Baruch 4

Wycliffe Bible

4 This (is the) book of God’s behests (or of God’s commandments), and the law which is without end. All that hold it, shall come to life. But they that have forsaken it, shall come into death. [This book of the commandments of God, and the law that is into without end. All men that hold it, shall perfectly come to life. Forsooth they that shall forsake it, into death.]

² Jacob, be thou converted, and take thou (hold of) it; go thou by the way at the brightness thereof, against the light thereof. [Jacob, be thou converted, and catch it; walk by the way to the shining of it, against the light of it.]

³ Give thou not thy glory to another, and thy dignity to an alien, (or to a strange, or a foreign) folk.

⁴ Israel, we be blessed; for those things that please God, be open to us. [Israel, we be blessed; for what things be pleasant to God, be known to us.]

⁵ The people of God, Israel worthy to be had in mind, be thou patienter, either of better comfort. [Thou people of God, be of evener inwit, or more stable, thou Israel, worthy of mind.]

⁶ Ye be sold to (the) heathen men, not into perdition; but for that that ye in ire stirred God to wrathfulness [or but for that in wrath ye stirred God to wrathfulness], ye be betaken to adversaries.

⁷ For ye wrathed that God everlasting, that made you; and ye offered to fiends, and not to God. [Forsooth ye stirred to bitterness the everlasting God, that made you; offering to devils, and not to God.]

⁸ For ye forgot him that nourished or nursed you, and ye made sorry your nurse, Jerusalem. [Soothly ye have forgotten him that nourished or nursed you, and ye have made sorrowful Jerusalem, your nurse.]

⁹ For it saw (the) wrathfulness of God coming to you, and it said, Ye nigh coasts of Zion, hear; forsooth God hath brought great mourning to me [or forsooth God brought to me great mourning].

¹⁰ For I saw the captivity of my people, of my sons and daughters, which he that is without beginning and end brought on them. [Forsooth I saw the captivity of my people, of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting above-brought to them.]

¹¹ For I nourished them with mirth; but I left them (or I let them go) with weeping and mourning.

¹² No man have joy on (or over) me, a widow and desolate. I am forsaken [or left] of (or by) many, for the sins of my sons; for they bowed away from the law of God.

¹³ Forsooth they knew not (the) rightfulnesses of him; neither they went [or walked] by the ways of God’s behests (or God’s commandments), neither by the paths of his truth they entered with rightfulness [or with rightwiseness].

¹⁴ The nigh coasts of Zion come, and have they mind on the captivity of my sons and daughters, which he that is without beginning and end brought on them. [Come the nigh coasts of Zion, and bethink they (of) the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting above-brought to them.]

¹⁵ For he brought on them a folk from (a)far, an evil folk, and of another language; that reverenced not an eld man, neither had mercy on children; [Forsooth he brought upon them a folk from far, a folk unsatiable, or unrestful, and of another tongue; which dreaded not with reverence an old man, neither had mercy of children;]

¹⁶ and they led away the dearworthy sons of a widow, and made a woman alone desolate of sons. [and led away the sons of widow, and made desolate the alone woman from sons.]

¹⁷ But what may I help you? (or How can I help you?)

¹⁸ For he that brought on you evils, shall deliver you from the hands of your enemies. [Forsooth he that brought evil things upon you, shall deliver you from the hands of your enemies.]

¹⁹ Go ye, sons, go ye; for I am forsaken, or I am left alone.

²⁰ I have unclothed me of the stole, either long robe, of peace; but I have clothed me with a sackcloth of beseeching, and I shall cry to the Highest in my days.

²¹ Sons, be ye of better comfort [or Sons, be of better heart, or stabler]; cry ye to the Lord, and he shall deliver you from the hand of princes, that be your enemies.

²² For I hoped (for) your health without end, and joy came to me from the Holy (One) on mercy, that shall come to you from your Saviour without beginning and end. [Soothly I hoped into without end (for) your health, and joy came to me of the holy (One) upon mercy, that shall come to you of your Saviour Everlasting.]

²³ For I sent you out with mourning and weeping; but God shall bring you again to me, with joy and mirth without end. [Forsooth I sent you out with mourning and weeping; forsooth God shall again lead you to me with joy and mirth into without end.]

²⁴ For as the neighbouresses [or the neighbours] of Zion saw your captivity made of (or by) God, so they shall see and in swiftness [or in haste] your health of (or your deliverance from) (our) God, which health shall come to you from above, with great honour and everlasting shining.

²⁵ Sons, suffer ye patiently (the) ire [or the wrath] that came on you; for thine enemy pursued thee, but thou shalt see soon the perdition of him [or but soon thou shalt see the perdition of him], and thou shalt ascend (or go) upon the necks of him.

²⁶ My delicate men went (in) sharp ways; for they as a flock that is ravished were led (away) of (or by) (the) enemies. [My delicates, or nourished in delights, walked sharp ways; soothly they were led as a flock ravished with enemies.]

²⁷ Sons, be ye patienter, and cry ye (a)far to the Lord; for why your mind shall be of (or on) him that leadeth you. [Sons, be ye of evener heart, or stabler, and afar cry ye to the Lord; soothly your mind shall be of him that leadeth you.]

²⁸ For as your wit was, that ye erred from God [or Forsooth as your wit was for to err from God], ye shall convert again, and shall seek him ten times so much (the more).

²⁹ For he that brought in evils to you, shall bring again everlasting mirth to you with your health (or with your deliverance). [Forsooth he that led into you evil things, shall bring again to you mirth everlasting with your health.]

³⁰ Jerusalem, be thou of better comfort; for he that named thee, exciteth thee. [Jerusalem, be thou more stable, or of better heart; soothly he that named thee, admonisheth thee.]

³¹ They that travailed thee, shall perish guilty; and they that thanked, (or joyed), in (or at) thy falling, shall be punished. [They that travailed thee, shall appear annoying, (or annoyed), or guilty; and they that thanked, or joyed, in (or at) thy falling, shall be punished.]

³² (The) Cities to which thy sons served, shall be punished, and that city that took thy sons, shall be punished. [The cities to whom thy sons served, shall be punished, and it that took thy sons.]

³³ For as Babylon made joy in thy hurling down, and was glad in thy fall, so it shall be made sorry in his (own) desolation. [Soothly as it joyed in thy falling, and gladded in thy case, or tribulation, so it shall be sorrowful in his desolation.]

³⁴ And the full out joy of the multitude thereof shall be cut away, and the joy thereof shall be into mourning.

³⁵ For why fire shall come on it from him that is without beginning and end, in full long days; and it shall be inhabited of (or by) fiends, into the multitude of time. [Forsooth fire shall above-come to it of (or from) the Everlasting, and long (en)during days; and it shall be inhabited of (or by) devils, into (the) muchliness of time.]

³⁶ Jerusalem, behold about to the east, and see thou (the) mirth coming of (or from) God to thee. [Jerusalem, behold about to the east, and see the mirth coming to thee of God.]

³⁷ For lo! thy sons come, which thou leftest (or thou lettest go) scattered; they come gathered from the east unto the west, in (or by) the word of the Holy (One), and make joy to the honour of God. [Lo! forsooth thy sons come, whom thou leftist scattered; they gathered come to thee from the east unto the west in the word of the Holy (One), joying into honour of God.]