2 Baruch

Chapter 1
1 And it happened in the twenty-fifth year of Jeconiah, king of Judah, that the word
of the Lord came to Baruch, the son of Neriah, and said to him:
2 Have you seen all that this nation (people) are doing to Me, that the evils which
these two tribes which remained have done are greater than (those of) the ten tribes
which were carried away captive?
3 For the former tribes were forced by their kings to commit sin, but these two of
themselves have been forcing and compelling their kings to commit sin.
4 For this reason, I bring evil upon this city, and upon its inhabitants, and it will be
removed from before Me for a time, and I will scatter these people among the
Gentiles that they may do good to the Gentiles. And My people will be chastened,
and the time will come when they will seek the prosperity of this period (their
times.)

Chapter 2

1 For I have said these things to you that you may tell Jeremiah, and all those that
are like you, to leave this city.
2 For your works are to this city as a firm pillar, and your prayers as a strong wall.

Chapter 3

1 And I said: O Lord, my Lord, have I come into the world for this purpose that I
might see the evils of my mother?
2 Not so, my Lord. If I have found grace in Your sight, first take my spirit that I may
go to my father's and not witness the destruction of my mother.
3 For two things vehemently constrain me: for I cannot resist You, and my soul
cannot behold the evils of my mother.
4 But one thing I will ask in Your presence, a Lord.
5. What will there be after these things? If You destroy Your city and deliver up Your
land to those that hate us, how will the name of Israel be remembered?
6 Or how will one speak of Your praises?
7 Or to whom will Your law be explained and all things therein?
8 Or will the world return to the nature it had before, and the age revert to primeval
silence?
9 And will the multitude of souls be taken away, and the nature of man not again be
named? And where is all that which You said to Moses regarding us?

Chapter 4

1 And the Lord said to me: This city will be delivered up for a time, and the people
will be chastened during a time, And the world will not be given over to oblivion.
2 Do you think that this is that city of which I said: On the palms of My hands have I
graven you?
3 This building now built in your midst is not that which is revealed with Me, that
which was prepared beforehand here from the time when I took counsel to make
Paradise, and showed it to Adam before he sinned, but when he transgressed the
commandment it was removed from him, as also Paradise.
4 And after these things I showed it to My servant Abraham by night among the
allotted victims.
5 And again also I showed it to Moses on Mount Sinai when I showed him the
likeness of the tabernacle and all its vessels.
6 And now, behold, it is preserved with Me, as also is Paradise.
7 Go, therefore, and do as I command you."

Chapter 5

1 And I answered and said: So then I am destined to grieve for Zion, For your
enemies will come to this place and pollute your sanctuary, and lead your
inheritance into captivity; And make themselves masters of those whom You have
loved. They will depart again to the place of their idols, and will boast before them:
And what will You do for Your great name?
2 And the Lord said to me: My name and My glory are to all eternity; And My
judgment will maintain its right in its own time.
3 You will see with your eyes that the enemy will not overthrow Zion, nor will they
burn Jerusalem, but be the ministers of the Judge for the time.
4 Now go and do what I have said to you.
5 And I went and took Jeremiah, and Adu, and Seriah, and Jabish, and Gedaliah, and
all the honorable men of the people, and I led them to the valley of Cedron, and I
explained to them all that had been said to me.
7 And they lifted up their voices, and they all wept.
8 And we sat there and fasted until the evening.

Chapter 6
1 And it came to pass the next day that the army of the Chaldees surrounded the
city, and at the time of the evening, I, Baruch, left the people and I went out and
stood by the oak.
2 And I was grieving over Zion, and lamenting over the captivity which had come
upon the people.
3 Suddenly a strong spirit raised me, and carried me aloft over the wall of Jerusalem.
4 And I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the city, each of them holding
a torch of fire in his hands.
5 And another angel began to descend from heaven, and said to them: Hold your
lamps, and do not light them till I tell you.
6 For I am first sent to speak a word to the earth, and to place in it what the Lord the
Most High has commanded me.
7 And I saw him descend into the Holy of holies, and take from there 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.
5 And he spoke to the earth with a loud voice: Earth, earth, earth, hear the word of
the mighty God, And receive what I commit to you, And guard them until the last
times so that when you are ordered you may restore them, so that strangers may not
get possession of them.
9 For the time comes when Jerusalem also will be delivered for a time, until it is said,
that it is again restored for ever.
10 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up.

