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Baruch 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Baruch 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
1 [a]She is the book of the precepts of God,
the law that endures forever;
All who cling to her will live,
but those will die who forsake her.(A)
2 Turn, O Jacob, and receive her:
walk by her light toward splendor.(B)
3 Do not give your glory to another,
your privileges to an alien nation.
4 Blessed are we, O Israel;
for what pleases God is known to us!(C)
III. Baruch’s Poem of Consolation[b]
A. Baruch Addresses Diaspora
5 Take courage, my people!
Remember, O Israel,
6 You were sold to the nations
not for destruction;
It was because you angered God
that you were handed over to your foes.(D)
7 For you provoked your Maker(E)
with sacrifices to demons and not to God;
8 You forgot the eternal God who nourished you,
and you grieved Jerusalem who nurtured you.
9 She indeed saw coming upon you
the wrath of God; and she said:
B. Jerusalem Addresses Neighbors
“Hear, you neighbors of Zion!
God has brought great mourning upon me,
10 For I have seen the captivity
that the Eternal One has brought
upon my sons and daughters.
11 With joy I nurtured them;
but with mourning and lament I sent them away.
12 Let no one gloat over me,
a widow, bereft of many;
For the sins of my children I am left desolate,
because they turned from the law of God,(F)
13 and did not acknowledge his statutes;
In the ways of God’s commandments they did not walk,
nor did they tread the disciplined paths of his justice.
14 “Let Zion’s neighbors come—
Remember the captivity of my sons and daughters,
brought upon them by the Eternal One.
15 He has brought against them a nation from afar,
a nation ruthless and of alien speech,
That has neither reverence for old age
nor pity for the child;(G)
16 They have led away this widow’s beloved sons,
have left me solitary, without daughters.
C. Jerusalem Addresses Diaspora
17 What can I do to help you?
18 The one who has brought this evil upon you
must himself deliver you from your enemies’ hands.(H)
19 Farewell, my children, farewell;
I am left desolate.
20 I have taken off the garment of peace,
have put on sackcloth for my prayer of supplication;
while I live I will cry out to the Eternal One.(I)
21 “Take courage, my children; call upon God;
he will deliver you from oppression, from enemy hands.(J)
22 I have put my hope for your deliverance in the Eternal One,
and joy has come to me from the Holy One
Because of the mercy that will swiftly reach you
from your eternal Savior.
23 With mourning and lament I sent you away,
but God will give you back to me
with gladness and joy forever.(K)
24 As Zion’s neighbors lately saw you taken captive,
so shall they soon see God’s salvation come to you,
with great glory and the splendor of the Eternal One.(L)
25 “My children, bear patiently the wrath(M)
that has come upon you from God;
Your enemies have persecuted you,
but you will soon see their destruction
and trample upon their necks.[c]
26 My pampered children have trodden rough roads,
carried off by their enemies like sheep in a raid.(N)
27 Take courage, my children; call out to God!
The one who brought this upon you will remember you.(O)
28 As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God,
so turn now ten times the more to seek him;
29 For the one who has brought disaster upon you
will, in saving you, bring you eternal joy.”(P)
D. Baruch Addresses Jerusalem
30 Take courage, Jerusalem!
The one who gave you your name will console you.(Q)
31 Wretched shall be those who harmed you,
who rejoiced at your downfall;
32 Wretched shall be the cities where your children were enslaved,
wretched the city that received your children.(R)
33 As that city rejoiced at your collapse,(S)
and made merry at your downfall,
so shall she grieve over her own desolation.
34 I will take from her the rejoicing crowds,
and her exultation shall be turned to mourning:
35 For fire shall come upon her(T)
from the Eternal One, for many a day,
to be inhabited by demons for a long time.[d]
36 Look to the east, Jerusalem;
see the joy that comes to you from God!(U)
37 Here come your children whom you sent away,
gathered in from east to west
By the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing in the glory of God.
Footnotes
- 4:1–4 The poem ends with the identification of Wisdom and Torah, as in Sir 24:22–23; cf. also Dt 4:5–8.
