GetPassageurn:cts:pbc:bible.parallel.eng.kingjames:72urn:cts:pbc:bible.parallel.eng.kingjames:72And these are the words of the book , which Baruch the son of Nerias , the son of Maasias , the son of Sedecias , the son of Asadias , the son of Chelcias , wrote in Babylon , In the fifth year , and in the seventh day of the month , what time as the Chaldeans took Jerusalem , and burnt it with fire . And Baruch did read the words of this book in the hearing of Jechonias the son of Joachim king of Juda , and in the ears of all the people that came to hear the book , And in the hearing of the nobles , and of the king's sons , and in the hearing of the elders , and of all the people , from the lowest unto the highest , even of all them that dwelt at Babylon by the river Sud . Whereupon they wept , fasted , and prayed before the Lord . They made also a collection of money according to every man's power : And they sent it to Jerusalem unto Joachim the high priest , the son of Chelcias , son of Salom , and to the priests , and to all the people which were found with him at Jerusalem , At the same time when he received the vessels of the house of the Lord , that were carried out of the temple , to return them into the land of Juda , the tenth day of the month Sivan , namely , silver vessels , which Sedecias the son of Josias king of Jada had made , After that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried away Jechonias , and the princes , and the captives , and the mighty men , and the people of the land , from Jerusalem , and brought them unto Babylon . And they said , Behold , we have sent you money to buy you burnt offerings , and sin offerings , and incense , and prepare ye manna , and offer upon the altar of the Lord our God ; And pray for the life of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon , and for the life of Balthasar his son , that their days may be upon earth as the days of heaven : And the Lord will give us strength , and lighten our eyes , and we shall live under the shadow of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon , and under the shadow of Balthasar his son , and we shall serve them many days , and find favour in their sight . Pray for us also unto the Lord our God , for we have sinned against the Lord our God ; and unto this day the fury of the Lord and his wrath is not turned from us . And ye shall read this book which we have sent unto you , to make confession in the house of the Lord , upon the feasts and solemn days . And ye shall say , To the Lord our God belongeth righteousness , but unto us the confusion of faces , as it is come to pass this day , unto them of Juda , and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem , And to our kings , and to our princes , and to our priests , and to our prophets , and to our fathers : For we have sinned before the Lord , And disobeyed him , and have not hearkened unto the voice of the Lord our God , to walk in the commandments that he gave us openly : Since the day that the Lord brought our forefathers out of the land of Egypt , unto this present day , we have been disobedient unto the Lord our God , and we have been negligent in not hearing his voice . Wherefore the evils cleaved unto us , and the curse , which the Lord appointed by Moses his servant at the time that he brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt , to give us a land that floweth with milk and honey , like as it is to see this day . Nevertheless we have not hearkened unto the voice of the Lord our God , according unto all the words of the prophets , whom he sent unto us : But every man followed the imagination of his own wicked heart , to serve strange gods , and to do evil in the sight of the Lord our God . Therefore the Lord hath made good his word , which he pronounced against us , and against our judges that judged Israel , and against our kings , and against our princes , and against the men of Israel and Juda , To bring upon us great plagues , such as never happened under the whole heaven , as it came to pass in Jerusalem , according to the things that were written in the law of Moses ; That a man should eat the flesh of his own son , and the flesh of his own daughter . Moreover he hath delivered them to be in subjection to all the kingdoms that are round about us , to be as a reproach and desolation among all the people round about , where the Lord hath scattered them . Thus we were cast down , and not exalted , because we have sinned against the Lord our God , and have not been obedient unto his voice . To the Lord our God appertaineth righteousness : but unto us and to our fathers open shame , as appeareth this day . For all these plagues are come upon us , which the Lord hath pronounced against us Yet have we not prayed before the Lord , that we might turn every one from the imaginations of his wicked heart . Wherefore the Lord watched over us for evil , and the Lord hath brought it upon us : for the Lord is righteous in all his works which he hath commanded us . Yet we have not hearkened unto his voice , to walk in the commandments of the Lord , that he hath set before us . And now , O Lord God of Israel , that hast brought thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand , and high arm , and with signs , and with wonders , and with great power , and hast gotten thyself a name , as appeareth this day : O Lord our God , we have sinned , we have done ungodly , we have dealt unrighteously in all thine ordinances . Let thy wrath turn from us : for we are but a few left among the heathen , where thou hast scattered us . Hear our prayers , O Lord , and our petitions , and deliver us for thine own sake , and give us favour in the sight of them which have led us away : That all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God , because Israel and his posterity is called by thy name . O Lord , look down from thine holy house , and consider us : bow down thine ear , O Lord , to hear us . Open thine eyes , and behold ; for the dead that are in the graves , whose souls are taken from their bodies , will give unto the Lord neither praise nor righteousness : But the soul that is greatly vexed , which goeth stooping and feeble , and the eyes that fail , and the hungry soul , will give thee praise and righteousness , O Lord . Therefore we do not make our humble supplication before thee , O Lord our God , for the righteousness of our fathers , and of our kings . For thou hast sent out thy wrath and indignation upon us , as thou hast spoken by thy servants the prophets , saying , Thus saith the Lord , Bow down your shoulders to serve the king of Babylon : so shall ye remain