Chapter 7

1 And after these things I heard that angel saying to those angels who held the
lamps. Destroy it and overthrow its wall to its foundations so that the enemy should
not boast and say: We have overthrown the wall of Zion, and we have burnt the
place of the mighty God.
2 And you have seized the place where I had been standing before.

Chapter 8

1 Now the angels did as he had commanded them, and when they had broken up
the corners of the walls, a voice was heard from the interior of the temple, after the
wall had fallen, saying:
2 Enter, you enemies. Come, you adversaries; For he who kept the house has
forsaken it.
3 And I, Baruch, departed.
4 And after these things happened the army of the Chaldees entered and seized the
house and all that was around it.
5 And they led the people away captive, and killed some of them, and bound
Zedekiah the King, and sent him to the King of Babylon.

Chapter 9

1 And I, Baruch, came, and Jeremiah, whose heart was found pure from sins, who
had not been captured in the seizure of the city.
2 And we ripped our garments, we wept, and mourned, and fasted seven days.

Chapter 10

1 After seven days the word of God came to me, and said to me:
2 Tell Jeremiah to go and support the people who are led captive in to Babylon.
3 But you remain here amid the desolation of Zion, and I will show you after these
days what will occur at the end of days.
4 And I said to Jeremiah as the Lord commanded me.
S And he indeed, departed with the people; but I, Baruch, returned and sat before
the gates of the temple, and I lamented with the following lamentation over Zion
and said:
6 Blessed is he who was not born, or he, who having been born, has died.
7 But as for us who live, woe to us, Because we see the afflictions of Zion, and what
has befallen Jerusalem.
8 I will call the Sirens from the sea, And you Lilin, (Lilin, in Jewish myth, was the
daughter of Lilith, Adam's first wife, and the demon Samael who is often identified
with Satan) come from the desert. And you Shedim and dragons from the forests:
Awake and prepare yourselves for mourning; and take up with me the dirges, and
make lamentation with me.
9 You husbandmen, sow not again; and, 0 earth, wherefore gives you your harvest
fruits? Keep within you the sweets of your sustenance.
10 And you, vine, why further do you give your wine; for an offering will not again
be made there from in Zion. Nor will the first-fruits again be offered.
11 And do you, 0 heavens, withhold your dew, and open not the treasuries of rain? 12
And do you, 0 sun, withhold the light of your rays? And do you, 0 moon,
extinguish the multitude of your light? For why should light rise again where the
light of Zion is darkened?
13 And you, you bridegrooms, enter not in. And let not the brides adorn themselves
with garlands. And you women, pray not that you may bear.
14 For the barren will above all rejoice, And those who have no sons will be glad,
and those who have sons will have anguish.
15 For why should they bear in pain, only to bury in grief?
16 Why again should mankind have sons? Why should the offspring of their kind
again be named; where this mother is desolate, and her sons are led into captivity?
17 From this time forward speak not of beauty, and do not discuss gracefulness.
18 Moreover, you priests, take you the keys of the sanctuary and cast them into the
height of heaven; and give them to the Lord and say: Guard Your house Yourself.
For we are found to be false stewards.
19 And you virgins who weave fine linen and silk with gold of Ophir (the place from
where the fleets of Solomon brought gold), take with haste all (these) things and cast
(them) into the fire, that it may carry them to Him who made them. And the flame
send them to Him who created them, lest the enemy get possession of them.

Chapter 11

1 Moreover, I, Baruch, say this against you, Babylon: If you had prospered, and Zion
had dwelt in her glory, the grief to us would have been great because you would be
equal to Zion.
2 But now, the grief is infinite; and the lamentation measureless because you are
prospered and Zion desolate.
3 Who will be judge regarding these things? Or to whom will we complain
regarding that which has befallen us? 0 Lord, how have You borne (it)?
4 Our fathers went to rest without grief and the righteous sleep in the earth in
tranquility.
5 For they knew not this anguish, nor yet had they heard of that which had befallen
us.
6 Would that you had ears, 0 earth, and that you had a heart, 0 dust. That you
might go and announce in Sheol (hell / place of the dead) and say to the dead:
Blessed are you more than we who live.

Chapter 12

1 But I will say what I think and I will speak against you, 0 land, which are
prospering.
2 The noonday does not always burn, nor do the rays of the sun constantly give
light.
3 Do not expect [and hope] that you will always be prosperous and rejoicing. Do not
be not greatly arrogant and boastful.
4 For certainly in its own season the divine rage will awake against you, even though
now in long-suffering it is held in as it were by reins.
5 And when I had said these things, I fasted seven days.

