend on her from the Eternal One and burn for many days. She will be inhabited by demons for a long time 36 Jerusalem, look towards the East, and see the joy which is coming to you from God.
Look, your children who were scattered are returning. They are assembling, coming together, from the East and from the West, at the voice of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God.

Chapter 5

Jerusalem, put off your garment of mourning and unhappiness, put on the splendor and glory of God forever.
Wrap yourself in the mantle of holiness that comes from God, put on your head the crown of glory of the Eternal One.
For God will show your splendor to every being under heaven.
He will call your name forever, “peace in justice” and “glory in the fear of the Lord.”
Rise up, Jerusalem, stand on the heights. Look towards the east and see your children gathered together from the setting of the sun to its rising, by the voice of the Holy One, rejoicing because God has remembered them.
They left you on foot, taken away by the enemy. God will lead them back, carried gloriously like royal princes.
For God has resolved to bring low every high mountain and the everlasting hills, to fill up the valleys and level out the ground, in order that Israel may walk in safety under the glory of God. 8 Even the forests and the fragrant trees will give shade to Israel at God’s command.
For God will lead Israel with joy by the light of his glory, escorting them with his mercy and justice.

Chapter 6

A copy of an epistle, which Jeremy sent unto them which were to be led captives into Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to certify them, as it was commanded him of God.
Because of the sins which ye have committed before God, you shall be led away captives into Babylon by Nabuchodonosor king of the Babylonians.
So when ye be come unto Babylon, you shall remain there many years, and for a long season, namely, seven generations: and after that I will bring you away peaceably from thence.
Now shall you see in Babylon gods of silver, and of gold, and of wood, borne upon shoulders, which cause the nations to fear.
Beware therefore that you in no wise be like to strangers, neither be you and of them, when you see the multitude before them and behind them, worshipping them.
But say you in your hearts, O Lord, we must worship thee.
For mine angel is with you, and I myself caring for your souls.
As for their tongue, it is polished by the workman, and they themselves are gilded and laid over with silver; yet are they but false, and cannot speak.
And taking gold, as it were for a virgin that loveth to go gay, they make crowns for the heads of their gods.
Sometimes also the priests convey from their gods gold and silver, and bestow it upon themselves.
Yea, they will give thereof to the common harlots, and deck them as men with garments, [being] gods of silver, and gods of gold, and wood.
Yet cannot these gods save themselves from rust and moth, though they be covered with purple raiment.
They wipe their faces because of the dust of the temple, when there is much upon them.
And he that cannot put to death one that offended him hold a scepter, as though he were a judge of the country.
He hath also in his right hand a dagger and an ax: but cannot deliver himself from war and thieves.
Whereby they are known not to be gods: therefore fear them not.
For like as a vessel that a man uses is nothing worth when it is broken; even so it is with their gods: when they be set up in the temple, their eyes be full of dust through the feet of them that come in.
And as the doors are made sure on every side upon him that offended the king, as being committed to suffer death: even so the priests make fast their temples with doors, with locks, and bars, lest their gods be spoiled with robbers.
They light them candles, yea, more than for themselves, whereof they cannot see one.
They are as one of the beams of the temple, yet they say their hearts are gnawed upon by things creeping out of the earth; and when they eat them and their clothes, they feel it not.
Their faces are blacked through the smoke that cometh out of the temple.
Upon their bodies and heads sit bats, swallows, and birds, and the cats also.
By this you may know that they are no gods: therefore fear them not.
Notwithstanding the gold that is about them to make them beautiful, except they wipe off the rust, they will not shine: for neither when they were molten did they feel it.
The things wherein there is no breath are bought for a most high price.
They are borne upon shoulders, having no feet whereby they declare unto men that they be nothing worth.
They also that serve them are ashamed: for if they fall to the ground at any time, they cannot rise up again of themselves: neither, if one set them upright, can they move of themselves: neither, if they be bowed down, can they make themselves straight: but they set gifts before them as unto dead men.
As for the things that are sacrificed unto them, their priests sell and abuse; in like manner their wives lay up part thereof in salt; but unto the poor and impotent they give nothing of it.
Menstruous women and women in childbed eat their sacrifices: by these things ye may know that they are no gods: fear them not.
For how can they be called gods? because women set meat before the gods of silver, gold, and wood.
And the priests sit in their temples, having their clothes rent, and their heads and beards shaven, and nothing upon their heads.
They roar and cry before their gods, as men do at the feast when one is dead.
The priests also take off their garments, and clothe their wives and children.
Whether it be evil that one doeth unto them, or good, they are not able to recompense it: they can neither set up a king, nor put him down.
In like manner, they can neither give riches nor money: though a man make a vow unto them, and keep it not, they will not require it.
They can save no man from death, neither deliver the weak from the mighty.
They cannot restore a blind man to his sight, nor help any man in his distress.
They can shew no mercy to the widow, nor do good to the fatherless.
Their gods of wood, and which are overlaid with gold and silver, are like the stones that be hewn out of the mountain: they that worship them shall be confounded.
How should a man then think and say that they are gods, when even the Chaldeans themselves dishonor them?
Who if they shall see one dumb that cannot speak, they bring him, and intreat Bel that he may speak, as though he were able to understand.
Yet they cannot understand this themselves, and leave them: for they have no knowledge.
The women also with cords about them, sitting in the ways, burn bran for perfume: but if any of them, drawn by some that passes by, lie with him, she reproaches her fellow, that she was not thought as worthy as herself, nor her cord broken.
Whatsoever is done among them is false: how may it then be thought or said that they are gods?
They are made of carpenters and goldsmiths: they can be nothing else than the workmen will have them to be.
And they themselves that made them can never continue long; how should then the things that are made of them be gods?
For they left lies and reproaches to them that come after.
For when there cometh any war or plague upon them, the priests consult with themselves, where they may be hidden with them.
How then cannot men perceive that they be no gods, which can neither save themselves from war, nor from plague?
For seeing they be but of wood, and overlaid with silver and gold, it shall be known hereafter that they are false:
And it shall manifestly appear to all nations and kings that they are no gods, but the works of men's hands, and that there is no work of God in them.
Who then may not know that they are no gods?
For neither can they set up a king in the land, nor give rain unto men.
Neither can they judge their own cause, nor redress a wrong, being unable: for they are as crows between heaven and earth.
Whereupon when fire falls upon the house of gods of wood, or laid over with gold or silver, their priests will flee away, and escape; but they themselves shall be burned asunder like beams.
Moreover they cannot withstand any king or enemies: how can it then be thought or said that they be gods?
Neither are those gods of wood, and laid over with silver or gold, able to escape either from thieves or robbers.
Whose gold, and silver, and garments wherewith they are clothed, they that are strong take, and go away withal: neither are they able to help themselves.
Therefore it is better to be a king that shows his power, or else a profitable vessel in an house, which the owner shall have use of, than such false gods; or to be a door in an house, to keep such things therein, than such false gods. or a pillar of wood in a a palace, than such false gods.
For sun, moon, and stars, being bright and sent to do their offices, are obedient.
In like manner the lightning when it breaks forth is easy to be seen; and after the same manner the wind blows in every country.
And when God commanded the clouds to go over the whole world, they do as they are bidden.
And the fire sent from above to consume hills and woods doeth as it is commanded: but these are like unto them neither in shew nor power.
Wherefore it is neither to be supposed nor said that they are gods, seeing, they are able neither to judge causes, nor to do good unto men.
Knowing therefore that they are no gods, fear them not,
For they can neither curse nor bless kings:
Neither can they shew signs in the heavens among the heathen, nor shine as the sun, nor give light as the moon.
The beasts are better than they: for they can get under a cover and help themselves.
It is then by no means manifest unto us that they are gods: therefore fear them not.
For as a scarecrow in a garden of cucumbers keepeth nothing: so are their gods of wood, and laid over with silver and gold.
And likewise their gods of wood, and laid over with silver and gold, are like to a white thorn in an orchard, that every bird sit upon; as also to a dead body, that is east into the dark.
And you shall know them to be no gods by the bright purple that rotteth upon then1: and they themselves afterward shall be eaten, and shall be a reproach in the country.
Better therefore is the just man that hath none idols: for he shall be far from reproach.

Nebuchadnezzar II

Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylonia was born in c. 630 BC. He was the son of Nabopolassar (founder of the Chaldean dynasty) and Shuadamqa of Babylon and married Amytis of Media. His children were Evil-Merodach and Eanna-szarra-usur. He was the most powerful and longest-reigning ruler of the Babylonian Empire (from BC 605-562) who figured prominently in the Bible books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar is best known as the Babylonian king who destroyed Jerusalem in 526 BC and led away many Hebrews into captivity in Babylon. According to Josephus’ Antiquities, Nebuchadnezzar later returned to besiege Jerusalem again in 586 BC. The book of Jeremiah reveals that this campaign resulted in the capture of the city, the destruction of Solomon’s temple, and the deportation of Hebrews into captivity. By his command the exiles on their way to Babylon were not allowed to stop even for a moment, as the king feared that they would pray during the respite granted them and that God would be willing to help them as soon as they repented |Lam. R. to v. 6 ; Pesiḳ. R. 28 [éd. Friedmann, p. 135a|. Nebuchadnezzar did not feel safe until the exiles reached the Euphrates, the boundary-line of Babylon. Then he made a great feast on board his ship, while the princes of Judah lay chained and naked by the river. In order to increase their misery he had rolls of the Torah torn and made into sacks, which, filled with sand, he gave to the captive princes to carry |Pesiḳ. R. l.c. [ed. Friedmann, p. 135a] ; Midr. Teh. cxxxvii. ; comp. la remarque de Buber ad loc. et Lam. R. v. 13|. He heartlessly drove the captives before him, entirely without clothing, until the inhabitants of Bari induced him to clothe them |Pesiḳ. R. l.c. [ed. Friedmann, p. 135b|. But even after the heavily burdened Jews finally reached Babylonia they had no rest from the tyrant, who massacred thousands of youths whose beauty had inflamed the passion of the Babylonian women—a passion which did not subside until the corpses were stamped upon and mutilated |Sanh. 92b ; comp. Ezéchiel dans la littérature rabbinique|.

Second Book of Baruch

Chapter 1

And it happened in the twenty-fifth year of YeconiYah (Jeconiah), the king of Yahudah, that the Word of YAHWEH came to Baruch, the son of Neriah.
And said to him: Have you seen all that this people are doing to Me, the evil things which the two tribes which remained have done more than the ten tribes which were carried away into captivity?
For the former tribes were forced by their kings to sin, but these two have themselves forced and compelled their kings to sin.
Behold, therefore, I shall bring evil upon this city and its inhabitants. And it will be taken away from before My presence for a time. And I shall scatter this people among the nations that they may be beneficial to the nations.
And My people will be chastened, and the time will come that they will look for that which can make their times. prosperous.

Jeconiah

At the age of 18, Jeconiah was enthroned by the ruler of Judah's day, Babylon. His father, King Jehoiakim, had been found to be rebellious, and the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, was perhaps hoping that Jeconiah would be more submissive. But this was not the case. In response, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem and reconquered it in no time. He deported all the people and everything of value: all the palace and temple treasures, all the nobles and educated people, and the military. Only the poorest peasants were left. Nebuchadnezzar established Jehoiachin's uncle Zedekiah as king over the few remaining people, thus fulfilling the prophecy that no descendant of Jehoiachin would be king of Judah.

Jeconiah was taken to Babylon and imprisoned, for 37 years. After this period, the new king of Babylon released Jeconiah from prison and gave him a position in government service until his death. 2 Kings 24:8-17, 25:27-30 ; 2 Chronicles 36:9-10

Chapter 2

This, then, I have said to you that you may say to Jeremiah and all those who are like you that you may retire from this city. For your works are for this city like a firm pillar and your prayers like a strong wall.

Chapter 3

And I said:
O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master, have I therefore come into the world to see the evil things of my mother?
No, Sovereign Master. If I have found free unmerited favor and pardon in Your eyes, take away my spirit first that I may go to my fathers and I may not see the destruction of my mother.
For from two sides I am hard pressed: I cannot resist You, but my soul also cannot behold the evil of my mother. But one thing I shall say in Your presence, O YAHWEH: Now, what will happen after these things?
For if You destroy Your city and deliver up Your country to those who hate us, how will the name of Israel be remembered again?
Or how shall we speak again about Your splendid deeds? Or to whom again will that which is in Your Law be explained?
Or will the universe return to its nature and the world go back to its original silence?
And will the multitude of the souls be taken away and will not the nature of man be mentioned again?
And where is all that which You said to Moses about us?

Chapter 4

And YAHWEH said to me: This city will be delivered up for a time, And the people will be chastened for a time, And the world will not be forgotten.
Or do you think that this is the city of which I said: On the palms of MY hands I have carved you?
It is not this building that is in your midst now; it is that which will be revealed, with Me, that was already prepared from the moment that I decided to create Paradise. And I showed it to Adam before he sinned. But when he transgressed the commandment, it was taken away from him - as also Paradise.
After these things I showed it to My servant Abraham in the night between the portions of the victims.
And again I showed it also to Moses on Mount Sinai when I showed him the likeness of the tabernacle and all its vessels.
Behold, now it is preserved with Me - as also Kingdom Paradise.
Now go away and do as I command you.