in the land that I gave unto your fathers . But if ye will not hear the voice of the Lord , to serve the king of Babylon , I will cause to cease out of the cites of Judah , and from without Jerusalem , the voice of mirth , and the voice of joy , the voice of the bridegroom , and the voice of the bride : and the whole land shall be desolate of inhabitants . But we would not hearken unto thy voice , to serve the king of Babylon : therefore hast thou made good the words that thou spakest by thy servants the prophets , namely , that the bones of our kings , and the bones of our fathers , should be taken out of their place . And , lo , they are cast out to the heat of the day , and to the frost of the night , and they died in great miseries by famine , by sword , and by pestilence . And the house which is called by thy name hast thou laid waste , as it is to be seen this day , for the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Juda . O Lord our God , thou hast dealt with us after all thy goodness , and according to all that great mercy of thine , As thou spakest by thy servant Moses in the day when thou didst command him to write the law before the children of Israel , saying , If ye will not hear my voice , surely this very great multitude shall be turned into a small number among the nations , where I will scatter them . For I knew that they would not hear me , because it is a stiffnecked people : but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves . And shall know that I am the Lord their God : for I will give them an heart , and ears to hear : And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity , and think upon my name , And return from their stiff neck , and from their wicked deeds : for they shall remember the way of their fathers , which sinned before the Lord . And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an oath unto their fathers , Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , and they shall be lords of it : and I will increase them , and they shall not be diminished . And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God , and they shall be my people : and I will no more drive my people of Israel out of the land that I have given them . O Lord Almighty , God of Israel , the soul in anguish the troubled spirit , crieth unto thee . Hear , O Lord , and have mercy ; ar thou art merciful : and have pity upon us , because we have sinned before thee . For thou endurest for ever , and we perish utterly . O Lord Almighty , thou God of Israel , hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites , and of their children , which have sinned before thee , and not hearkened unto the voice of thee their God : for the which cause these plagues cleave unto us . Remember not the iniquities of our forefathers : but think upon thy power and thy name now at this time . For thou art the Lord our God , and thee , O Lord , will we praise . And for this cause thou hast put thy fear in our hearts , to the intent that we should call upon thy name , and praise thee in our captivity : for we have called to mind all the iniquity of our forefathers , that sinned before thee . Behold , we are yet this day in our captivity , where thou hast scattered us , for a reproach and a curse , and to be subject to payments , according to all the iniquities of our fathers , which departed from the Lord our God . Hear , Israel , the commandments of life : give ear to understand wisdom . How happeneth it Israel , that thou art in thine enemies' land , that thou art waxen old in a strange country , that thou art defiled with the dead , That thou art counted with them that go down into the grave ? Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom . For if thou hadst walked in the way of God , thou shouldest have dwelled in peace for ever . Learn where is wisdom , where is strength , where is understanding ; that thou mayest know also where is length of days , and life , where is the light of the eyes , and peace . Who hath found out her place ? or who hath come into her treasures ? Where are the princes of the heathen become , and such as ruled the beasts upon the earth ; They that had their pastime with the fowls of the air , and they that hoarded up silver and gold , wherein men trust , and made no end of their getting ? For they that wrought in silver , and were so careful , and whose works are unsearchable , They are vanished and gone down to the grave , and others are come up in their steads . Young men have seen light , and dwelt upon the earth : but the way of knowledge have they not known , Nor understood the paths thereof , nor laid hold of it : their children were far off from that way . It hath not been heard of in Chanaan , neither hath it been seen in Theman . The Agarenes that seek wisdom upon earth , the merchants of Meran and of Theman , the authors of fables , and searchers out of understanding ; none of these have known the way of wisdom , or remember her paths . O Israel , how great is the house of God ! and how large is the place of his possession ! Great , and hath none end ; high , and unmeasurable . There were the giants famous from the beginning , that were of so great stature , and so expert in war . Those did not the Lord choose , neither gave he the way of knowledge unto them : But they were destroyed , because they had no wisdom , and perished through their own foolishness . Who hath gone up into heaven , and taken her , and brought her down from the clouds ? Who hath gone over the sea , and found her , and will bring her for pure gold ? No man knoweth her way , nor thinketh of her path . But he that knoweth all things knoweth her , and hath found her out with his understanding : he that prepared the earth for evermore hath filled it with fourfooted beasts : He that sendeth forth light , and it goeth , calleth it again , and it obeyeth him with fear . The stars shined in their watches , and rejoiced : when he calleth them , they say , Here we be ; and so with cheerfulness they shewed light unto him that made them . This is our God , and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of him He hath found out all the way of knowledge , and hath given it unto Jacob his servant , and to Israel his beloved . Afterward did he shew himself upon earth , and conversed with men . This is the book of the commandments of God , and the law that endureth for ever : all they that keep it shall come to life ; but such as leave it shall die . Turn thee , O Jacob , and take hold of it : walk in the presence of the light thereof , that thou mayest be illuminated . Give not thine honour to another , nor the things that are