Chapter 13

1 After these things I, Baruch, was standing upon Mount Zion, and a voice came
from the height and said to me:
2 Stand up on your feet, Baruch, and hear the word of the mighty God.
3 Because you have been amazed at what has befallen Zion, you will therefore be
certainly preserved to the conclusion of the times, that you may be for a testimony.
4 If ever those prosperous cities say: Why has the mighty God brought upon us this
retribution?
5 You say to them: You and those like you who will have seen this evil; (This is the
evil) and retribution which is coming upon you and upon your people in its
(destined) time that the nations may be thoroughly beaten (smitten.)
6 And then they will be in anguish.
7 And if they say at that time: For how long? You will say to them: You who have
drunk the strained wine, drink also of its dregs, the judgment of the Lofty One Who
has no respect of persons.
8 On this account before he had no mercy on His own sons, but afflicted them as His
enemies, because they sinned, then they were disciplined so that they might be
sanctified.
9 But now, you peoples and nations, you are guilty because you have always
trodden down the earth, and used the creation sinfully and wrongfully.
10 For I have always benefited you and you have always been ungrateful for the
beneficence.

Chapter 14

1 And I answered and said: You have shown me the method (behavior /
procedure) of the times, and that which will alter these things, and You have said to
me that the retribution, which has been spoken of by You, will come upon the
nations.
2 And now I know that those who have sinned are many, and they have lived in
prosperity, and left the world, but few nations will be left in those times, to whom
those words will be said which You have said.
3 For what advantage is there in this, or what evil, worse than what we have seen
happen us can we expect to see?
4 But again I will speak in Your presence: What have they profited who had
knowledge before You and have not walked in vanity as the rest of the nations, and
have not said to the dead: "Give us life," but always feared You, and have not left
Your ways?
5 They have been carried off, nor on their account have You had mercy on Zion.
6 And if others did evil, it was due to Zion, that on account of those who do good
works should be forgiven, and should not be overwhelmed on account of the works
of those who practice unrighteousness.
7 But who, 0 Lord, my Lord, will understand Your judgment, or who will search out
the profoundness of Your way?
8 Or who will think out the weight of Your path?
9 Or who will be able to think out Your incomprehensible counsel?
10 Or who of those that are born has ever found the beginning or end of Your
wisdom?
11 For we have all been made like a breath. For as the breath ascends involuntarily
and again dies, so it is with the nature of men, who depart not according to their
own will, and know not what will befall them in the end.
12 For the righteous justly hope for the end, and without fear leave this habitation,
because they have with You a store of works preserved in treasuries. 13 On this account
also these without fear leave this world, and trusting with joy
they hope to receive the world which You have promised them.
14 But as for us --- woe to us, who also are now shamefully treated, and at that time
look forward (only) to evil.
15 But You know accurately what You have done by means of Your servants; for we
are not able to understand that which is good as You are, our Creator.
16 But again I will speak in Your presence, 0 LORD, my Lord.
17 In ancient times there was no world with its inhabitants, You did devise and
speak with a word, and with that the works of creation stood before You.
18 And You did say that You would make man the administrator of Your works,
that it might be known that he was by no means made on account of the world, but
the world on account of him.
19 And now I see that as the world was made on account of us, and it abides, but we,
on account of whom it was made, depart.

Chapter 15

1 And the Lord answered and said to me: You are rightly amazed regarding the
departure of man, but you have not judged well regarding the evils which befall
those who sin.
2 And as regards what you have said, that the righteous are carried off and the
impious are prospered.
3 And as regards what you have said, "Man knows not Your judgment," on this
account hear, and I will speak to you, and listen, and I will cause you to hear My
words.
4 Man would not rightly have understood My judgment, unless he had accepted the
law, and I had instructed him in understanding.
5 But now, because he transgressed knowingly on this ground that he worked, he
will be tormented.
6 And as regards what you did say regarding the righteous, that on account of them
has this world come, so also again will that which is to come, come on their account.
7 For this world is to them a strife and a labor with much trouble; and that
accordingly which is to come, a crown with great glory.
Chapter 16
1 And I answered and said: 0 LORD, my Lord, the years of this time are few and
evil, and who is able in his little time to acquire that which is measureless?