To read more about the revelations made to Abraham click the following links:

Chapter 5

And I answered and said: So then I shall be guilty in Zion, that Your haters will come to this place and pollute Your sanctuary, and carry off Your heritage into captivity, and rule over them whom You love. And then they will go away again to the land of their idols, and boast before them. And what have You done to Your great NAME?
And YAHWEH said to me: My NAME and My splendor shall last unto eternity. My judgment, however, shall assert its rights in its own time.
And you shall see with your eyes that the enemy shall not destroy Zion and burn Jerusalem, but that they shall serve the Judge for a time.
You, however, go away and do all which I have said to you.
And I went away and took with me Jeremiah and Adu and SeraiYah and Jabish and GedaliYah and all the nobles of the people. And I brought them to the valley of Kidron and told them all which had been said to me.
And they raised their voices and they all lamented.
And we sat there and fasted until the evening.

Chapter 6

Now it happened on the following day that, behold, an army of the Chaldeans surrounded the city. And in the evening I, Baruch, left the people, went outside, and set myself by an oak.
And I was grieving over Zion and sighed because of the captivity which had come upon the people.
And behold, suddenly a strong spirit lifted me and carried me above the wall of Jerusalem.
And I saw, and behold, there were standing four angels at the four comers of the city, each of them with a burning torch in his hands.
And another angel came down from heaven and said to them, Hold your torches and do not light them before I say it to you.
Because I was sent first to speak a Word to the earth and then to deposit in it what YAHWEH, the Most High, has commanded me.
And I saw that he descended in the Holy of holies, and take from thence the veil, and the holy ark, and the mercy-seat, and the two tables, and the holy raiment of the priests, and the altar of incense, and the forty-eight precious stones, wherewith the priest was adorned and all the holy vessels of the tabernacle.
And he said to the earth with a loud voice: Earth, earth, earth, hear the Word of the ALMIGHTY YAHWEH, and receive the things which I commit to you, and guard them until the last times, so that you may restore them when you are ordered, so that strangers may not get possession of them.
For the time has arrived when Jerusalem will also be delivered up for a time, until the moment that it will be said that it will be restored forever.
And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up.

Chapter 7

And after these things I heard this angel saying to the angels who held the torches:
Now destroy the walls and overthrow them to their foundations so that the enemies do not boast and say, We have overthrown the wall of Zion and we have burnt down the place of the ALMIGHTY YAHWEH.
And they restored me to the place where I once stood.

Chapter 8

Now the angel did as he had commanded them; and when they had broken up the comers of the wall, a voice was heard from the midst of the Great Tabernacle after the wall had fallen, saying:
Enter, enemies, and come, adversaries, because he who guarded the house has left it.
And I, Baruch, went away.
And it happened after these things that the army of the Chaldeans entered and seized the house and all that is around it.
And they carried away the people into captivity and killed some of them. And they put King Zedekiah in irons and sent him to the king of Babylon.

Chapter 9

And I, Baruch, came with Jeremiah, whose heart was found to be pure from sins, and who was not captured during the seizure of the city.
And we rent our garments, and wept and mourned, and fasted for seven days.

Chapter 10

And it happened after seven days that the Word of YAHWEH came to me and said to me:
Tell Jeremiah to go away in order to support the captives unto Babylon.
You, however, stay here in the desolation of Zion and I shall show you after these days what will happen at the end of days.
And I spoke to Jeremiah as YAHWEH commanded me.
He, then, went away with the people, but I, Baruch, came back and sat in front of the doors of the Great Tabernacle, and I raised the following lamentation over Zion and said:
Blessed is he who was not born, or he who was born and died.
But we, the living, woe to us, because we have seen those afflictions of Zion, and that which has befallen Jerusalem.
I shall call the Sirens from the sea, and you, Lilin, come from the desert, and you, demons and dragons from the woods. Awake and gird up your loins to mourn, and raise lamentations with me, and mourn with me.
You, farmers, sow not again. And you, O earth, why do you give the fruit of your harvest? Keep within you the sweetness of your sustenance.
And you, vine, why do you still give your wine? For an offering will not be given again from you in Zion, and the first fruits will not again be offered.
And you, heaven, keep your dew within you, and do not open the treasuries of rain.
And you, sun, keep the light of your rays within you. And you, moon, extinguish the multitude of your light. For why should the light rise again, where the light of Zion is darkened?
And you, bridegrooms, do not enter, and do not let the brides adorn themselves.
And you, wives, do not pray to bear children, for the barren will rejoice more. And those who have no children will be glad, and those who have children will be sad.
For why do they bear in pains only to bury in grief?
Or why should men have children again? Or why should the generation of their kind be named again, where this mother is lonely, and her children have been carried away in captivity?
Henceforth, do not speak anymore of beauty, and do not talk about comeliness.
You, priests, take the keys of the sanctuary, and cast them to the highest heaven, and give them to YAHWEH and say, "Guard Your house Yourself, because, behold, we have been found to be false stewards."
And you, virgins who spin fine linen, and silk with gold of Ophir, make haste and take all things, and cast them into the fire, so that it may carry them to Him who made them. And the flame sends them to Him who created them, so that the enemies do not take possession of them.

Chapter 11

Now this I, Baruch, say to you, O Babylon: If you had lived in happiness and Zion in its splendor, it would have been a great sorrow to us that you had been equal to Zion.
But now, behold, the grief is infinite and the lamentation is unmeasurable, because, behold, you are happy and Zion has been destroyed.
Who will judge over these things? Or to whom shall we complain about that which has befallen us?
O YAHWEH, how have You borne it? Our fathers went to rest without grief and, behold, the righteous sleep at rest in the earth.
For they did not know this anguish nor did they hear that which has befallen us.
Would that you had ears, O earth and would that you had a heart, O dust, so that you might go and announce in the realm of death and say to the dead,
"You are more happy than we who live."

Chapter 12

But I shall say as I think and I shall speak to you, O land, that which is happy.
The afternoon will not always burn nor will the rays of the sun always give light.
Do not think and do not expect that you will always have happiness and joy, and do not raise yourself too much and do not oppress.
For surely wrath will arise against you in its own time, because long-suffering is now held back, as it were, by reins.
And having said these things, I fasted for seven days

Chapter 13

And after these things, it happened that I, Baruch, was standing on Mount Zion and, behold, a voice came from the high heavens, saying to me:
Stand upon your feet, Baruch, and hear the Word of the ALMIGHTY YAHWEH.
Because you have been astonished at that which has befallen Zion, you will surely be preserved until the end of times to be for a testimony.
This means that if these happy cities will ever say, "Why has the ALMIGHTY YAHWEH brought upon us this retribution?",
You and those who are like you, those who have seen this evil and retribution coming over you and your nation in their own time, may say to them that the nations will be thoroughly punished."
And this they may expect.
And when they say in that time, "When?", you will say to them:
You who have drunk the clarified wine, you now drink its dregs, for the judgment of YAHWEH the Most High is impartial.
Therefore, He did not spare His own sons first, but He afflicted them as His enemies because they sinned.
Therefore, they were once punished, that they might be forgiven.
But now, you nations and tribes, you are guilty, because you have trodden the earth all this time, and because you have used creation unrighteously.
For I have always benefited you, and you have always denied the beneficence

Chapter 14

And I answered and said: Behold, You have shown me the course of times, and that which will happen after these things.
And You have told me that the retribution of that which has been spoken by You will come upon the nations. And now, I know there are many who have sinned and who have lived in happiness and who have left the world, but there will be few nations left in those times to which those Words can be spoken which You said.
For what is the advantage (of this), or what evil worse than that which we have seen befall us can we expect to see?
But I will continue to speak before You.
What have they profited who have knowledge before You, and who did not walk in vanity like the rest of the nations, and who did not say to the dead: "Give life to us," but always feared You and did not leave Your ways?
And, behold, they have been diligent and, nevertheless, You had no mercy on Zion on their account.
And if there are others who did evil, Zion should have been forgiven on account of the works of those who did morally right works and should not have been overwhelmed because of the works of those who acted unrighteously.
O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master, who can understand Your judgment? Or who can explore the depth of Your way?
Or who can discern the majesty of Your path? Or who can discern Your incomprehensible counsel? Or who of those who are born has ever discovered the beginning and the end of Your Wisdom?
For we all have been made like breath.
For as breath ascends without human control and vanishes, so it is with the nature of men, who do not go away according to their own will, and who do not know what will happen to them in the end.
For the righteous justly have excellent hope for the end and go away from this habitation without fear because they possess with You a store of morally right works which is preserved in treasuries.
Therefore, they leave this world without fear and are confident of the world which You have promised to them with an expectation full of joy.
But woe to those of us who have also now been treated shamefully and who await evils at that time.
But You know exactly what You have made of Your servants, for we are not able to understand that which is excellent like You, YAHWEH our Creator.
I shall continue to speak before Your presence, O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master.
When in the beginning the world did not exist with its inhabitants, You devised and spoke by means of Your Word and at the same time the works of Your creation stood before You.
And You said that You would make a man for this world as a guardian over Your works that it should be known that he was not created for the world, but the world for him.
And now, I see that the world which was made for us, behold, it remains; but we, for whom it was made, depart.

Chapter 15

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: You are rightly astonished about man's departure, but your judgment about the evils which befell those who sin is incorrect.
And with regard to what you say about the righteous who are taken away and the wicked ones who are happy,
And with regard to what you say that man does not know your judgment,
For this reason, now, listen and I shall speak to you; pay attention and I shall let My Words be heard.
It is true that man would not have understood My judgment if he had not received the Law and if he were not instructed with understanding.
But now, because he trespassed, having understanding, he will be punished because he has understanding.
And with regard to the righteous ones, those whom you said the world has come on their account, yes, also that which is coming is on their account.
For this world is to them a struggle and an effort with much trouble. And that accordingly which will come, a crown with great splendor.

Chapitre 16

And I answered and said: O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master, behold, the present years are few and evil, and who can inherit that which is unmeasurable in this short time?

Chapter 17

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: With the Most High no account is taken of much time and of few years.
For what did it profit Adam that he lived nine hundred and thirty years and transgressed that which he was commanded?
Therefore, the multitude of time that he lived did not profit him, but it brought death and cut off the years of those who were born from him.
Or what did it harm Moses that he lived only one hundred and twenty years and, because he subjected himself to HIM who created him, he brought the Torah to the descendants of Jacob and he lighted a lamp to the generation of Israel?

Chapter 18

And I answered and said: He who lighted took from the light, and there are few who imitated him.
But many whom he illuminated took from the darkness of Adam and did not rejoice in the light of the lamp.

Chapter 19

And HE answered and said to me: Therefore he appointed a covenant for them at that time and said, Behold, I appoint for you Life and death, and He called heaven and earth as a witness against them.
For he knew that his time was short, but that heaven and earth will stay forever.
They, however, sinned and trespassed after his death, although they knew that they had the Law to reprove them and that Light in which nothing could err, apart from the spheres, which witnessed, and Me. And I judge everything that exists.
You, however, should not think about this in your heart and you should not be afflicted because of the things which have been.
For now the end of times is at stake whether it be property, happiness, or shame; and not its beginning.
For when a man is happy in his youth and is treated badly in his old age, he forgets all happiness he possessed.
And further, when a man is badly treated in his youth but will be happy in the end, he does not remember his unhappiness anymore.
And further, listen: Even if everyone had been happy continually since the day death was decreed against those who trespassed, but was destroyed in the end, everything would have been in vain.

Chapter 20

Therefore, behold, the days will come and the times will hasten, more than the former, and the periods will hasten more than those which are gone, and the years will pass more quickly than the present ones.
Therefore, I now took away Zion to visit the world in its own time more speedily.
Now, however, remember everything which I commanded you and seal it in the interior of your mind.
And then I shall show you My strong judgment and My unexplorable ways.
Therefore, go away and sanctify yourself for seven days and do not eat bread and do not drink water and do not speak to anybody.
And after this time come to this place, and I shall reveal Myself to you, and I shall speak to you true things, and I shall command you with regard to the course of times, for they will come and will not tarry

Chapter 21

went from there and sat in the valley of Kidron in a cave of the earth and sanctified myself there and ate no bread, but I was not hungry; I drank no water, but I was not thirsty. And I stayed there until the seventh day as YAHWEH had commanded me.
And after this I came to the place where He had spoken with me.
And it happened at sunset that my soul received many thoughts, and I began to speak in the presence of YAHWEH the Mighty One, and said:
O hear me, You who created the earth, the one who fixed the firmament by the Word and fastened the height of heaven by the spirit, the one who in the beginning of the world called that which did not yet exist and they obeyed You.
You who gave commandments to the air with Your sign and have seen the things which are to come as well as those which have passed.
You who reign with great thoughts over the powers which stand before You, and who rules with indignation the countless spiritual beings, who are flame and fire, whom You created from the beginning, those who stand around Your throne.
For You alone (all) this exists so that You may create at once all that You want.
You are the one who causes the rain to fall on earth with a specific number of raindrops. You alone know the end of times before it has arrived. Hear my prayer.
For only You can sustain those who exist, those who have gone and those who will come, those who sin and those who have proved themselves to be righteous, since You are the Living One, the Inscrutable One.
For You are the only Living One, the Immortal One and the Inscrutable One, and You know the number of men.
And while many have sinned once, many others have proved themselves to be righteous.
You know where You have preserved the end of those who have sinned or the fulfillment of those who have proved themselves to be righteous.
For if only this life exists which everyone possesses here, nothing could be more bitter than this.
For of what help is strength which changes into weakness, or food in abundance which changes into famine, or beauty which changes into ugliness?
For the nature of men is always changeable.
For as we were once, we are no longer, and as we are now, we shall not remain in the future.
For if an end of all things had not been prepared, their beginning would have been senseless.
But let me know all that which comes from You, and regarding that which I ask You, enlighten me.
How long will corruption remain, and until when will the time of mortals be happy, and until when will those who pass away be polluted by the great wickedness in this world?
Therefore, command mercifully and confirm all that You have said that You would do so that Your Power will be recognized by those who believe that Your long-suffering means weakness.
And now show it to them, those who do not know, but who have seen that which has befallen us and our city, up to now, that it is in agreement with the long-suffering of Your Power, because You called us a beloved people on account of Your NAME.
From now, therefore, everything is in a state of dying.
Therefore, reprove the angel of death, and let Your splendor appear, and let the greatness of Your beauty be known, and let the realm of death be sealed so that it may not receive the dead from this time, and let the treasuries of the souls restore those who are enclosed in them.
For as many years have passed as those which passed since the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all those who were like them, who sleep in the earth-those on whose account You have said You have created the world.
And now, show Your splendor soon and do not postpone that which was promised by You.
And it happened that when I had ended the words of this prayer, I became very weak.