- 4:5–5:9 The poet addresses the exiles (vv. 5–9a), and then Zion personified is introduced, speaking to the nations and mourning the loss of her children (vv. 9b–16). She then addresses the exiles (vv. 17–29). Finally (4:30–5:9) the poet issues three calls to Jerusalem (4:30, 36; 5:5): she will see her children returning (4:22, 36–37; 5:5).
- 4:25 Trample upon their necks: a sign of victory over the enemy (cf. Ps 44:6; Is 14:25). The Israelites considered their enemies to be God’s enemies as well.
- 4:35 Deserts and desolate places were looked upon as the habitation of demons; cf. Tb 8:3; Lk 11:24.
Baruch 4
Good News Translation
Baruch 4
Good News Translation
4 (A)Wisdom is the book of God's commandments, the Law that will last forever. All who hold onto her will live, but those who abandon her will die. 2 Turn to Wisdom, people of Israel, and take hold of her. Make your way toward the splendor of her light. 3 Do not surrender our glorious privileges to any other people. 4 How happy we are, people of Israel; we have the advantage of knowing what is pleasing to God!
Comfort for Jerusalem
5 Take courage, my people, you are the ones who keep Israel's name alive. 6 You were sold to Gentile nations, but not to be destroyed. Because you made God angry, he handed you over to your enemies. 7 When you offered sacrifices to demons instead of to God, you angered the one who made you. 8 You forgot the Eternal God, who had nourished you as a child, and so you brought grief to Jerusalem, who had been like a mother to you. 9 Jerusalem saw that God was punishing you because he was angry, and she said to all the neighboring cities,
Look at the great misery that God has brought on me. 10 I saw my sons and daughters taken into captivity, a captivity brought on them by the Eternal God. 11 I brought up my children with great delight, but I cried and mourned when they were taken from me. 12 Let no one take pleasure in my suffering now that I am a widow and so many of my children have been taken from me. They turned away from God's Law, and their sins have made me a deserted city. 13 They had no respect for his commandments and would not live by them; they refused to let him guide them in the way of righteousness.
14 All you neighboring cities, come and consider how the Eternal God has sent my children into exile. 15 He brought against them a nation from far away, a shameless nation that speaks a foreign language and has no respect for the elderly and no pity for children. 16 These people carried off my beloved sons and took away my daughters, and I was left a widow, completely alone.
17 My children in exile, I can do nothing to help you. 18 Only the one who brought this punishment upon you can rescue you from your enemies. 19 (B)Go your own way, my children; live your own life! I am all alone. 20 I have taken off the robes I wore during days of peace, and I have dressed myself like a person in mourning. I will cry out to the Eternal God for help as long as I live.
21 Take courage, my children, and cry out to God for help. He will rescue you from oppression, from the power of your enemies. 22 I am confident that the Eternal God will soon set you free. The Holy One, your eternal savior, will make me happy when he shows you mercy. 23 I cried and wailed when you were taken away, but God will bring you back and will make me happy forever. 24 Just as the neighboring cities watched as you were taken captive, so they will soon see the Eternal God coming in glorious splendor to rescue you. 25 My children, endure God's punishment with patience. Your enemies have persecuted you, but you will soon see them destroyed and at your mercy. 26 My children, I spoiled you with love, but you have had to follow rugged paths; you were carried off like sheep caught in an enemy raid.
27 Take courage, my children, and cry out to God for help. He punished you, but he will not forget you. 28 Just as you were once determined to turn away from God, now turn back and serve him with ten times more determination. 29 The one who brought these calamities upon you will rescue you and bring you everlasting joy.
Jerusalem Is Assured of Help
30 Take courage, Jerusalem. God, who gave you your name, will now bring comfort to you. 31 Misery will come to those who mistreated you and then rejoiced when you fell. 32 Misery will come to those cities that made your children slaves. Misery will be the fate of Babylon, that city which swallowed up your children. 33 Just as that city rejoiced when you fell and took delight in your ruin, so now she will mourn when she herself is deserted. 34 I will turn her proud boastings into mourning and take away her large population in which she took pride. 35 I, the Eternal God, will send down fire on her, and it will burn for many days. Her ruins will be haunted by demons for a long time to come.