Chapter 17

1 And the Lord answered and said to me: With the Most High account is not taken
of much time nor of a few years.
2 For what did it profit Adam that he lived nine hundred and thirty years, and
transgressed that which he was commanded?
3 Therefore the multitude of time that he lived did not profit him, but brought death
and cut off the years of those who were born from him.
4 Or wherein did Moses suffer loss in that he lived only one hundred and twenty
years, and inasmuch as he was subject to Him who formed him, brought the law to
the seed of Jacob, and lighted a lamp for the nation of Israel?

Chapter 18

1 And I answered and said: He that lighted has taken from the light, and there are
but few that have imitated him.
2 But those many whom he has lighted have taken from the darkness of Adam and
have not rejoiced in the light of the lamp.

Chapter 19

1 And He answered and said to me: So it was at that time he appointed for them a
covenant. And He said to them: Behold I have placed before you life and death, and
he called heaven and earth to witness against them.
2 For he knew that his time was but short, but that heaven and earth endure always.
3 But after his death they sinned and transgressed, though they knew that they had
the law reproving them, and the light in which nothing could err, also the spheres
(planets and stars?) which testify, and Me.
4 Now regarding everything that is, it is I that judge, but do not you take counsel in
your soul regarding these things, nor afflict yourself because of those which have
been.
5 For now it is the consummation of time that should be considered, whether of
business, or of prosperity, or of shame, and not the beginning thereof.
6 Because if a man be prospered in his beginnings and shamefully treated in his old
age, he forgets all the prosperity that he had.
7 And again, if a man is shamefully treated in his beginnings, and at his end is
prospered, he remembers not again his evil treatment.
S And again listen; though each one were prospered all that time all the time from
the day on which death was decreed against those who transgress, and in his end
was destroyed, everything would have been in vain.

Chapter 20

1 Therefore, behold! The days come, and the times will hasten more than the former,
and the seasons will speed on more than those that are past, and the years will pass
more quickly than the present (years).
2 Therefore have I now taken away Zion, that I may the more speedily visit the
world in its season.
3 Therefore hold fast in your heart everything that I command you, and seal it in the
recesses of your mind.
4 And then I will show you the judgment of My might, and My ways which cannot
be known.
5 Go and sanctify yourself seven days, and eat no bread, nor drink water, nor speak
to anyone.
6 Afterwards come to that place and I will reveal Myself to you, and speak true
things with you, and I will give you commandment regarding the method
(procedure / system) of the times; for they are coming and tarry not.

Chapter 21

1 And I went thence and sat in the valley of Cedron in a cave of the earth, and I
sanctified my soul there, and I ate no bread, yet I was not hungry, and I drank no
water, yet I thirsted not, and I was there till the seventh day, as He had commanded
me.
2 And afterwards I came to that place where He had spoken with me.
3 And it came to pass at sunset that my soul (mind) took much thought, and I began
to speak in the presence of the Mighty One, and said:
4 0 You that made the earth, hear me; you that have fixed the firmament by the
word, and have made firm the height of the heaven by the spirit, that have called
from the beginning of the world that which did not yet exist, and they obey You.
5 You that have commanded the air by Your nod, and have seen those things which
are to be as those things which You are (now) doing.
6 You that rule with great thought the hosts that stand before You; also the countless
holy beings which You made from the beginning from the flame and fire, which
stand around Your throne where You rule with indignation.
7 To You only does this belong that You should do whatsoever You wish.
8 Who causes the drops of rain to rain by number upon the earth, and alone know
the conclusion of the times before they come; have respect to my prayer.
9 For You alone are able to sustain all who are, and those who have passed away,
and those who are to be, those who sin, and those who are righteous as living and
being past finding out.
10 For You alone live immortal and past finding out, and know the number of
mankind.
11 And if in time many have sinned, yet others not a few have been righteous.
12 You know where You preserve the end of those who have sinned, or the
conclusion of those who have been righteous.
13 For if there were this life only, which belongs to all men, nothing could be more
bitter than this.
14 For of what profit is strength that turns to sickness, or fullness of food that turns
to famine, or beauty that turns to ugliness?
15 For the nature of man is always changeable.
16 For what we were formerly now we no longer are, and what we now are we will
not afterwards continue to be.
17 For if a conclusion had not been prepared for all, then their beginning would have
been in vain.
18 Everything that comes from You, You informed me, and regarding everything
about which I ask You, You enlighten me?
19 How long will that which is corruptible remain, and how long will the time of
mortals succeed, and until what time will those who transgress in the world be
polluted with much wickedness?
20 Command in mercy and accomplish all that You said You would bring, that Your
might may be made known to those who think that Your long-suffering is weakness.
21 Show to those who do not recognize it, that everything that has befallen us and
our city until now has been according to the long-suffering of Your power, because
on account of Your name You have called us a beloved people.
22 Bring mortality to an end. Reprimand the angel of death, and let Your glory
appear, and let the might of Your beauty be known, and let Sheol be sealed so that
from this time forward it may not receive the dead, and let the treasuries of souls
(the chamber of Guf, in Jewish mythology) restore those which are enclosed in them.
23 For there have been many years like those that are desolate from the days of
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and of all those who are like them, who sleep in the
earth, on whose account You did say that You had created the world.
24 And now quickly show Your glory, and do not put off what has been promised
by You. When I had completed this prayer I was greatly weakened.