Chapter 22

And afterward it happened that, behold, the heaven was opened, and I saw and strength was given to me, and a Voice was heard from on high which said to me:
Baruch, Baruch, why are you disturbed?
Who starts on a journey and does not complete it? Or who will be comforted making a sea voyage unless he can reach a harbor?
Or he who promises to give a present to somebody; is it not a theft, unless it is fulfilled?
Or he who sows the earth; does he not lose everything unless he reaps its harvest in its own time?
Or he who plants a vineyard; does the planter expect to receive fruit from it, unless it grows until its appointed time?
Or a woman who has conceived; does she not surely kill the child when she bears untimely?
Or he who builds a house, can it be called a house, unless it is provided with a roof and is finished? Tell this to ME first.

Chapter 23

And I answered and said: No, YAHWEH, the Sovereign Master.
And HE answered and said to me: Why, then, are you disturbed about that which you do not know, and why are you restless about that of which you do not possess any knowledge?
For as you have not forgotten men who exist and who have passed away, I remember those who will come.
For when Adam sinned and death was decreed against those who were to be born, the multitude of those who would be born was numbered. And for that number a place was prepared where the living ones might live and where the dead might be preserved.
No creature will live again unless the number that has been appointed is completed. For My Holy Spirit creates the living, and the realm of death receives the dead.
And further, it is given to you to hear that which will come after these times.
For truly, My Yashuah (salvation) which comes has drawn near and is not as far away as before

The Serious implications of Homosexuality

Genesis 18:20 "And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave"

Chapter 23 of the book of Baruch gives us a much deeper perspective on the repercussions of homosexuality in relation to the coming of the Messianic Kingdom and those with discernment will understand that homosexuality goes to the very core of God's plan for humanity and constitutes a "blasphemy of illustration".

Indeed, if humans no longer multiply enough, or cease to multiply, the coming of the Messianic Kingdom will be drastically delayed because the number of humans intended to exist will either not reach completion or require an even longer period of time to come into being. However, until the Messianic Kingdom is established, this implies that the devil will continue to reign on earth because the time allotted to him is closely related to the total number of humans who must exist. Thus, homosexuality has a tremendous impact against the plan of ELOHIM.

Genesis 18:20 "And the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave"
Isaiah 3:8-9 "Because they spoke and acted against the LORD, defying His glorious presence. The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves."

Note that in all visions of Sheol, the Prophets and Patriarchs were shown the fate of the sodomites. And they warned against this sexual inclination

For men shall put on beauty even as women, and fair color beyond maidens, in sovereignty and grandeur and in power. They shall have silver and gold for food, and in their houses they shall be poured out like water, because they have no knowledge nor judgment. So shall ye perish together with all your goods and all your glory and honor, and in dishonor and desolation and great slaughter your spirits shall be cast into the furnace of fire. |Chester Beatty papyrus XII of the Epistle of Enoch 98:2-3|
And he told them of the judgment of the giants, and the judgment of the Sodomites, how they had been judged on account of their wickedness, and had died on account of their fornication, and uncleanness, and mutual corruption through fornication. 'And guard yourselves from all fornication and uncleanness, and from all pollution of sin, lest you make our name a curse, and your whole life a hissing, and all your sons to be destroyed by the sword, and you become accursed like Sodom, and all your remnant as the sons of Gomorrah. |The Book of Jubilees, Chap 20: 5-6|
The appearance of each one was different; and they were ready to torment the sinners - that is the fornicators, and the harlots, and the catamites, and the sodomites, and the adulterers, and those who have corrupted God's creation, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the unrighteous, and the idol worshippers, and the astrologers, and the slanderers and the double tongued. In short, many are the punishments for all the sins we have mentioned; the unquenchable fire, the outer darkness, the place where there shall be weeping and grinding of teeth, and the worm that does not sleep. |The Testament of Jacob, Chap 8:3-4|
And when I had looked at them, the angel said to me: "These are those who have committed the sin of Sodom; these are indeed in great distress. "I saw also pits full of worms that do not sleep; I saw Abdemerouchos who is in charge of the punishments, made all of fire, threatening the tormentors in hell and saying. Beat them until they know that God is." |The Testament of Isaac, Chap 9|
And honor will change itself into shame, and strength will be humiliated to contempt, and the strong one will be broken down, and beauty will become contemptible. |The Book of Baruch, Chap 48:35|

The LORD expects us to resist temptations in our minds and in our actions. He also expects us to fully put our faith in Him so that He can deliver us from our weaknesses and temptations and transform us by the power of the Holy Spirit. So you cannot submit to the spirit of this age and say that homosexuality is not a problem for God. That is a lie of the devil, and we do not want anyone to be deceived. As for transgenderism, it's a doctrin of demons that will be a contributing factor to the forthcoming depopulation of pagan nations that do not adhere to ELOHIM's original design of creation.

Chapter 24

For behold, the days are coming, and the scrolls will be opened in which are written the sins of all those who have sinned, and moreover, also the treasuries in which are brought together the righteousness of all those who have proven themselves to be righteous.
And it will happen at that time that you shall see, and many with you, the long-suffering of YAHWEH the Most High, which lasts from generation to generation, who has been long-suffering toward all who are born, both those who sinned and those who proved themselves to be righteous.
And I answered and said: But, behold, O YAHWEH, a man does not know the number of things which pass away nor those which come.
For behold, I also know what has befallen me; but that which will happen with our enemies, I do not know, or when You will command Your works.

Chapter 25

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: You also will be preserved until that time, namely until that sign which YAHWEH the Most High will bring about before the inhabitants of the earth at the end of days.
This then will be the sign:
When horror seizes the inhabitants of earth, and they fall into many tribulations and further, they fall into great torments.
And it will happen that they will say in their thoughts because of their great tribulations, "YAHWEH the Mighty One does not anymore remember the earth"; It will happen when they lose hope, that the time will awake.

Chapter 26

And I answered and said: That tribulation which will be will it last a long time; and that distress, will it embrace many years?

Chapter 27

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: That time will be divided into twelve parts, and each part has been preserved for that for which it was appointed.
In the first part: the beginning of commotions.
In the second part: the slaughtering of the great.
In the third part: the fall of many into death.
In the fourth part: the drawing of the sword.
In the fifth part: famine and the withholding of rain.
In the sixth part: earthquakes and terrors.
In the eighth part: a multitude of ghosts and the appearances of demons.
In the ninth part: the fall of fire.
In the tenth part: rape and much violence.
In the eleventh part: injustice and unchastity.
In the twelfth part: disorder and a mixture of all that has been before.
These parts of that time will be preserved and will be mixed, one with another, and they will minister to each other.
For some of these parts will withhold a part of themselves and take from others and will accomplish that which belongs to them and to others; hence, those who live on earth in those days will not understand that it is the end of times

Chapter 28

But everyone who will understand will be wise at that time.
For the measure and the calculation of that time will be two parts: weeks of seven weeks.
And I answered and said: It is excellent that man should come so far and see, but it is better that he should not come so far lest he fall.
But I shall also say this:
Will he who is incorruptible despise those who are corruptible, and will he despise what happens with those who are corruptible so that he might only look to those who are not corruptible?
But when, YAHWEH, these things will surely come of which You spoke to me before, let me also know this, if I have found free unmerited favor and pardon in Your eyes:
Is it in one place or in one part of the earth that these things will come or will they be noticed by the whole earth?

Chapter 29

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: That which will happen at that time bears upon the whole earth. Therefore, all who live will notice it.
For at that time I shall only protect those found in this land at that time.
And it will happen that when all that which should come to pass in these parts has been accomplished, the Anointed One will begin to be revealed.
And Behemoth will reveal itself from its place, and Leviathan will come from the sea, the two great monsters which I created on the fifth day of creation and which I shall have kept until that time. And they will be nourishment for all who are left.
The earth will also yield fruits ten thousand fold. And on one vine will be one thousand branches, and one branch will produce one thousand clusters, and one cluster will produce one thousand grapes, and one grape will produce a cor of wine.
And those who are hungry will enjoy themselves and they will, moreover, see marvels every day.
For winds will go out in front of Me every morning to bring the fragrance of aromatic fruits and clouds at the end of the day to distill the dew of health.
And it will happen at that time that the treasury of manna will come down again from on high, and they will eat of it in those years because these are they who will have arrived at the consummation of time.

Chapter 30

And it will happen after these things when the time of the appearance of the Anointed One has been fulfilled and He returns with splendor, that then all who sleep in hope of Him will rise.
And it will happen at that time that those treasuries will be opened in which the number of the souls of the righteous were kept, and they will go out and the multitudes of the souls will appear together, in One assemblage, of one mind. And the first ones will enjoy themselves and the last ones will not be sad.
For they know that the time has come of which it is said that it is the end of times.
But the souls of the wicked will the more waste away when they shall see all these things.
For they know that their torment has come and that their perditions have arrived.

Chapter 31

And it happened after these things, that I went to the people and said to them: Assemble to me all our elders and I shall speak words to you.
I And they all assembled in the valley of the Kidron.
And I began to speak and said to them: Hear, O Israel, and I shall speak to you, and you, O seed of Jacob, pay attention, and I shall teach you.
Do not forget Zion but remember the distress of Jerusalem.
For, behold, the days are coming, that all that has been will be taken away to be destroyed, and it will become as though it had not been.

Chapter 32

You, however, if you prepare your minds to sow into them the fruits of the Torah, YAHWEH shall protect you in the time in which YAHWEH the Mighty One shall shake the entire creation.
For after a short time, the building of Zion will be shaken in order that it will be rebuilt.
That building will not remain; but it will again be uprooted after some time and will remain desolate for a time.
And after that it is necessary that it will be renewed in splendor and that it will be perfected into eternity.
We should not, therefore, be so sad regarding the evil which has come now, but much more (distressed) regarding that which is in the future.
For greater than the two evils will be the trial when YAHWEH the Mighty One will renew His creation.
And now, do not draw near to me for some days and do not call upon me until I shall come to you.
And it happened after having said all these words to them that I, Baruch, went my way. And when the people saw that I went away, they raised their voices and lamented and said:
Where are you going from us, Baruch, and do you leave us as a father who leaves his children as orphans and goes away from them?

Chapter 33

These are the commands which your friend Jeremiah, the prophet, gave to you. And he said to you,
"Look to this people during the time I am absent, while I help the rest of our brothers in Babylon, against whom has been declared the sentence that they should be carried away into captivity."
And now, if you abandon us too, it would have been better for all of us that we shall die first, and that then you should abandon us.

Chapter 34

And I answered and said to the people: Heaven forbid that I should abandon you or that I should go away from you. But I shall go to the Holy of Holies to ask from YAHWEH the Mighty One on behalf of you and Zion so that I may receive in some ways more Light, and after that I shall return to you.

Chapter 35

And I, Baruch, went to the Holy place and sat on the ruins and wept and said:
O that my eyes were springs, and my eyelids, that they were a fountain of tears.
For how shall I be sad over Zion, and lament over Jerusalem?
For at the place where now I am prostrate, the high priests used to offer Holy sacrifices, and placed thereon incense of fragrant spices.
Now, however, that of which we are proud has become dust, and that which our soul desired is ashes.

Chapter 36

And when I had said this, I fell asleep at that place and saw a vision in the night.
And behold there was a forest with trees that was planted on the plain and surrounded by high mountains and rugged rocks. And the forest occupied much space.
And behold, over against it a vine arose, and from under it a fountain (ran) peacefully.
And that fountain came to the forest and changed into great waves, and those waves submerged the forest and suddenly uprooted the entire forest and overthrew all the mountains which surrounded it.
And the height of the forest became low, and that top of the mountains became low. And that fountain became so strong that it left nothing of the great forest except one cedar.
When it had also cast that one down, it destroyed the entire forest and uprooted it so that nothing was left of it, and its place was not even known anymore. Then that vine arrived with the fountain in shalom and in great tranquility and arrived at a place which was not far away from the cedar, and they brought to him that cedar which had been cast down.
And I saw, and behold, that vine opened its mouth and spoke and said to the cedar, "Are you not that cedar which remained of the forest of wickedness? Because of you, wickedness remained and has been done during all these years, but never goodness.
And you possessed power over that which did not belong to you; you did not even show compassion to that which did belong to you. And you extended your power over those who were living far from you, and you keep those who are close to you in the nets of your wickedness, and you uplift your soul always like one who could not be uprooted.
But now your time has hastened and your hour has come.
Therefore O cedar, follow the forest which has departed before you and become ashes with it, and let your earth be mixed together.
And now, sleep in distress and rest in pain until your last time comes in which you will return to be tormented even more."