36 Look to the east, Jerusalem, and see the joy that God is bringing to you. 37 Look, your children are coming home, the children that were taken from you. They have been gathered together from the east and from the west by the command of God, the Holy One. And now they are coming home, rejoicing in the glory of God.
Baruch 4
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
Baruch 4
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
4 She is the book of the commandments of God,
the law that endures forever.
All who hold her fast will live,
and those who forsake her will die.
2 Turn, O Jacob, and take her;
walk toward the shining of her light.
3 Do not give your glory to another,
or your advantages to an alien people.
4 Happy are we, O Israel,
for we know what is pleasing to God.
Encouragement for Israel
5 Take courage, my people,
who perpetuate Israel’s name!
6 It was not for destruction
that you were sold to the nations,
but you were handed over to your enemies
because you angered God.
7 For you provoked the one who made you
by sacrificing to demons and not to God.
8 You forgot the everlasting God, who brought you up,
and you grieved Jerusalem, who reared you.
9 For she saw the wrath that came upon you from God,
and she said:
Listen, you neighbors of Zion,
God has brought great sorrow upon me;
10 for I have seen the exile of my sons and daughters,
which the Everlasting brought upon them.
11 With joy I nurtured them,
but I sent them away with weeping and sorrow.
12 Let no one rejoice over me, a widow
and bereaved of many;
I was left desolate because of the sins of my children,
because they turned away from the law of God.
13 They had no regard for his statutes;
they did not walk in the ways of God’s commandments,
or tread the paths his righteousness showed them.
14 Let the neighbors of Zion come;
remember the capture of my sons and daughters,
which the Everlasting brought upon them.
15 For he brought a distant nation against them,
a nation ruthless and of a strange language,
which had no respect for the aged
and no pity for a child.
16 They led away the widow’s beloved sons,
and bereaved the lonely woman of her daughters.
17 But I, how can I help you?
18 For he who brought these calamities upon you
will deliver you from the hand of your enemies.
19 Go, my children, go;
for I have been left desolate.
20 I have taken off the robe of peace
and put on sackcloth for my supplication;
I will cry to the Everlasting all my days.
21 Take courage, my children, cry to God,
and he will deliver you from the power and hand of the enemy.
22 For I have put my hope in the Everlasting to save you,
and joy has come to me from the Holy One,
because of the mercy that will soon come to you
from your everlasting savior.[a]
23 For I sent you out with sorrow and weeping,
but God will give you back to me with joy and gladness forever.
24 For as the neighbors of Zion have now seen your capture,
so they soon will see your salvation by God,
which will come to you with great glory
and with the splendor of the Everlasting.
25 My children, endure with patience the wrath that has come upon you from God.
Your enemy has overtaken you,
but you will soon see their destruction
and will tread upon their necks.
26 My pampered children have traveled rough roads;
they were taken away like a flock carried off by the enemy.
27 Take courage, my children, and cry to God,
for you will be remembered by the one who brought this upon you.
28 For just as you were disposed to go astray from God,
return with tenfold zeal to seek him.
29 For the one who brought these calamities upon you
will bring you everlasting joy with your salvation.
Jerusalem Is Assured of Help
30 Take courage, O Jerusalem,
for the one who named you will comfort you.
31 Wretched will be those who mistreated you
and who rejoiced at your fall.
32 Wretched will be the cities that your children served as slaves;
wretched will be the city that received your offspring.
33 For just as she rejoiced at your fall
and was glad for your ruin,
so she will be grieved at her own desolation.
34 I will take away her pride in her great population,
and her insolence will be turned to grief.
35 For fire will come upon her from the Everlasting for many days,
and for a long time she will be inhabited by demons.
36 Look toward the east, O Jerusalem,
and see the joy that is coming to you from God.
37 Look, your children are coming, whom you sent away;
they are coming, gathered from east and west,
at the word of the Holy One,
rejoicing in the glory of God.
Footnotes
- Baruch 4:22 Or from the Everlasting, your savior
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Good News Translation (GNT) 
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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