Chapter 22

1 After these things the heavens were opened, and I saw, and power was given to
me, and a voice was heard from on high, and it said to me:
2 Baruch, Baruch, why are you troubled?
3 He who travels by a road but does not complete it, or who departs by sea but does
not arrive at the port, can he be comforted?
4 Or he who promises to give a present to another, but does not fulfill it, is it not
robbery?
5 Or he who sows the earth, but does not reap its fruit in its season, does he not lose
everything?
6 Or he who plants a plant unless it grows till the time suitable to it, does he who
planted it expect to receive fruit from it?
7 Or a woman who has conceived, if she bring forth untimely, does she not certainly
kill her infant?
8 Or he who builds a house, if he does not roof it and complete it, can it be called a
house? Tell Me that first.

Chapter 23

1, And I answered and said: "Not so, 0 LORD, my Lord."

2 And He answered and said to me: Why are you troubled about that which you
know not, and why are you ill at ease about things of which you are ignorant?
3 You have not forgotten the people who now are and those who have passed away,
so I remember those who are appointed to come.
4 Because when Adam sinned and death was the judgment against those who
should be born, then the multitude of those who should be born was numbered, and
for that number a place was prepared where the living might dwell and the dead
might be guarded.
5 Before the appointed number is fulfilled, the creature will not live again for My
spirit is the creator of life, and Sheol will receive the dead.
6 It is given to you to hear what things are to come after these times.
7 For truly My redemption has drawn near, and is not as distant as it was.

Chapter 24

1 The days come and the books will be opened in which are written the sins of all
those who have sinned, and also the treasuries in which the righteousness of all
those who have been righteous in creation is gathered.
2 For it will come to pass at that time that you will see, and the many that are with
you, the long-suffering of the Most High, which has been throughout all generations,
who has been long-suffering towards all who are born, like those who sin and those
who are righteous."
3 And I answered and said: But Lord, no one knows the number of those things
which have passed nor yet of those things which are to come.
4 For I know indeed that which has befallen us, but what will happen to our enemies
I know not, and when You will visit Your works.

Chapter 25

1 And He answered and said to me: You too will be preserved till that time till that
sign which the Most High will work for the inhabitants of the earth in the end of
days.
2 This therefore will be the sign:
3 When a stupor will seize the inhabitants of the earth, and they will fall into many
tribulations, and again when they will fall into great torments.
4 And it will come to pass when they say in their thoughts because of their much
tribulation: The Mighty One doth no longer remember the earth yea, it will come to
pass when they abandon hope, that the time will then awake.

Chapter 26

1 And I answered and said: Will that tribulation which is to be, continue a long
time, and will it necessitate many years?

Chapter 27

1 And He answered and said to me: Into twelve parts (pieces or section) is that time
divided, and each one of them is reserved for that which is appointed for it.
2 In the first section (piece) there will be the beginning of commotions.
3 And in the second section (piece) slayings of the great ones.
4 And in the third section (piece) the fall of many by death.
5 And in the fourth section (piece) the sending of the sword.
6 And in the fifth section (piece) famine and the withholding of rain.
7 And in the sixth section (piece) earthquakes and terrors and wanting (need for
food, water, and shelter).
8 And in the eighth section (piece) a multitude of specters and attacks of the Shedim.
9 And in the ninth section (piece) the fall of fire.
10 And in the tenth section (piece) rapine and much oppression.
11 And in the eleventh section (piece) wickedness and hedonism.
12 And in the twelfth section (piece) confusion from the mingling together of all
those things aforesaid.
13 For these slices of that time are reserved, and will be mingled one with another
and reinforce one another.
14 For some will leave out some of their own, and receive (in its stead) from others,
and some complete their own and that of others, so that those may not understand
who are upon the earth in those days that this is the consummation of the times.