Chapter 37

And after these things I saw that the cedar was burning and the vine growing, while it and all around it became a valley full of unfading flowers. And I awoke and arose.

Chapter 38

And I prayed and said: O YAHWEH, the Sovereign Master, You are the ONE who has always enlightened those who conduct themselves with understanding.
Your Torah is Life, and Your wisdom is the right way.
Now, show me the explanation of this vision.
For You know that my soul has always been associated with Your Torah, and that I did not depart from Your wisdom from my earliest days.

Chapter 39

And YAHWEH answered and said to me: Baruch, this is the explanation of the vision which you have seen.
As you have seen the great forest surrounded by high and rocky mountains, this is the world:
Behold, the days will come when this kingdom that destroyed Zion once will be destroyed and that it will be subjected to that which will come after it.
This again will also be destroyed after some time. And another, a third, will rise and also that will possess power in its own time and will be destroyed.
After that a fourth kingdom arises whose power is harsher and more evil than those which were before it, and it will reign a multitude of times like the trees on the plain, and it will rule the times and exalt itself more than the cedars of Lebanon.
And the Truth will hide itself in this and all who are polluted with unrighteousness will flee to it like the evil beasts flee and creep into the forest.
And it will happen when the time of its fulfillment is approaching in which it will fall, that at that time the dominion of MY Anointed One which is like the fountain and the vine, will be revealed. And when it has revealed itself, it will uproot the multitude of its host.
And that which you have seen, namely the tall cedar, which remained of that forest, and with regard to the words which the vine said to it which you heard, this is the meaning.

Chapter 40

The last ruler who is left alive at that time will be bound, whereas the entire host will be destroyed. And they will carry Him on Mount Zion, and MY Anointed One will convict him of all his wicked deeds and will assemble and set before him all the works of his hosts.
And after these things He will kill him and protect the rest of My people who will be found in the place that I have chosen.
And His dominion will last forever until the world of corruption has ended and until the times which have been mentioned before have been fulfilled.
This is your vision, and this is its explanation.

Chapter 41

And I answered and said: For whom and for how many will these things be? Or who will be worthy to live in that time?
I shall now say before You everything that I think, and I shall ask You about the things of which I meditate.
For behold, I see many of Your people who separated themselves from Your statutes and who have cast away from them the yoke of Your Law.
Further, I have seen others who left behind their vanity and who have fled under Your wings.
What will, therefore, happen with those? Or how will that last time receive them?
Their time will surely not be weighed exactly, and they will certainly not be judged as the scale indicates?

Chapter 42

And YAHWEH answered and said to me:
Also these things I shall show you. As for what you said: "To whom and to how many will these things be?" As for what you have mentioned before will be to those who have believed, and the opposite of these things will be to those who have despised.
And as for that which you said with regard to those who have drawn near and to those who have withdrawn, this is the explanation.
As for those who have first subjected themselves and have withdrawn later and who mingled themselves with the seed of the mingled nations, their first time will be considered as mountains.
And those who first did not know Life and who later knew it exactly and who mingled with the seed of the people who have separated themselves, their first time will be considered as mountains.
And times will inherit times, and periods periods, and they will receive from one another. And then, with a view to the end, all will be compared according to the length of times and the hours of periods.
For corruption will take away those who belong to it, and Life those who belong to it.
And dust will be called, and told, "Give back that which does not belong to you and raise up all that you have kept until its own time."

Chapter 43

You, however, Baruch, strengthen your heart with a view to that which has been said to you, and understand that which has been revealed to you because you have many consolations which will last forever.
For you will go away from this place and leave the regions which are now before your eyes. And you shall forget that which is corruptible and not again remember that which is among the mortal ones.
Go away, therefore, and command your people and come to this place and afterward fast seven days. And then I shall come to you and speak with you.

Chapter 44

And I, Baruch, went from there and came to my people and called my first-born son and the Gedaliahs, my friends, and seven of the elders of the people and said to them:
Behold, I go to my fathers in accordance with the way of the whole earth.
You, however, do not withdraw from the way of the Law, but guard and admonish the people who are left lest they withdraw from the commandments of YAHWEH the Mighty One.
For you see that HE whom we serve is righteous and that our Creator is impartial.
And see what has befallen Zion and what happened to Jerusalem,
that the judgment of YAHWEH the Mighty One will be made known, as well as HIS ways which are inscrutable and right.
For when you endure and persevere in His fear and do not forget HIS Law, the time again will take a turn for the better for you. And they will participate in the consolation of Zion.
For that which is now is nothing. But that which is in the future will be very great.
For everything will pass away which is corruptible, and everything that dies will go away, and all present time will be forgotten, and there will be no remembrance of the present time which is polluted by evils.
For he who runs now runs in vain and he who is happy will fall quickly and be humiliated.
For that which will be in the future, that is what one will look for, and that which comes later, that is what we shall hope for. For there is a time that does not pass away.
And that period is coming which will remain forever; and there is the new world which does not carry back to corruption those who enter into its beginning, and which has no mercy on those who come into torment or those who are living in it, and it does not carry to perdition.
For those are the ones who will inherit this time of which it is spoken, and to these is the heritage of the promised time.
These are they who prepared for themselves treasures of wisdom. And stores of insight are found with them. And they have not withdrawn from mercy and they have preserved the Truth of the Law.
For the coming world will be given to these, but the habitation of the many others will be in the fire.

Chapter 45

You, therefore, admonish the people as much as you can. For this is our work.
For, when you instruct them, you will make them alive

Chapter 46

And my son and the elders of the people said to me: Did YAHWEH the Mighty One humiliate us to such an extent that HE will take you away from us quickly?
And shall we truly be in darkness, and will there be no Light anymore for that people who are left?
For where shall we again investigate the Law, or who will distinguish between death and Life for us?
And I said to them: I cannot resist the throne of YAHWEH the Mighty One. But Israel will not be in want of a wise man, nor the tribe of Jacob, a son of the Law.
But only prepare your heart so that you obey the Law, and be subject to those who are wise and understanding with fear. And prepare your soul that you shall not depart from them.
If you do this, those pleasant tidings will come to you of which I spoke to you earlier, and you will not fall into the torment of which I spoke to you earlier.
But with regard to the word that I shall be taken up, I did not let it be known to them at that time, not even to my son.

Chapter 47

And after I had left, having dismissed them, I returned from there and said to them: Behold, I go to Hebron, for to there YAHWEH the Mighty One has sent me.
And I arrived at that place where the Word was spoken to me, and I sat there and fasted seven days.

Chapter 48

And it happened after seven days that I prayed before YAHWEH the Mighty One and said:
YAHWEH, You summon the coming of the times, and they stand before You. You cause the display of power of the worlds to pass away and they do not resist You. You arrange the course of the periods, and they obey You.
Only You know the length of the generations, and You do not reveal Your secrets to many.
You make known the multitude of the fire, and You weigh the lightness of the wind.
You investigate the end of the heights, and You scrutinize the depths of darkness.
You command the number which will pass away, and which will be preserved. And You prepare a house for those who will be.
You remember the beginning which You created, and You do not forget that destruction which will come.
With signs of fear and threat You command the flames, and they change into winds. And with the Word You bring to Life that which does not exist, and with great Power You hold that which has not yet come.
You instruct the creation with Your understanding, and You give wisdom to the spheres so that they minister according to their positions.
Innumerable hosts stand before You, and serve peacefully Your sign according to their positions.
Hear Your servant, and regard my appeal.
For we are born in a short time, and in a short time we return.
With You, however, the hours are like times, and the days like generations.
Be, therefore, not angry at man because he is nothing; and do not take count of our works; for what are we?
For behold, by Your gift we come into the world, and we do go not of our own will.
For we did not say to our parents: "Beget us," nor have we sent to the realm of death saying: "Receive us."
What therefore is our strength that we can bear Your wrath, or what are we that we can endure Your judgment?
Protect us in Your free unmerited favor and pardon, and in Your mercy help us.
Look at the small ones who submit to You, and deliver all those who come to You. And do not take away the hope of our people, and do not make short the times of our help.
For these are the people whom You have elected, and this is the nation of which You found no equal.
But I shall speak to You now, and I shall say as my heart thinks.
In You we have put our trust, because, behold, Your Law is with us, and we know that we do not fall as long as we keep Your statutes.
We shall always be blessed; at least, we did not mingle with the nations. For we are all a people of the NAME; we, who received one Law from YAHWEH the One.
And that Law that is among us will help us, and that excellent wisdom which is in us will support us.
And when I had prayed these things I became very weak.
And HE answered and said to me: You have prayed honestly, Baruch, and all your words have been heard.
But MY judgment asks for its own, and MY Law demands its right.
For from your words I shall answer you, and from your prayer I shall speak with you.
Because it is as follows: There is nothing that will be destroyed unless it acted wickedly, if it had been able to do something without remembering My goodness and accepting My long-suffering.
For this reason surely you will be taken up, as I said to you before.
And the time will come of which I spoke to you and that true is appearing which brings affliction. For it will come and pass away with enormous vehemence; and arriving in the heat of indignation, it will be turbulent.
And it will be in those days that all inhabitants of the earth will live with each other in shalom, because they do not know that My judgment has come near.
For in that time there will not be found many wise men and there will also be not many intelligent ones, but, in addition, they who know will be silent more and more.
And there will be many tidings and not a few rumors, and the works of the phantoms will be visible, and not a few promises will be told, some idle and others affirmed.
And honor will change itself into shame, and strength will be humiliated to contempt, and the strong one will be broken down, and beauty will become contemptible.
And many will say to many in that time, "Where did the multitude of intelligence hide itself and where did the multitude of wisdom depart?"
And when one thinks about these things, jealousy will arise in those who did not think much of themselves; and passion will take hold of those who were peaceful; and many will be agitated by wrath to injure many; and they will raise armies to shed blood; and they will perish with those in the end.
And it will happen in that time that a change of times will reveal itself openly for the eyes of everyone because they polluted themselves in all those times and caused oppression, and each one walked in his own works and did not remember the Law of YAHWEH the Mighty One.
Therefore, a fire will consume their thoughts, and with a flame the meditations of their kidneys will be examined. For the Judge will come and will not hesitate.
For each of the inhabitants of the earth knew when he acted unrighteously, and they did not know My Law because of their pride.
But many will surely weep at that time-more, however, because of the living ones than of the dead.
And I answered and said: O Adam, what did you do to all who were born after you? And what will be said of the first Eve who obeyed the serpent, so that this whole multitude is going to corruption?
And countless are those whom the fire devours.
But again I shall speak before You.
You, O YAHWEH, Sovereign Master, You know that which is in Your creation.
For You commanded the dust one day to produce Adam; and You knew the number of those who are born from him and how they sinned before You, those who existed and who did not recognize You as their Creator.
And concerning all of those, their end will put them to shame, and Your Law which they transgressed will repay them on Your day.
And He answered and said to me: But now, let us cease talking about the wicked and inquire about the righteous.
And I will tell about their blessedness and I shall not be silent about their splendor which is kept for them.
For surely, as you endured much labor in the short time in which you live in this passing world, so you will receive great Light in that world which has no end.

Chapter 49

But further, I ask You, O YAHWEH the Mighty One; and I shall ask free unmerited and pardon from You who created all things.
In which shape will the living live in Your day? Or how will remain their splendor which will be after that?
Will they, perhaps, take again this present form, and will they put on the chained members which are in evil and by which evils are accomplished? Or will you perhaps change these things which have been in the world, as also the world itself?

Chapter 50

And HE answered and said to me: Listen, Baruch, to this Word and write down in the memory of your heart all that you shall learn.
For the earth will surely give back the dead at that time; it receives them now in order to keep them, not changing anything in their form. But as it has received them so it will give them back. And as I have delivered them to it so it will raise them.
For then it will be necessary to show those who live that the dead are living again, and that those who went away have come back.
And it will be that when they have recognized each other, those who know each other at this moment, then MY judgment will be strong, and those things which have been spoken of before will come.

Chapter 51

And it will happen after this day which I appointed is over that both the shape of those who are found to be guilty as also the splendor of those who have proved to be righteous will be changed.
For the shape of those who now act wickedly will be made more evil than it is (now) so that they shall suffer torment.
Also, as for the honor and splendor of those who proved to be righteous on account of My Law, those who possessed intelligence in their life, and those who planted the root of wisdom in their heart; their honor and splendor will then be magnified by transformations, and the shape of their face will be changed into the Light of their beauty so that they may acquire and receive the undying world which is promised to them.
Therefore, especially they who will then come will be sad, because they despised My Torah and stopped their ears lest they hear wisdom and receive intelligence.
When they, therefore, will see that those over whom they are exalted now will then be more exalted and magnified than they, then both these and those will be changed, these into the honor and splendor of angels and those into startling visions and horrible shapes; and they will waste away even more.
For they will first see and then they will go away to be tormented.
Miracles, however, will appear at their own time to those who are saved because of their works and for whom the Torah is now a hope, and intelligence, expectation, and wisdom a trust.
For they shall see that world which is now invisible to them, and they will see a time which is now hidden to them.
And time will no longer make them older.
For they will live in the heights of that world and they will be like the angels and be equal to the stars. And they will be changed into any shape which they wished, from beauty to loveliness, and from light to the splendor of honor.
For the extents of Kingdom Paradise will be spread out for them, and to them will be shown the beauty of the majesty of the living beings under the throne, as well as all the hosts of the angels, those who are held by My Word now lest they show themselves, and those who are withheld by My command so that they may stand at their places until their coming has arrived.
And the excellence of the righteous will then be greater than that of the angels.
For the first will receive the last, those whom they expected; and the last, those of whom they had heard that they had gone away.
For they have been saved from this world of affliction and have put down the burden of anguishes.
Because of which men lost their life and for what have those who were on the earth exchanged their soul?
For once they chose for themselves that time which cannot pass away without afflictions. And they chose for themselves that time of which the end is full of lamentations and evils. And they have denied the world that does not make those who come to it older. And they have rejected the time which causes splendor so that they are not coming to the splendor of which I spoke to you before.