profitable unto thee to a strange nation . O Israel , happy are we : for things that are pleasing to God are made known unto us . Be of good cheer , my people , the memorial of Israel . Ye were sold to the nations , not for [ your ] destruction : but because ye moved God to wrath , ye were delivered unto the enemies . For ye provoked him that made you by sacrificing unto devils , and not to God . Ye have forgotten the everlasting God , that brought you up ; and ye have grieved Jerusalem , that nursed you . For when she saw the wrath of God coming upon you , she said , Hearken , O ye that dwell about Sion : God hath brought upon me great mourning ; For I saw the captivity of my sons and daughters , which the Everlasting brought upon them . With joy did I nourish them ; but sent them away with weeping and mourning . Let no man rejoice over me , a widow , and forsaken of many , who for the sins of my children am left desolate ; because they departed from the law of God . They knew not his statutes , nor walked in the ways of his commandments , nor trod in the paths of discipline in his righteousness . Let them that dwell about Sion come , and remember ye the captivity of my sons and daughters , which the Everlasting hath brought upon them . For he hath brought a nation upon them from far , a shameless nation , and of a strange language , who neither reverenced old man , nor pitied child . These have carried away the dear beloved children of the widow , and left her that was alone desolate without daughters . But what can I help you ? For he that brought these plagues upon you will deliver you from the hands of your enemies . Go your way , O my children , go your way : for I am left desolate . I have put off the clothing of peace , and put upon me the sackcloth of my prayer : I will cry unto the Everlasting in my days . Be of good cheer , O my children , cry unto the Lord , and he will deliver you from the power and hand of the enemies . For my hope is in the Everlasting , that he will save you ; and joy is come unto me from the Holy One , because of the mercy which shall soon come unto you from the Everlasting our Saviour . For I sent you out with mourning and weeping : but God will give you to me again with joy and gladness for ever . Like as now the neighbours of Sion have seen your captivity : so shall they see shortly your salvation from our God which shall come upon you with great glory , and brightness of the Everlasting . My children , suffer patiently the wrath that is come upon you from God : for thine enemy hath persecuted thee ; but shortly thou shalt see his destruction , and shalt tread upon his neck . My delicate ones have gone rough ways , and were taken away as a flock caught of the enemies . Be of good comfort , O my children , and cry unto God : for ye shall be remembered of him that brought these things upon you . For as it was your mind to go astray from God : so , being returned , seek him ten times more . For he that hath brought these plagues upon you shall bring you everlasting joy with your salvation . Take a good heart , O Jerusalem : for he that gave thee that name will comfort thee . Miserable are they that afflicted thee , and rejoiced at thy fall . Miserable are the cities which thy children served : miserable is she that received thy sons . For as she rejoiced at thy ruin , and was glad of thy fall : so shall she be grieved for her own desolation . For I will take away the rejoicing of her great multitude , and her pride shall be turned into mourning . For fire shall come upon her from the Everlasting , long to endure ; and she shall be inhabited of devils for a great time . O Jerusalem , look about thee toward the east , and behold the joy that cometh unto thee from God . Lo , thy sons come , whom thou sentest away , they come gathered together from the east to the west by the word of the Holy One , rejoicing in the glory of God . Put off , O Jerusalem , the garment of mourning and affliction , and put on the comeliness of the glory that cometh from God for ever . Cast about thee a double garment of the righteousness which cometh from God ; and set a diadem on thine head of the glory of the Everlasting . For God will shew thy brightness unto every country under heaven . For thy name shall be called of God for ever The peace of righteousness , and The glory of God's worship . Arise , O Jerusalem , and stand on high , and look about toward the east , and behold thy children gathered from the west unto the east by the word of the Holy One , rejoicing in the remembrance of God . For they departed from thee on foot , and were led away of their enemies : but God bringeth them unto thee exalted with glory , as children of the kingdom . For God hath appointed that every high hill , and banks of long continuance , should be cast down , and valleys filled up , to make even the ground , that Israel may go safely in the glory of God , Moreover even the woods and every sweetsmelling tree shall overshadow Israel by the commandment of God . For God shall lead Israel with joy in the light of his glory with the mercy and righteousness that cometh from him . . 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 , ye shall be led away captives into Babylon by Nabuchodonosor king of the Babylonians . So when ye be come unto Babylon , ye 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 ye see in Babylon gods of silver , and of gold , and of wood , borne upon shoulders , which cause the nations to fear . Beware therefore that ye in no wise be like to strangers , neither be ye and of them , when ye see the multitude before them and behind them , worshipping them . But say ye 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 offendeth him holdeth a sceptre , 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 useth 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 offendeth 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 ye 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 dishonour 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 passeth by , lie with him , she reproacheth 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 falleth 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 sheweth 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 breaketh forth is easy to be seen ; and after the same manner the wind bloweth in every country . And when God commandeth 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 sitteth upon ; as also to a dead body , that is east into the dark . And ye shall know them to be no gods by the bright purple that rotteth upon then 1: 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 . .