Chapter 28

1 Nevertheless, whosoever understands will then be wise.

2 For the measure and reckoning of that time are two parts (pieces or section) a week
of seven weeks.
3 And I answered and said: lt is good for a man to come and behold, but it is better
that he should not come lest he fall.
4 But I will ask this also: Will he who is incorruptible despise those things which are
corruptible? What happens in the case of those things which are corruptible, so that
he might look only to those things which are not corruptible?
5 But if, 0 Lord, those things will certainly come to pass which You have foretold to
me, show this to me also if indeed I have found grace in Your sight. 6 Is it in one place
or in one of the sections of the earth that those things are come to
pass, or will the whole earth experience them?

Chapter 29

1 And He answered and said to me: Whatever will befall the whole earth all who
live will experience.
2 For at that time I will protect only those who are found in those same days in this
land.
3 And when all is accomplished that was to come to pass in those sections, that the
Messiah will then begin to be revealed.
4 And Behemoth will be revealed from his place and Leviathan will ascend from the
sea, those two great monsters which I created on the fifth day of creation, and will
have kept until that time; and then they will be food for all that are left.
5 The earth also will yield its fruit ten thousand fold and on each vine there will be a
thousand branches, and each branch will produce a thousand clusters, and each
cluster produces a thousand grapes, and each grape produces a cor (a unit of
measure approximately 517 pints) of wine.
6 And those who have hungered will rejoice, moreover, they will behold marvels
every day.
7 For winds will go forth from before Me to bring every morning the fragrance of
aromatic fruits, and at the close of the day clouds distilling the dew of health.
8 And it will come to pass at that same time that the treasury of manna will again
descend from on high, and they will eat of it in those years, because these are they
who have come to the end of time.

Chapter 30

1 And it will come to pass after these things, when the time of the advent of the
Messiah is fulfilled, that He will return in glory.
2 Then all who have fallen asleep in hope of Him will rise again.
3 And it will come to pass at that time that the treasuries will be opened in which is
preserved the number of the souls of the righteous, and they will come forth, and a
multitude of souls will be seen together in one assemblage of one thought, and the
first will rejoice and the last will not be grieved. For they know that the time has
come of which it is said, that it is the consummation of the times.
4 But the souls of the wicked, when they behold all these things, will then waste
away the more.
5 For they will know that their torment has come and their perdition has arrived."

Chapter 31

1 And after these things I went to the people and said to them:
2 Assemble to me all your elders and I will speak words to them.
3 And they all assembled in the valley of the Cedron. And I answered and said to
them: Hear, 0 Israel, and I will speak to you, And give ear, 0 seed of Jacob, and I
will instruct you.
4 Forget not Zion, But hold in remembrance the anguish of Jerusalem.
5 For the days come, when everything exists will become the prey of corruption and
will be as though it had not been.

Chapter 32
1 But if you prepare your hearts, so as to sow in them the fruits of the law, it will
protect you in that time in which the Mighty One is to shake the whole creation.
2 Because after a little time the building of Zion will be shaken in order that it may
be built again.
3 But that building will not remain, but will again after a time be pulled up by the
roots, and will remain desolate until the time.
4 And afterwards it must be renewed in glory, and perfected for evermore.
5 Therefore we should not be distressed so much over the evil which has now come
as over that which is still to be.
6 For there will be a greater trial than these two tribulations when the Mighty One
will renew His creation.
7 And now do not draw near to me for a few days, nor seek me till I come to you.
8 And when I had spoken to them all these words, that I, Baruch, went my way, and
when the people saw me leaving, they lifted up their voice and lamented and said:
To what place do you depart from us, Baruch, and forsake us as a father who
forsakes his orphan children, and departs from them?

Chapter 33

1 Are these the commands which your companion, Jeremiah the prophet,
commanded you, and said to you:
2 Look to this people till I go and make ready the rest of the brethren in Babylon,
against whom has gone forth the sentence that they should be led into captivity?
3 And now if you also forsake us, it were good for us all to die before you withdraw
from us.

Chapter 34

1 And I answered and said to the people: Far be it from me to forsake you or to
withdraw from you, but I will only go to the Holy of Holies to inquire of the Mighty
One concerning you and concerning Zion; in the hopes I should receive more
illumination and after these things I will return to you.