Chapter 52

And I answered and said: How shall we forget those for whom at that time woe is preserved?
And why are we again sad for those who die? Or why do we weep for those who go into the realm of death?
The lamentations should be kept for the beginning of that coming torment; let the tears be laid down for the coming of that destruction which will then come.
But with a view of these things, I shall also speak.
And concerning the righteous ones, what will they do now?
And He answered and said: Enjoy yourselves in the suffering which you suffer now. For why do you look for the decline of your enemies?
Prepare your souls for that which is kept for you, and make ready your souls for the reward which is preserved for you. And when He had said this I fell asleep there.

Chapter 53

And I saw a vision. And behold, a cloud was coming up from the great sea. And I was looking at it, and behold, it was entirely filled with dark water and there were many colors in that water. And something like great lightning appeared at its top.
And I saw that the cloud was rapidly passing in a quick run and covering the whole earth.
And it happened after this that the cloud began to pour the water that it contained upon the earth.
And I saw that the water which descended from it was not of the same likeness.
For at first, it was very dark until a certain time. And then, I saw that the water became bright, but there was not much of it. And after this, I saw dark water again, and after this bright again, and dark again and bright again.
This, now, happened twelve times, but the dark were always more than the bright.
And it happened at the end of the cloud that, behold, it poured dark water and it was much darker than all the water that had been before. And fire was mingled with it. And where that water descended, it brought about devastation and destruction.
And after this I saw how the lightning which I had seen at the top of the cloud seized it and pressed it down to the earth.
That lightning shone much more, so that it lighted the whole earth and healed the regions where the last waters had descended and where it had brought about destruction.
And it occupied the whole earth and took command of it.
And after this I saw, behold, twelve rivers came from the sea and surrounded the lightning and became subject to it.
And because of my fear I awoke.

Chapter 54

And I asked YAHWEH the Mighty One and said: You alone, O YAHWEH, knew the heights of the world beforehand and that which will happen in the times which You bring about by Your Word. And against the works of the inhabitants of the earth You hasten the beginnings of the times. And the ends of the periods You alone know.
You are the one for whom nothing is hard; but You are, however, the one who easily accomplishes all by a sign.
You are the one to whom both the depths and the heights come together, and whose Word the beginnings of the periods serve.
You are the one who reveals to those who fear that which is prepared for them so that You may comfort them.
You show Your mighty works to those who do not know. You pull down the enclosure for those who have no experience and enlighten the darkness's, and reveal the secrets to those who are spotless, to those who subjected themselves to You and Your Law in faith.
You showed this vision to You servant; open to me its exposition also.
For I know that I have received the answer regarding the subjects about which I asked You, and that You gave me a revelation about that which I asked, and that You have let me know with what voice I should honor You or from which members I should cause honor and praise to go up to You.
For if my members should be mouths and the hairs of my head voices, even so I should not be able to honor You properly; and I should not be able to utter Your splendor or to express the excellence of Your beauty.
For who am I among men or what is my significance among those who are more excellent than I that I have heard all these marvelous things from YAHWEH the Most High and innumerable promises from Him who created me?
Blessed is my mother among those who bear, and praised among women is she who bore me.
For I shall not be silent in honoring YAHWEH the Mighty One but with the voice of reverence I shall narrate HIS marvelous works.
For who is able to imitate Your miracles, O YAHWEH, or who understands Your deep thoughts of Life?
For with Your counsel, You reign over all creation which Your right hand has created, and You have established the whole fountain of Light with Yourself, and You have prepared under Your throne the treasures of wisdom.
And those who do not love Your Law are justly perishing. And the torment of judgment will fall upon those who have not subjected themselves to Your Power.
For, although Adam sinned first and has brought death upon all who were not in his own time, yet each of them who has been born from him has prepared for himself the coming torment. And further, each of them has chosen for himself the coming splendor.
For truly, the one who believes will receive reward.
But now, turn yourselves to destruction, you unrighteous ones who are living now, for you will be visited suddenly, since you have once rejected the understanding of YAHWEH the Most High.
For HIS works have not taught you, nor has the artful work of His creation which has existed always persuaded you.
Adam is, therefore, not the cause, except only for himself, but each of us has become our own Adam.
You, however, O YAHWEH, explain to me what You have revealed to me. And inform me about that which I asked You.
For at the end of the world, a retribution will be demanded with regard to those who have done wickedly in accordance with their wickedness, and You will honor the faithful ones in accordance with their faith.
For those who are among Your own, You rule; and those who sin, You blot out among Your own.

Chapter 55

And it happened that when I had finished the words of this prayer, I sat down there under a tree to rest in the shadow of its branches.
And I was surprised and astonished, and I pondered in my thoughts about the multitude of the goodness which the sinners who are on earth have rejected from them, and about the great punishment which they have despised, when they knew that they should be punished because of the sins they have committed.
And while I was pondering these and similar things, behold, Ramael, the angel who is set over true visions, was sent to me and said to me:
Why does your heart trouble you, Baruch, and why are you disturbed by your thought?
For if you are already disturbed, only hearing about the judgment, what about when you see it with your eyes openly?
And if you are already so disturbed by the expectation with which you expect the day of YAHWEH the Mighty One, what about when you arrive at its coming?
And if you are so fully terrified by the Words of the announcement of the punishment of those who have transgressed, how much more when this event itself will reveal marvelous things?
And if you have heard the names of the good and evil things which will come at that time, and if you are grieved, what about when you will see what the Majesty will reveal, who will convince some and cause others to rejoice?

Chapter 56

But now, since you have asked YAHWEH the Most High to reveal to you the explanation of the vision which you have seen.
I have been sent to say to you that YAHWEH the Mighty One has let you know the course of times, namely those which have passed and those which in HIS world will come to pass, from the beginning of HIS creation until the end, (the times) which are known by deceit and by Truth.
For as you saw a great cloud which came up from the sea and went and covered the earth; this is the length of the world which YAHWEH the Mighty One has created when He took counsel in order to create the world.
And it happened when the word had gone out from Him, that the length of the world was standing as something small, and it was established in accordance with the abundance of the intelligence of Him who let it go forth.
And as you first saw the dark waters on the top of the cloud which first came down upon the earth; this is the transgression which Adam, the first man, committed.
For when he transgressed, untimely death came into being, mourning was mentioned, affliction was prepared, illness was created, labor accomplished, pride began to come into existence, the realm of death began to ask to be renewed with blood, the conception of children came about, the passion of the parents was produced, the loftiness of men was humiliated, and goodness vanished.
What could, therefore, have been blacker and darker than these things?
This is the beginning of the black waters which you have seen.
And from these black waters again black were born, and very dark darkness originated.
For he who was a danger to himself was also a danger to the angels.
For they possessed freedom in that time in which they were created.
And some of them came down and mingled themselves with women.
At that time they who acted like this were tormented in chains.
But the rest of the multitude of angels, who have no number, restrained themselves.
And those living on earth perished together through the waters of the flood.
Those are the first dark waters.

Chapter 57

And after these you saw the bright waters; that is the fountain of Abraham and his generation, and the coming of his son, and the son of his son, and of those who are like them.
For at that time the unwritten Law was in force among them, and the works of the commandments were accomplished at that time, and the belief in the coming judgment was brought about, and the hope of the world which will be renewed was built at that time, and the promise of the Life that will come later was planted.
Those are the bright waters which you have seen.

Chapter 58

And the third dark waters you have seen; that is the mingling of all sins which the nations committed afterward, after the death of those righteous men, and the wickedness of the land of Egypt, in which they acted wickedly in the oppression with which they oppressed their sons.
But also these perished at the end.

Chapter 59

And the fourth bright waters which you have seen; that is the coming of Moses, and of Aaron, and of Miriam, and of Joshua, the son of Nun, and of Caleb, and all those who are like these.
For at that time the lamp of the eternal Torah which exists forever and ever illuminated all those who sat in darkness. This (lamp) will announce to those who believe the promise of their reward and to those who deny the punishment of the fire which is kept for them.
But also the heaven will be shaken from its place at that time; that is, the heavens which are under the throne of YAHWEH the Mighty One were severely shaken when He took Moses with Him.
For He showed him many warnings together with the ways of the Torah and the end of time, as also to you; and then further, also the likeness of Zion with its measurements which was to be made after the likeness of the present sanctuary.
But He also showed him, at that time, the measures of fire, the depths of the abyss, the weight of the winds, the number of the raindrops,
the suppression of wrath, the abundance of long-suffering, the Truth of Judgment,
the root of wisdom, the richness of understanding, the fountain of knowledge, the height of the air, the greatness of Kingdom Paradise, the end of the periods, the beginning of the day of judgment, the number of offerings, the worlds which have not yet come, the mouth of hell, the standing place of vengeance, the place of faith, the region of hope.

Chapter 60

And the fifth dark waters which you have seen poured down; those are the works which the Amorites have done, and the invocations of their incantations which they wrought, and the wickedness of their mysteries, and the mingling of their pollutions.
But even Israel was polluted with sins in these days of the judges, although they saw many signs which were from HIM who created them..

Chapter 61

And the sixth bright waters which you have seen; this is the time in which David and Solomon were born.
And at that time the building of Zion took place, and the dedication of the sanctuary, and the shedding of much blood of the nations which sinned at that time, and the many offerings which were offered at that time at the inauguration of the sanctuary.
And rest and shalom reigned at that time.
And wisdom was heard in the assembly, and the richness of understanding was magnified in the congregations.
And the Kodesh festivals were fulfilled in happiness and much joy.
And the judgment of the rulers was seen at that time without deceit, and the righteousness of the commandments of YAHWEH the Mighty One was accomplished in Truth.
And the land which then received mercy, since its inhabitants did not sin, was praised above all countries, and the city of Zion ruled over all countries and regions at that time.
These are those bright waters you have seen.

Chapter 62

And the seventh black waters you have seen; that is the perversion of the ideas of Jeroboam who planned to make two golden calves,
And all the iniquities accomplished by the kings who succeeded him,
And the curse of Jezebel, and the idolatry which Israel practiced at that time,
And the withholding of rain, and the famines of such a kind that the women ate the fruits of their womb,
And the time of their exile which befell the nine and a half tribes because they lived in many sins.
And Salmanassar, the king of the Assyrians, came and carried them away into captivity.
And concerning the nations much could be said: how they acted unrighteously and wickedly, and how they never proved themselves to be righteous.
These are those seventh black waters you have seen.

Chapter 63

And the eighth bright waters you have seen; that is the righteousness and the integrity of Hezekiah, King of Judah, and the free unmerited favor and pardon which came upon him.
For at that time Sennacherib was moved to destroy, and his wrath roused him, and also the multitude of the nations which were with him in order to destroy;
when Hezekiah the king heard that which the Assyrian king devised, namely, to come and seize him and destroy his people; the two and a half tribes which were left -and that he also wanted to destroy Zion, then Hezekiah trusted upon his works and hoped upon his righteousnesses, and spoke with YAHWEH the Mighty One and said,
Pay attention, behold, Sennacherib is ready to destroy us, and he will boast and be uplifted when he has destroyed Zion.
And YAHWEH the Mighty One heard him for Hezekiah was wise, and he paid attention to his prayers for he was righteous.
And YAHWEH the Mighty One then commanded Ramael, his angel who speaks with you.
And I went away and destroyed their multitude, of which the number of the chiefs alone was one hundred and eighty-five thousand, and each of them had an equal number.
And at that time I burned their bodies within, but I preserved their clothes and their arms on the outside so that still more of the marvelous works of YAHWEH the Mighty One might be seen, and so that His NAME might be mentioned throughout the entire earth.
Thus Zion was saved, and Jerusalem was delivered from its tribulations. 2 BARUCH 63:10 And all those who were in the Saint land rejoiced, and the NAME of YAHWEH the Mighty One was praised so that it was spoken of.
These are those bright waters which you have seen.

Chapter 64

And the ninth black waters you have seen; that is, the wickedness that existed in the days of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah.
For he acted very wickedly, and killed the righteous, and perverted judgment, and shed innocent blood, and violently polluted married women, and overturned altars, and abolished their offerings, and drove away the priests lest they minister in the sanctuary.
And he made a statue with five faces: Four of them looked into the direction of the four winds, and the fifth was on the top of the statue so as to challenge the zeal of YAHWEH the Mighty One."
And then the wrath of YAHWEH the Mighty One went out so that Zion should be uprooted as has also happened in your days.
But also the judgment went out against the two and a half tribes so that they also should be carried away into captivity as you have now seen.
And the impiety of Manasseh increased to such a degree that the splendor of YAHWEH the Most High removed itself from the sanctuary.
Therefore, Manasseh was called the impious one in that time, and finally his habitation was in the fire.
For although YAHWEH the Most High had heard his prayer, in the end when he fell into the brazen horse and the brazen horse was melted, it became to him as a sign regarding the hour (which was to come).
For he had not lived perfectly since he was not worthy, but (the sign was given to him) that he might know henceforth by whom he should be punished at the end.
For He who is able to benefit is also able to punish.

