Baruch 3

3:1 “O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, a distressed soul and a weary¹ spirit calls² to you. 3:2 Hear, O Lord, and show mercy, for we have sinned in your sight.³ 3:3 For you sit enthroned⁴ forever, but we are perishing forever. 3:4 O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, hear the prayer of those who have died⁵ in Israel and of the descendants⁶ of those who sinned in your sight, who did not listen to the voice of the Lord their God, for which reason⁷ these misfortunes have clung to us. 3:5 Do not remember the unrighteous actions of our ancestors, but in this difficult⁸ time remember your power⁹ and your name. 3:6 For you are the Lord our God, and we will praise you, O Lord. 3:7 It is for this reason that you have placed fear for you¹⁰ in our hearts, so that we would call on your name. We will praise you in our captivity,¹¹ for we have removed from our heart all the unrighteousness of our ancestors who have sinned in your sight. 3:8 Look! We are today in our captivity where you have scattered us as a reproach, as a curse, and as a punishment¹² for all the unrighteous deeds of our ancestors, who departed from the Lord our God.

A Hymn in Praise of Wisdom¹³

3:9 Hear,¹⁴ O Israel, commandments of life;

give ear, so as to know understanding.

3:10 Why is it, O Israel,

why is it that you are in the land of your enemies?

Why is it that¹⁵ you have become old¹⁶ in a land belonging to others,

3:11 that you have been defiled by the dead,

that you have been reckoned with those in Hades?

3:12 You have left the fountain¹⁷ of wisdom.

3:13 If you had gone in the way of God

you would be dwelling in peace forever.

3:14 Learn where there is wisdom,

where there is strength, where there is understanding,

so that you may know

where there is longevity and life,

where there is illumination for the eyes and peace.¹⁸

3:15 Who has discovered her¹⁹ place,

and who has entered into her treasures?

3:16 Where are the rulers of the nations

and those who exercise dominion over the beasts of the earth?

3:17 Where are²⁰ those who make sport of the birds of the sky

and who treasure up silver and gold

in which people²¹ place their trust,

and there is no end to their acquiring?

3:18 Where are those who contrived schemes and were anxious over money,²²

but their deeds have passed into oblivion?²³

3:19 These people²⁴ have disappeared and gone down to Hades,

and others have arisen in place of them.

3:20 Younger people have seen the light

and have inhabited the earth,

but they have not known the way of knowledge.

3:21 Nor have they understood her paths,

nor have they devoted themselves to her.²⁵

Their descendents²⁶ have gone far away from her²⁷ path.

3:22 She was neither heard of in Canaan

nor seen in Teman.²⁸

3:23 The descendents²⁹ of Hagar who seek after understanding on the earth,

the merchants of Merran and Teman,

the tellers of tales³⁰ and those who seek after understanding

have not known the way of wisdom

nor have they been mindful of her paths.

3:24 O Israel, how great is the house of God;³¹

how extensive³² the area that belongs to him!³³

3:25 It is huge and has no boundary,

high and without measure.

3:26 The giants³⁴ who were famous³⁵ in days gone by,³⁶

who were tall³⁷ and skilled in battle,

were born there.

3:27 But God did not choose these individuals,

nor did he grant them the way of understanding.

3:28 They perished for lack of insight,

they perished on account of their recklessness.³⁸

3:29 Who has ascended into heaven and taken her

and brought her down out of the clouds?

3:30 Who has traversed the sea and found her

and will acquire³⁹ her at the cost of choice gold?

3:31 One who knows her way

or who ponders⁴⁰ her path is not to be found.

3:32 But the one who knows all things knows her;

he found her by his understanding.

The one who created the earth for all time

filled it with four-footed animals.

3:33 The one who sends the light and it goes forth;

he called it, and in trembling⁴¹ it obeyed him.

3:34 The stars shined forth in their watches and were glad.

3:35 He summoned⁴² them, and they said, “We are ready!”

They shined with gladness for the one who made them.

3:36 This is our God.

No other being can⁴³ be classed with him.

3:37 He found out all the way of understanding,

and he gave her to Jacob his servant

and to Israel who is his beloved.⁴⁴

3:38 Afterward she⁴⁵ appeared on the earth

and lived⁴⁶ among human beings.⁴⁷

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