Chapter 35

1 And I, Baruch, went to the holy place, and sat down upon the ruins and wept, and
said:
2 0 that mine eyes were springs, and mine eyelids a spring of tears.
3 For how will I lament for Zion, and how will I mourn for Jerusalem?
4 Because in that place where I am now prostrate, of old the high priest offered holy
sacrifices; and placed thereon an incense of fragrant odors.
5 But now our glorying has been made into dust, And the desire of our soul into
sand.

Chapter 36

1 And when I had said these things I fell asleep there, and I saw a vision in the night.
2 I saw a forest of trees planted on the plain, and lofty and rugged rocky mountains
surrounded it, and that forest occupied much space. 3 And over beside it arose a vine,
and from under it there went forth a peaceful
fountain.
4 Now that fountain came to the forest and was agitated into great waves, and those
waves submerged that forest, and suddenly they pulled up by the roots the greater
section (area) of that forest, and overthrew all the mountains which were around it.
S And the height of the forest began to be made low, and the top of the mountains
was made low and that fountain greatly overtook it, so that it left nothing of that
great forest save one cedar only.
6 Also when it had cast it down and had destroyed and pulled up by the roots the
greater part of that forest, so that nothing was left of it, nor could its place be
recognized, then that vine began to come with the fountain in peace and great
tranquility, and it came to a place which was not far from that cedar, and they
brought the cedar which had been cast down to it.
7 And I saw that vine opened its mouth and spoke and said to that cedar: Are you
not that cedar which was left of the forest of wickedness, and by whose means
wickedness persisted, and did evil all those years, and goodness never?
8 And you kept conquering that which was not yours, and to that which was yours
you never showed compassion, and you kept extending your power over those who
were far from you, and those who ventured near to you held tightly in the toils of
your wickedness, and you lifted yourself up always as one that could not be pulled
up by the roots!
9 But now your time has sped by and your hour is come. Do you also therefore
depart 0 cedar, after the forest, which departed before you, and become dust with it,
and let your ashes be mingled together?
10 And now lay down in anguish and rest in torment till your last time comes, in
which you will come again and be tormented still more.

Chapter 37

1 And after these things I saw that cedar burning, and the vine glowing and all
around it the plain was full of unfading flowers. And I awoke and arose.

Chapter 38

1 And I prayed and said: 0 LORD, my Lord, You always enlighten those who are
led by understanding.
2 Your law is life, and Your wisdom is right guidance.
3 Make known to me the interpretation of this vision.
4 For You know that my soul has always walked in Your law, and from my earliest
days I departed not from Your wisdom.

Chapter 39

1 And He answered and said to me: Baruch, this is the interpretation of the vision
which you have seen.
2 As you have seen the great forest which lofty and rugged mountains surrounded,
this is the word.
3 The days come, and this kingdom will be destroyed which once destroyed Zion,
and it will be subjected to that which comes after it.
4 After a time the kingdom will be destroyed, and another, a third, will arise, and
that also will have dominion for its time, and will be destroyed. 5 And after these things
a fourth kingdom will arise, whose power will be harsh and
evil far beyond those which were before it, and it will rule many times as the forests
on the plain, and it will hold firmly for a time, and will exalt itself more than the
cedars of Lebanon.
6 And by it the truth will be hidden, and all those who are polluted with sinfulness
will flee to it, as evil beasts flee and creep into the forest.
7 And when the time of its end and fall has approached, then the kingdom of My
Messiah will be revealed, which is like the fountain and the vine, and when it is
revealed it will root out the multitude of its host.
8 And concerning that which you have seen, the lofty cedar, which was left out of
that forest, and the fact, that the vine spoke those words with it which you did hear,
this is the word.

Chapter 40

1 The last leader of that time will be left alive, when the multitude of his hosts will
be put to the sword, and he will be bound, and they will take him up to Mount Zion,
and My Messiah will convict him of all his unlawful deeds, and will gather and set
before him all the works of his hosts.
2 And afterwards he will put him to death, and protect the rest of My people which
will be found in the place which I have chosen.
3 And his kingdom will stand for ever, until the world of corruption is at an end,
and until the times aforesaid are fulfilled.
4 This is your vision, and this is its interpretation.

Chapter 41

1 And I answered and said: For whom and for how many will these things be or
who will be worthy to live at that time?
2 I will speak to you everything that I think, and I will ask of You regarding those
things about which I think.
3 I see many of Your people who have with drawn from Your covenant, and cast
from them the yoke of Your law.
4 But I have seen others who have forsaken their vanity, and fled for refuge beneath
Your wings.
5 What will become of them or how will the last time receive them?
6 Or perhaps the time of these will certainly be weighed, and as the beam inclines
will they be judged accordingly?