Chapter 65

This Manasseh sinned and he thought in his time that YAHWEH the Mighty One would not call account for these things.
These are those ninth black waters you have seen.

Chapter 66

And the tenth bright waters you have seen; that is the purity of the generation of Josiah king of Judah, who was the only one in his time who subjected himself to YAHWEH the Mighty One with his whole heart and his whole soul.
He purified the country from the idols, sanctified all the vessels which were polluted, restored the offerings to the altar, raised the horn of the Holy, exalted the righteous, and honored all those who were wise with understanding. He brought the priests back to their ministry, and destroyed and removed the magicians, enchanters, and diviners from the land.
And he not only killed the impious who were living, but also the bones were taken from the graves of the dead and burned with fire.
And he established the Festivals and the Shabbats with their Saint practices, and he burned the polluted with fire, and as for the lying prophets who deceived the people, also these he burned with fire. He cast the people who obeyed them, as long as they lived, into the Kidron valley, and heaped stones upon them.
And he was zealous with the zeal of YAHWEH the Mighty One with his whole soul, and he alone was strong in the Torah at that time so that he left no one un-circumcised or anyone who acted wickedly in the whole country all the days of his life.
He, then, is one who shall receive reward forever and ever and be honored with YAHWEH the Mighty One more than many in the last time.
For on his account and on account of those who are like him, the precious splendors have been created and prepared which were spoken to you earlier.
These are those bright waters which you have seen.

Chapter 67

And the eleventh black waters you have seen; that is the disaster which has befallen Zion now.
Do you think that there is no mourning among the angels before YAHWEH the Mighty One, that Zion is delivered up in this way? Behold, the nations rejoice in their hearts, and the multitudes are before their idols and say, ..She who has trodden others down for such a long time has been trodden down; and she who has subjugated has been subjugated."
Do you think that YAHWEH the Most High rejoices in these things or that HIS NAME has been magnified?
But how will it be with HIS righteous judgment?
But after these things those scattered among the nations will be taken hold of by tribulations and live in shame in every place.
For so far as Zion has been delivered up and Jerusalem laid waste, the idols in the cities of the nations are happy and the flavor of the smoke of the incense of the righteousness of the Torah has been extinguished everywhere in the region of Zion; behold, the smoke of the impiety is there.
But the king of Babylon will arise, the one who now has destroyed Zion, and he will boast over the people and speak haughtily in his heart before YAHWEH the Most High.
And he too will fall finally.
These are those dark waters.

Chapter 68

And the twelfth bright waters which you have seen; this is the word.
For there will come a time after these things, and your people will fall into such a distress so that they are all together in danger of perishing.
They, however, will be saved, and their enemies will fall before them.
And to them will fall much joy one day.
And at that time, after a short time, Zion will be rebuilt again, and the offerings will be restored, and the priests will again return to their ministry. And the nations will again come to honor it.
But not as fully as before.
But it will happen after these things that there will be a fall of many nations.
These are the bright waters you have seen.

Chapter 69

With regard to the last waters you have seen which are blacker than all those preceding which came after the twelfth, those which were brought together; they apply to the whole world.
For YAHWEH the Most High made a division at the beginning for only He knows what will happen in the future.
For with regard to the evils of the coming impieties which occurred before Him, he saw six kinds.
And of the morally right works of the righteous which would be accomplished before HIM, he foresaw six kinds, with the exclusion of that which He should accomplish Himself at the end of the world.
These are, therefore, not black waters with black, nor bright with bright. For that is the end.

Chapter 70

Therefore, hear the exposition of the last black waters which will come after the black waters. This is the Word.
Behold, the days are coming and it will happen when the time of the world has ripened and the harvest of the seed of the evil ones and the tov ones has come that YAHWEH the Mighty One will cause to come over the earth and its inhabitants and its rulers confusion of the spirit and amazement of the heart. And they will hate one another and provoke one another to fight.
And the despised will rule over the honorable, and the unworthy will raise themselves over the illustrious.
And many will be delivered to the few, those who were nothing will rule over the strong, the poor will be greater in number than the rich, and the impious will exalt themselves over the brave.
The wise will be silent, and the foolish will speak. And the thought of men will not be realized then, nor the counsel of the strong, and the hope of those who hope will not be realized.
Then it will happen when those things occur which have been said before will come to pass, that confusion will fall upon all men. And some of them will fall in war, and others will perish in tribulations, and again others of them will be troubled by their own.
YAHWEH the Most High will then give a sign to those nations which He has prepared before, and they will come and wage war with the rulers who will then remain.
And it will happen that everyone who saves himself from the war will die in an earthquake, and he who saves himself from the earthquake will be burned by fire, and he who saves himself from the fire will perish by famine.
And it will happen that everyone who will deliver himself and escape from all things which have been said before; both those who have won and those who have been overcome; that all will be delivered into the hands of MY Servant, the Anointed One.
For the whole earth will devour its inhabitants.

Chapter 71

And the Saint land will have mercy on its own and will protect its inhabitants at that time.
This is the vision which you have seen, and this is its explanation. For I have come to tell you these things since your prayer has been heard by YAHWEH the Most High.

Chapter 72

Now, hear also about the bright waters which come at the end after these black ones. This is the Word.
After the signs have come of which I have spoken to you before, when the nations are moved and the time of My Anointed One comes, He will call all nations, and some of them He will spare, and others He will kill.
These things will befall the nations which will be spared by Him.
Every nation which has not known Israel and which has not trodden down the seed of Jacob will live.
And this is because some from all the nations have been subjected to your people.
All those, now, who have ruled over you or have known you, will be delivered up to the sword.

Chapter 73

And it will happen that after He has brought down everything which is in the world, and has sat down in eternal shalom on the throne of the Kingdom, and then joy will be revealed and rest will appear.
And then health will descend in dew, and illness will vanish, and fear and tribulation and lamentation will pass away from among men, and joy will encompass the earth.
And nobody will again die untimely, nor will any adversity take place suddenly.
Unjust judgment, condemnations, contentions, revenges, blood, passions, zeal, hate, and all such things will go into condemnation since they will be uprooted.
For these are the things that have filled this earth with evils, and because of them life of men came in yet greater confusion.
And the wild beasts will come from the wood and serve men, and the asps and dragons will come out of their holes to subject themselves to a child.
And women will no longer have pain when they bear, nor will they be tormented when they yield the fruits of their womb.

Chapter 74

And it will happen in those days that the reapers will not become tired, and the farmers will not wear themselves out, because the products of themselves will shoot out speedily, during the time that they work on them in full tranquility.
For that time is the end of that which is corruptible and the beginning of that which is incorruptible.
Therefore, the things which were said before will happen in it. Therefore, it is far away from the evil things and near to those which do not die.
Those are the last bright waters which have come after the last dark waters.

Chapter 75

And I answered and said: Who can equal Your goodness, O YAHWEH? for it is incomprehensible.
Or who can fathom Your free unmerited favor and pardon which is without end?
Or who can understand Your intelligence?
Or who can narrate the thoughts of Your Spirit?
Or who of those born can hope to arrive at these things, apart from those to whom You are merciful and kind?
For if You were not merciful to men, those who are under Your right hand, they were not able to come to them, apart from those who are named among the famous number."
But we who exist, when we know why we have come, and then subject ourselves to You who brought us out of Egypt, we shall come again and remember those things which have passed away, and rejoice with regard to the things which have been.
But if we do not know now why we have come, and do not recognize the sovereignty of You who brought us up from Egypt, we will come again and ask for that which has now occurred, and shall be severely grieved because of that which has happened.

Chapter 76

And he answered and said to me: Since the revelation of this vision has been explained to you as you prayed for, hear the Word of YAHWEH the Most High that you know that which will happen to you after these things.
For you will surely depart from this world, nevertheless not to death but to be kept unto (the end) of times.
Therefore, go up to the top of this mountain, and all countries of this earth will pass before you, as well as the likeness of the inhabited world, and the top of the mountains, and the depths of the valleys, and the depths of the seas, and the number of rivers, so that you may see that which you leave and where you go.
This will happen after forty days.
Go, therefore, now during these days and instruct the people as much as you can so that they may learn lest they die in the last times, but may learn so that they live in the last times.

Chapter 77

And I, Baruch, went away from there and came to the people, and assembled them from the greatest to the smallest and said to them:
Hear, O children of Israel, behold how many are left from the twelve tribes of Israel.
To you and to your fathers YAHWEH gave the Torah above all nations.
And because your brothers have transgressed the commandments of YAHWEH the Most High, HE brought vengeance upon you and upon them and did not spare the ancestors, but He also gave the descendants into captivity and did not leave a remnant of them.
And, behold, you are here, with me.
If, therefore, you will make straight your ways, you will not go away as your brothers went away, but they will come to you.
For He is merciful whom you honor, and kind in whom you hope, and True so that He will do tov to you and not evil.
Have you not seen what has befallen Zion?
Or do you think that the place has sinned and that it has been destroyed for this reason, or that the country has done some crime and that it is delivered up for that reason?
And do you not know that because of you who sinned the one who did not sin was destroyed, and that because of those who acted unrighteously, the one who has not gone astray has been delivered up to the enemies? The people invite Baruch to write a letter
And the whole people answered and they said to me: Everything which we can remember of the excellent things which YAHWEH the Mighty One has done to us we shall remember, and that which we do not remember HE knows in HIS free unmerited favor and pardon.
But do this for us, Your people: Write also to our brothers in Babylon a letter of doctrine and a roll of hope so that you might strengthen them also before you go away from us.
For the shepherds of Israel have perished, and the Lamps which gave Light are extinguished, and the fountains from which we used to drink have withheld their streams.
Now we have been left in the darkness and in the thick forest and in the aridness of the desert.
And I answered and said to them: Shepherds and lamps and fountains came from the Torah and when we go away, the Torah will abide.
If you, therefore, look upon the Torah and are intent upon wisdom, then the lamp will not be wanting and the shepherd will not give way and the fountain will not dry up.
Nevertheless, I shall also write to your brothers in Babylon as you have said to me, and I shall send it by means of men. Also I shall write to the nine and a half tribes, and send it by means of a bird.
And it happened on the twenty-first day of the ninth month that I, Baruch, came and sat down under the oak in the shadow of the branches, and nobody was with me; I was alone.
And I wrote two letters. One I sent by means of an eagle to the nine and a half tribes, and the other I sent by means of three men to those who were in Babylon.
And I called an eagle and said to him these words:
You have been created by YAHWEH the Most High that you should be higher than any other bird.
But now go and do not stay in any place, do not go into a nest, do not sit on any tree until you have flown over the breadth of the many waters of the river Euphrates and have come to the people that live there and cast down to them this letter.
Remember that Noah at the time of the flood received the fruit of the olive tree from a dove when he sent it away from the ark.
And also the ravens served Elijah when they brought food to him as they were commanded.
Also Solomon, in the time of his kingship, commanded a bird where he wanted to send a letter and in whatever he was in need of and it obeyed him as he commanded it.
And do not be reluctant and do not deviate to the right nor to the left, but fly and go straight away that you may preserve the command of YAHWEH the Mighty One as I said to you.

Chapter 78

The letter of Baruch, the son of Neriah which he wrote to the nine and a half tribes

These are the words of the letter which Baruch, the son of Neriah' sent to the nine and a half tribes which were across the rivers in which were written the following things:
Thus speaks Baruch, the son of Neriah, to the brothers who were carried away in captivity:
Free unmerited favor and pardon and shalom be with you. I remember, my brothers, the love of Him who created me, who loved us from the beginning and who never hated us but, on the contrary, chastised us.
And truly I know: Are we not all, the twelve tribes, bound by one captivity as we also descend from one father?
Therefore, I have been the more diligent to leave you the words of this letter before I die so that you may be comforted regarding the evils which have befallen you, and you may also be grieved with regard to the evils which have befallen your brothers, and then further, so that you may consider the judgment of Him who decreed it against you to be righteous, namely, that you should be carried away into captivity, for what you have suffered is smaller than what you have done, in order that you may be found worthy of your fathers in the last times.
Therefore, if you think about the things you have suffered now for your excellence so that you may not be condemned at the end and be tormented, you shall receive hope which lasts forever and ever, particularly if you remove from your hearts the idol error for which you went away from here.
For if you do these things in this way, He shall continually remember you. He is the one who always promised on our behalf to those who are more excellent than we that He will not forever forget or forsake our offspring, but with much mercy assemble all those again who were dispersed."

Chapter 79

Therefore, my brothers, learn first what befell Zion, namely, that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came up against us.
For we had sinned against YAHWEH who created us, and had not observed the commandments which He ordered us.
And yet He has not chastised us as we deserved.
For what befell you, we suffered even more, for it befell us also.

Chapter 80

And now, my brothers," when the enemies had surrounded the city, angels were sent from YAHWEH the Most High. And they demolished the fortification of the strong wall, and He destroyed their solid iron comers which could not be loosened.
Nevertheless, they hid the Saint vessels lest they be polluted by the enemies.
And when they had done these things, they left the demolished wall, the looted house, the burned Great Tabernacle, and the people who were overcome to the enemies, for they were delivered up lest the enemies should boast and say, "We have overcome to such an extent that we have even destroyed the house of YAHWEH the Most High."
They have also bound your brothers and carried them away to Babylon and have caused them to live there.
And we have been left here with very few.
That is the affliction about which I write to you.
For truly I know that the inhabitants of Zion were a comfort to you. As long as you knew that they were happy, this was more important than the affliction you endured being separated from them.

Chapter 81

But also hear the word of consolation. For I mourned with regard to Zion and asked free unmerited favor and pardon from YAHWEH the Most High and said,
"Will these things exist for us until the end?
And will these evils befall us always?" And YAHWEH the Mighty One did according to the multitude of His free unmerited favor and pardon, and YAHWEH the Most High according to the magnitude of His mercy, and He revealed to me a Word that I might be comforted, and showed me visions that I might not be again sorrowful, and made known to me the mysteries of the times, and showed me the coming of the periods.

Chapter 82

My brothers, therefore I have written to you that you may find consolation with regard to the multitude of tribulations."
But you ought to know that our Creator will surely avenge us on all our brothers according to everything which they have done against us and among us; in particular that the end which YAHWEH the Most High prepared is near, and that HIS free unmerited favor and pardon is coming, and that the fulfillment of His judgment is not far.
For now we seed the multitude of the happiness of the nations although they have acted wickedly; but they are like a vapor.
And we behold the multitude of their power while they act impiously; but they will be made like a drop.
And we see the strength of their power while they resist YAHWEH the Mighty One every hour; but they will be reckoned like spittle.
And we will ponder about the splendor of their majesty while they do not keep the statutes of YAHWEH the Most High; but as smoke they will pass away.
And we think about the beauty of their splendor while they go down in impurities; but like grass which is withering, they will fade away.
And we ponder about the strength of their cruelty while they themselves do not think about the end; but they will be broken like a passing wave.
And we notice the pride of their power while they deny the tov of YAHWEH by whom it was given to them; but as a passing cloud they will vanish.

Chapter 83

For YAHWEH the Most High will surely hasten His times, and He will certainly cause His periods to arrive.
And He will surely judge those who are in His world, and will truly inquire into everything with regard to all their works which were sins.
He will certainly investigate the secret thoughts and everything which is lying in the inner chambers of all their members which are in sin. And He will make them manifest in the presence of everyone with blame.
Therefore, nothing of the present things should come into your heart, but they should, on the contrary, be expected, since that which was promised will come.
And we should not look upon the delights of the present nations, but let us think about that which has been promised to us regarding the end.
For the ends of the times and the periods will surely pass away and all which is in them together.
The end of the world will then show the great power of YAHWEH our Ruler since everything will come to judgment.
You should, therefore, prepare your hearts for that which you have believed before, lest you should be excluded from both worlds, namely, that you were carried away into captivity here and tormented there.
For that which exists now or that which has passed away or that which will come, in all of that, neither the evil in it is fully evil, nor the tov is even fully tov.
For all sorts of health which exist now changes into illnesses.
And every might which exists now changes into weakness, and every power that exists now changes into miseries, and every youthful energy changes into old age and consummation.
And every beauty of elegances which exists now changes into withering and ugliness.
And every infantile pride which exists now changes into lowliness and shame. And every boast of haughtiness which exists now changes into the shame of silence.
And every delight and all splendor which exists now changes into ruin of silence.
And every joy and every delight which exist now change into rejection and ruin.
And every clamor of pride changes into silent dust.
And every possession of richness which exists now changes into the realm of death alone.
And every seizing desire which exists now changes into involuntary death, and every desire of lust! changes into the judgment of punishment.
And every capability of deceit which exists now changes into refutation by truth.
And every sweetness of ointments which exists now changes into judgment and condemnation.
And every friendship changes into silent defamations.
Since all these things happened now, do you think that they will not be avenged?
But the end of everything will come to Light.

Chapter 84

Now, I gave you knowledge, while I still live. For I have said that you should particularly learn my mighty commandments which He has instructed you. And I shall set before you some of the commandments of His judgment before I die.
Remember that once Moses called heaven and earth to witness against you and said, "If you trespass the Torah, you shall be dispersed. And if you shall keep it, you shall be planted.'
And also other things he said to you when you were in the desert as twelve tribes together.
And after his death you cast it away from you and, therefore, that which has been said before has come upon you.
And now, Moses spoke to you before it befell you and, behold, it has befallen you for you have forsaken the Torah.
Also I, behold, I say to you after you suffered that if you obey the things which I have said to you, you shall receive from YAHWEH the Mighty One everything which has been prepared and has been preserved for you.
Therefore, let this letter be a witness between me and you that you may remember the commandments of YAHWEH the Mighty One, and that it also may serve as my defense in the presence of HIM who has sent me.
And remember Zion and the Torah and the Saint land and your brothers and the covenant and your fathers, and do not forget the Festivals and the Shabbats.
And give this letter and the doctrine of the Torah to your children after you as also your fathers handed down to you.
And ask always and pray seriously with your whole soul that YAHWEH the Mighty One may accept you in mercy and that HE may not reckon the multitude of your sinners, but remember the integrity of your fathers.
For if He judges us not according to the multitude of His free unmerited favor and pardon, woe to all us who are born.!

Chapter 85

Further, know that our fathers in former times and former generations had helpers, righteous prophets and saint men."
But we were also in our country, and they helped us when we sinned, and they intervened for us with HIM who has created us since they trusted in their works. And YAHWEH the Mighty One heard them and purged us from our sins.
But now, the righteous have been assembled, and the prophets are sleeping. Also we have left our land, and Zion has been taken away from us, and we have nothing now apart from YAHWEH the Mighty One and His Torah.
Therefore, if we direct and dispose our hearts, we shall receive everything which we lost again by many times.
For that which we lost was subjected to corruption, and that which we receive will not be corruptible.
We also have written to our brothers in Babylon so that I may attest to them these things also.
And these things which I have said earlier should be before your eyes always, since we are still in the spirit of the power of our liberty.
And further, YAHWEH the Most High is also long-suffering to us here and has shown to us that which comes and has not concealed from us what will happen at the end.
Therefore, before His judgment exacts His own and Truth of that which is its due, let us prepare ourselves that we may possess and not be possessed, and that we may hope and not be put to shame, and that we may rest with our fathers and not be punished with those who hate us.
For the youth of this world has passed away, and the power of creation is already exhausted, and the coming of the times is very near and has passed by. And the pitcher is near the well, and the ship to the harbor, and the journey to the city, and life to its end.
Further, prepare yourselves so that, when you sail and ascend from the ship, you may have rest and not be condemned when you have gone away.
For behold, YAHWEH the Most High will cause all these things to come. There will not be an opportunity to repent anymore, nor a limit to the times, nor a duration of the periods, nor a change to rest," nor an opportunity to prayer, nor sending up petition, nor giving knowledge, nor giving love, nor opportunity of repentance, nor supplicating for offenses, nor prayers of the fathers, nor intercessions of the prophets, nor help of the righteous.
There is the proclamation of judgment to corruption,' regarding the way! to the fire and the path that leads to the glowing coals."
Therefore, there is one Torah by One, one world and an end for all those who exist.
Then HE will make alive those whom He has found, and He will purge them from sins, and at the same time HE will destroy those who are polluted with sins.

Chapter 86

When you, therefore, receive the letter,' read it carefully in your assemblies. And think about it, in particular, however, on the days of your fasts. And remember me by means of this letter in the same way as I remember you by means of this, and always.

Chapter 87

And it happened when I had finished all the words of this letter and had written it carefully until the end, I folded it, sealed it cautiously, and bound it to the neck of the eagle. And I let it go and sent it away. The end of the letter of Baruch, the son of Neriah.

The Third Book of Baruch

The Greek Apocalypse of Baruch

Prologue

1 A narrative and revelation of Baruch, concerning those ineffable things which he saw by command of God. Bless Thou, O Lord.
A revelation of Baruch, who stood upon the river Gel weeping over the captivity of Jerusalem, when also Abimelech was preserved by the hand of God, at the farm of Agrippa.
And he was sitting thus at the beautiful gates, where the Holy of holies lay.

Chapter 1

Verily I Baruch was weeping in my mind and sorrowing on account of the people, and that Nebuchadnezzar the king was permitted by YAHWEH to destroy His city, saying:
Lord, why did you set your vineyard on fire, and lay it waste? Why did you do this? And why, Lord, did you not requite us with another chastisement, but did deliver us to nations such as these, so that they reproach us and say, Where is their God?
And behold as I was weeping and saying such things, I saw an angel of the Lord coming and saying to me: Understand, O man, greatly beloved, and trouble not yourself so greatly concerning the salvation of Jerusalem, for thus said the Lord God, the Almighty.
For He sent me before you, to make known and to show you all (the things) of YAHWEH.
For your prayer was heard before Him, and entered into the ears of the Lord God.
And when he had said these things to me, I was silent.
And the angel said to me: Cease to provoke YAHWEH, and I will show you other mysteries, greater than these.
And I Baruch said, As the Lord God lived, if you will show me, and I hear a word from you, I will not continue to speak any longer. YAHWEH shall add to my judgement in the day of judgement, if I speak hereafter.
And the angel of the powers said to me, Come, and I will show you the mysteries of YAHWEH.

Chapter 2

And he took me and led me where the firmament has been set fast, and where there was a river which no one can cross, nor any strange breeze of all those which YAHWEH created. And he took me and led me to the first heaven, and showed me a door of great size.
And he said to me, Let us enter through it, and we entered as though borne on wings, a distance of about thirty days journey.
And he showed me within the heaven a plain; and there were men dwelling thereon, with the faces of oxen, and the horns of stags and the feet of goats, and the haunches of lambs.
And I Baruch asked the angel, Make known to me, I pray onto you, what is the thickness of the heaven in which we journeyed, or what is its extent, or what is the plain, in order that I may also tell the sons of men?
And the angel whose name is Phamael said to me: This door which you have seen is the door of heaven, and as great as is the distance from earth to heaven, so great also is its thickness; and again as great as is the distance from North to South, so great is the length of the plain which you have seen. And again the angel of the powers said to me, Come, and I will show you greater mysteries.
But I said, I pray you tell me who are these men.
And he said to me, These are they who built the tower of strife against YAHWEH, and the Lord banished them.

Chapter 3

And the angel of the Lord took me and led me to a second heaven.
And there he also showed me a door like the first and said, Let us enter through it.
And we entered, being borne on wings a distance of about sixty days journey.
And there he also showed me a plain, and it was full of men, whose appearance was like that of dogs, and whose feet were like those of stags.
And I asked the angel: I pray unto you, Lord, tell me who are these.
And he said, These are they who gave counsel to build the tower, for they whom you see drove forth multitudes of both men and women, to make bricks; among whom, a woman making bricks was not allowed to be released in the hour of child-birth, but brought forth while she was making bricks, and carried her child in her apron, and continued to make bricks.
And the Lord appeared to them and confused their speech, when they had built the tower to the height of four hundred and sixty-three cubits. And they took a gimlet, and sought to pierce the heaven, saying, Let us see (whether) the heaven is made of clay, or of brass, or of iron.
When YAHWEH saw this He did not permit them, but smote them with blindness and confusion of speech, and rendered them as you see.

Chapter 4

And I Baruch said, Behold, Lord, you did show me great and wonderful things; and now show me all things for the sake of the Lord.
And the angel said to me, Come, let us proceed. And I proceeded with the angel from that place about one hundred and eighty-five days' journey.
And he showed me a plain and a serpent, which appeared to be two hundred plethora in length.
And he showed me Hades, and its appearance was dark and abominable.
And I said, Who is this dragon, and who is this monster around him?
And the angel said, The dragon is he who eats the bodies of those who spend their life wickedly, and he is nourished by them.
And this is Hades, which itself also closely resembles him, in that it also drinks about a cubit from the sea, which does not sink at all.
Baruch said, And how does this happen?
And the angel said, Hearken, the Lord God made 360 rivers, of which the chief of all are Alphias, Abyrus, and the Gericus; and because of these the sea does not sink.
And I said, I pray onto you show me which is the tree which led Adam astray.
And the angel said to me, It is the vine, which the angel Samael planted, whereat the Lord God was angry, and He cursed him and his plant, while also on this account He did not permit Adam to touch it, and therefore the devil being envious deceived him through his vine.
And I Baruch said, Since also the vine has been the cause of such great evil, and is under judgment of the curse of YAHWEH, and was the destruction of the first created, how is it now so useful?
And the angel said, you asked aright.
When YAHWEH caused the deluge upon earth, and destroyed all flesh, and four hundred and nine thousand giants, and the water rose fifteen cubits above the highest mountains, then the water entered into the Garden of Eden and destroyed every flower; but it removed wholly without the bounds the shoot of the vine and cast it outside.
And when the earth appeared out of the water, and Noah came out of the ark, he began to plant of the plants which he found. But he found also the shoot of the vine; and he took it, and was reasoning in himself, What then is it?
And I came and spoke to him the things concerning it.
And he said, Shall I plant it, or what shall I do? Since Adam was destroyed because of it, let me not also meet with the anger of YAHWEH because of it.
And saying these things he prayed that YAHWEH would reveal to him what he should do concerning it.
And when he had completed the prayer which lasted 40 days, and having besought many things and wept, he said: Lord, I entreat you to reveal to me what I shall do concerning this plant.
But YAHWEH sent his angel Sarasael, and said to him, Arise, Noah, and plant the shoot of the vine, for thus said the Lord: Its bitterness shall be changed into sweetness, and its curse shall become a blessing, and that which is produced from it shall become the blood of The Most High; and as through it the human race obtained condemnation, so again through the Messiah will they receive in Him the upward calling, and the entry into the Garden of Eden.
Know therefore, 0 Baruch, that as Adam through this very tree obtained condemnation, and was divested of the glory of YAHWEH, so also the men who now drink insatiably the wine which is begotten of it, transgress worse than Adam, and are far from the glory of The Lord, and are surrendering themselves to the eternal fire. For nothing good comes through it.
For those who drink it to surfeit do these things: neither does a brother pity his brother, nor a father his son, nor children their parents, but from the drinking of wine come all evils, such as murders, adulteries, fornications, perjuries, thefts, and such like. And nothing good is established by it.

Angel Samael - Prince of demons

He is an important figure in Talmudic and post-Talmudic literature, where he appears as accuser, seducer and destroyer. The legends concerning Satan also apply to him, inasmuch as he is equated with the serpent, with carnal desire, and with the angel of death; while as a rebel he is compared with Belial, which signifies of no value.

As the embodiment of evil, he is the heavenly ruler of the Roman empire, with whom Edom and Esau are identified (Targum on Gen. xxxii. 35). He flies through the air like a bird (Targum on Job xxviii. 7), and, while the Seraphim and Ophanim have only six wings, he has twelve, and commands a whole army of demons (Pirḳe R. El. xiii).

Also, note that in The Apocalypse of Abraham it is written in chapter 23:4, that the angel of ungodliness who seduces Adam and Eve had 12 wings, 6 on his left side and 6 on his right side. And in The Apocalypse of Moses, section The Fall of the Devil in chapter 12:1, The devil reveals to Adam that his wings were more numerous than those of the cherubim."

Interesting facts about Figs and Grapes (fruits of the vine)

Fig trees and vines are plants commonly planted in areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The vine is not a large tree but a plant that supports itself by climbing, curling and crawling along a surface. Fig trees have an aggressive root system that helps them survive in the most inhospitable areas. They can grow in nutrient poor soil. In ancient times, wine growers planted fig trees to check if the soil was good. Nowadays, farmers often plant fig trees as support structures for vines, and it is not uncommon to find fig trees with grapes growing in its branches. Thus, the vineyards are not exclusively for planting vines.

We also find the association of the fig tree and the vine in this Parable of Jesus:

Luke 13:6-7 "Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’"

The symbolism of this Parable is as follows.

► The owner of the vineyard: represents the Lord.

► The Vineyard: represents Israel

► The fig tree: represents the spiritual, religious leaders of Israel (the priests, Levites or Pharisees)

► The Vinedresser: represents Jesus as the Messiah

Chapter 5

And I Baruch said to the angel, Let me ask you one thing, Lord.
Since you have said to me that the dragon drinks one cubit out of the sea, say to me also, how great is his belly?
And the angel said, His belly is Hades; and as far as a plummet is thrown (by) three hundred men, so great is his belly. Come, then, that I may show you also greater works than these.

Chapter 6

And he took me and led me where the sun goes forth; and he showed me a chariot and four, under which burnt a fire, and in the chariot was sitting a man, wearing a crown of fire, and the chariot was drawn by forty angels. And behold a bird circling before the sun, about nine cubits away.
And I said to the angel, What is this bird?
And he said to me, This is the guardian of the earth.
And I said, Lord, how is he the guardian of the earth? Teach me.
And the angel said to me, This bird flies alongside of the sun, and expanding his wings receives its fiery rays. For if he were not receiving them, the human race would not be preserved, nor any other living creature. But God appointed this bird thereto.
And he expanded his wings, and I saw on his right wing very large letters, as large as the space of a threshing-floor, the size of about four thousand modius; and the letters were of gold.
And the angel said to me, Read them.
And I read and they read thus: Neither earth nor heaven bring me forth, but wings of fire bring me forth.
And I said, Lord, what is this bird, and what is his name?
And the angel said to me, His name is called Phoenix.
And I said, what does he eat?
And he said to me, The manna of heaven and the dew of earth.
And I said, Does the bird excrete?
And he said to me, He excretes a worm, and the excrement of the worm is cinnamon, which kings and princes use. But wait and you will see the glory of YAHWEH. And while he was conversing with me, there was as a thunder-clap, and the place was shaken on which we were standing.
And I asked the angel, My Lord, what is this sound?
And the angel said to me, Even now the angels are opening the 365 gates of heaven, and the light is being separated from the darkness.
And a voice came which said, Light giver, give to the world radiance.
And when I heard the noise of the bird, I said, Lord, what is this noise?
And he said, This is the bird who awakens from slumber the cocks upon earth. For as men do through the mouth, so also does the cock signify to those in the world, in his own speech. For the sun is made ready by the angels, and the cock crows.

Some facts about roosters

It's a fact that roosters crow a few hours before daybreak, slightly before sunrise. Roosters also crow in response to daylight, and humans tend to notice this particular crowing moment because we, too, are just beginning to emerge from our profound sleep. Science is at a loss as to why roosters perform this morning crowing ritual.

In 2013, Takashi Yoshimura and Tsuyoshi Shimmura conducted experiments on the morning crowing of roosters, in which they exposed roosters to a constant, near-dark environment 24 hours a day. Yoshimura and Shimmura observed that the constant darkness did not seem to influence their behavior as that they would automatically begin crowing at exactly the same time each day, just before dawn.

According to folk legends and beliefs night ghosts, spirits and devils disappear with the first cry of the rooster. In Christian tradition, the rooster is the symbol of Christ, like the eagle and the lamb, particularly emphasizing the solar symbolism, light and resurrection. As Christ, the rooster announces the light that follows darkness.

Chapter 7

And I said, And where does the sun begin its labors, after the cock crows?
And the angel said to me, Listen, Baruch: All things whatsoever I showed you are in the first and second heaven, and in the third heaven the sun passes through and gives light to the world.
But wait, and you shall see the glory of YAHWEH.
And while I was conversing with him, I saw the bird, and he appeared in front, and grew less and less, and at length returned to his full size.
And behind him I saw the shining sun, and the angels which draw it, and a crown upon its bead, the sight of which we were not able to gaze Upon, and behold.
And as soon as the sun shone, the Phoenix also stretched out his wings.
But I, when I beheld such great glory, was brought low with great fear, and I fled and hid in the wings of the angel.
And the angel said to me, Fear not, Baruch, but wait and you shall also see their setting.

Chapter 8

And he took me and led me towards the west; and when the time of the setting came, I saw again the bird coming before it, and as soon as lie came I saw the angels, and they lifted the crown from its head. But the bird stood exhausted and with wings contracted.
And beholding these things, I said, Lord, wherefore did they lift the crown from the head of the sun, and wherefore is the bird so exhausted?
And the angel said to me, The crown of the sun, when it has run through the day, four angels take it, and bear it up to heaven, and renew it, because it and its rays have been defiled upon earth; moreover it is so renewed each day. Lamentations 3:22-23 "Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!."
And I Baruch said, Lord, and wherefore are its beams defiled upon earth?
And the angel said to me, Because it beholds the lawlessness and unrighteousness of men, namely fornications, adulteries, thefts, extortions, idolatries, drunkenness, murders, strife, jealousies, evil-speakings, murmurings, whisperings, divinations, and such like, which are not well-pleasing to YAHWEH. On account of these things is it defiled, and therefore is it renewed.
But you asked concerning the bird, how it is exhausted. Because by restraining the rays of the sun through the fire and burning heat of the whole day, it is exhausted thereby.
For, as we said before, unless his wings were screening the rays of the sun, no living creature would be preserved.

Chapter 9

And they having retired, the night also fell, and at the same time came the chariot of the moon, along with the stars.
And I Baruch said, Lord, show me it also, I beseech of you, how it goes forth, where it departs, and in what form it moves along.
And the angel said, Wait and you shall see it also shortly.
And on the morrow I also saw it in the form of a woman, and sitting on a wheeled chariot. And there were before it oxen and lambs in the chariot, and a multitude of angels in like manner.
And I said, Lord, what are the oxen and the lambs?
And he said to me, They also are angels.
And again I asked, Why is it that it at one time increases, but at another time decreases?
And he said to me, Listen, 0 Baruch: This which you see had been written by YAHWEH beautiful as no other.
And at the transgression of the first Adam, it was near to Samael when he took the serpent as a garment. And it did not hide itself but increased, and YAHWEH was angry with it, and afflicted it, and shortened its days.
And I said, And how does it not also shine always, but only in the night?
And the angel said, Listen: as in the presence of a king, the courtiers cannot speak freely, so the moon and the stars cannot shine in the presence of the sun; for the stars are always suspended, but they are screened by the sun, and the moon, although it is uninjured, is consumed by the heat of the sun.

Chapter 10

And when I had learned all these things from the archangel, he took and led me into a fourth heaven.
And I saw a monotonous plain, and in the middle of it a pool of water.
And there were in it multitudes of birds of all kinds, but not like those here on earth.
But I saw a crane as great as great oxen; and all the birds were great beyond those in the world.
And I asked the angel, What is the plain, and what the pool, and what the multitudes of birds around it?
And the angel said, Listen, Baruch: The plain which contains in it the pool and other wonders is the place where the souls of the righteous come, when they hold converse, living together in choirs.
But the water is that which the clouds receive, and rain upon the earth, and the fruits increase.
And I said again to the angel of the Lord, But what are these birds?
And he said to me, They are those which continually sing praise to the Lord.
And I said, Lord, and how do men say that the water which descends in rain is from the sea?
And the angel said, The water which descends in rain this also is from the sea, and from the waters upon earth; but that which stimulates the fruits is only from the latter source. Know therefore henceforth that from this source is what is called the dew of heaven.

Chapter 11

And the angel took me and led me thence to a fifth heaven. And the gate was closed.
And I said, Lord, is not this gateway open that we may enter?
And the angel said to me, We cannot enter until Michael comes, who holds the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; but wait and you shall see the glory of YAHWEH. And there was a great sound, as thunder.
And I said, Lord, what is this sound?
And he said to me, Even now Michael, the commander of the angels, comes down to receive the prayers of men.
And behold a voice came, Let the gates be opened. And they opened them, and there was a roar as of thunder.
And Michael came, and the angel who was with me came face to face with him and said, Hail, my commander, and that of all our order.
And I saw the commander Michael said, Hail you also, our brother, and the interpreter of the revelations to those who pass through life virtuously.
And having saluted one another thus, they stood still.
And I saw the commander Michael, holding an exceedingly great vessel; its depth was as great as the distance from heaven to earth, and its breadth as great as the distance from north to south.
And I said, Lord, what is that which Michael the archangel is holding?
And he said to me, This is where the merits of the righteous enter, and such good works as they do, which are escorted before the heavenly Father.

Chapter 12

And as I was conversing with them, behold angels came bearing baskets full of flowers. And they gave them to Michael.
And I asked the angel, Lord, who are these, and what are the things brought hither from beside them?
And he said to me, These are angels who watch over the righteous.
And the archangel took the baskets, and cast them into the vessel.
And the angel said to me, These flowers are the merits of the righteous.
And I saw other angels bearing baskets which were (neither) empty-nor full.
And they began to lament, and did not venture to draw near, because they had not the prizes complete.
And Michael cried and said, Come hither, also, angels, bring what you have brought.
And Michael was exceedingly grieved, and also the angel who was with me, because they did not fill the vessel.

Chapter 13

And then came in like manner other angels weeping and bewailing, and saying with fear, Behold how we are overclouded, Ô Lord, for we were delivered to evil men, and we wish to depart from them.
And Michael said, You cannot depart from them, in order that the enemy may not prevail to the end; but say to me what you ask.
And they said, We pray onto you, Michael our commander, transfer us from them, for we cannot abide with wicked and foolish men, for there is nothing good in them, but every kind of unrighteousness and greed. For we do not behold them entering into spiritual life at all, nor among spiritual fathers, nor into any good work. But where there is murder, there also are they in the midst, and where are fornications, adulteries, thefts, slanders, perjuries, jealousies, drunkenness, strife, envy, murmurings, whispering, idolatry, divination, and such like, then are they workers of such works, and of others worse. Wherefore we entreat that we may depart from them.
And Michael said to the angels, Wait till I learn from the Lord what shall come to pass.

Chapter 14

And in that very hour Michael departed, and the doors were closed.
And there was a sound as thunder.
And I asked the angel, What is the sound?
And he said to me, Michael is even now presenting the merits of men to YAHWEH.

Chapter 15

And in that very hour Michael descended, and the gate was opened; and he brought oil.
And as for the angels which brought the baskets which were full, he filled them with oil, saying, Take it away, reward our friends an hundredfold, and those who have laboriously wrought good works.
For those who sowed virtuously, also reap virtuously.
And he said also to those bringing the half-empty baskets, Come hither you also; take away the reward according to what you brought, and deliver it to the sons of men.
Then he said also to those who brought the full and to those who brought the half-empty baskets: Go and bless our friends, and say to them that thus said the Lord, You are faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things; enter into the joy of your Lord.

Chapter 16

And turning he said also to those who brought nothing: Thus said the Lord, Be not sad of countenance, and weep not, nor let the sons of men alone.
But since they angered me in their works, go and make them envious and angry and provoked against a people that is no people, a people that has no understanding.
Further, besides these, send forth the caterpillar and the unwinged locust, and the mildew, and the common locust (and) hail with lightnings and anger, and punish them severely with the sword and with death, and their children with demons.
For they did not hearken to my voice, nor did they observe my commandments, nor do them, but were despisers of my commandments, and insolent towards the priests who proclaimed my Words to them.

Chapter 17

And while he yet spoke, the door was closed, and we withdrew.
And the angel took me and restored me to the place where I was at the beginning. And having come to myself, I gave glory to YAHWEH, who counted me worthy of such honor.
Wherefore do you also, brethren, who obtained such a revelation, yourselves also glorify God, so that He also may glorify you, now and ever, and to all eternity. Amen.

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