Chapter 42

1 And He answered and said to me: "I will show you these things also.
2 To whom will these things be, and how many will they be?"
3 To those who have believed there will be the good which was spoken of before,
and to those who despise there will be the contrary.
4 And regarding those who have drawn near (to Me) and those who have
withdrawn (from Me) this is the word. As for those who were before subject (to Me),
and afterwards withdrew and mingled themselves with the seed of mingled peoples,
the time of these was the former, and was accounted as something exalted.
5 As for those who before knew (Me) not but afterwards knew life, and mingled
(only) with the seed of the people which had separated itself the time of these (is) the
latter, and is accounted as something exalted. 6 Time will succeed to (advance) time and
season to season, and one will receive
from another, and then with a view to the conclusion everything will be compared
according to the measure of the times and the hours of the seasons.
7 Corruption will take those that belong to it, and life will take those that belong to
it.
S And the dust will be called, and there will be said to it: Give back that which is not
yours, and raise up all that you have kept until its time.
Chapter 43

1 But, do you, Baruch, direct your heart to that which has been said to you, and
understand those things which have been shown to you? For there are many eternal
comforts for you.
2 You will leave this place, and you will pass from the regions which you see now,
and you will forget whatever is corruptible, and will not again recall those things
which happen among mortals.
3 Go and command your people, and come to this place, and afterwards fast seven
days, and then I will come to you and speak with you.

Chapter 44

1 And I, Baruch, went from that place and came to my people, and I called my firstborn
son and the Gedaliahs my friends, and seven of the elders of the people, and I
said to them:
2 I go to my fathers according to the way of all the earth.
3 But you should not withdraw from the way of the law, but guard and admonish
the people which remain;
4 that they should not withdraw from the commandments of the Mighty One, for
you see that He whom we serve is just, and our Creator is no respecter of persons.
5 And see what has happened to Zion, and what has happened to Jerusalem.
6 For the judgment of the Mighty One will be made known, and His ways, which,
though past finding out, are right.
7 For if you endure and persevere in fear (respect / awe) of Him, and do not forget
His law, the times will change over you for good. And you will see the consolation
(reward) of Zion.
8 Because whatever exists now is nothing, but that which will be is very great. For
everything that is corruptible will pass away, and everything that dies will depart,
and all the present time will be forgotten, nor will there be any remembrance of the
present time, which is defiled with evil.
9 That which runs now runs to vanity, and that which prospers will quickly fall and
be humiliated.
10 That which is to come will be the object of desire, and for that which comes
afterwards will we hope.
11 For it is a time that will not pass, and the hour comes which abides for ever.
12 And the new world (comes) which is blessedness and does not turn to corruption
for those who depart to it, but it has no mercy on those who depart to torment, and it
leads to perdition those who live in it.
13 For these are they who will inherit that time which has been spoken of, and theirs
is the inheritance of the promised time. 14 These are they who have acquired for
themselves treasures of wisdom, and with
them are found stores of understanding, and they have not withdrawn from mercy
and the truth of the law have they preserved.
15 For to them will be given the world to come, but the dwelling of the rest, who are
many, will be in the fire."

Chapter 45

1 Instruct the people as far as you are able, for that labor is ours. For if you teach
them, you will quicken them.

Chapter 46

1 And my son and the elders of the people answered and said to me: Has the
Mighty One humiliated us to such a degree as to take you from us quickly?
2 We will truly be in darkness, and there will be no light to the people who are left
For where again will we seek the law, or who will distinguish for us between death
and life?
3 And I said to them: I cannot resist the throne of the Mighty One; nevertheless,
there will not be wanting in Israel for a wise man, nor a son of the law to the race of
Jacob.
4 But only prepare your hearts, that you may obey the law, and be subject to those
who in fear are wise and understanding;
5 And prepare your souls that you may not leave them.
6 For if you do these things, good things will come to you., which I before told you
of; nor will you fall into the torment, of which I testified to you before.
7 But with regard to the word that I was to be taken I did not make it known to them
or to my son.
Chapter 47
1 And when I had gone out and dismissed them, I went from there and said to
them:
2 I go to Hebron: for that is where the Mighty One has sent me. And I came to that
place where the word had been spoken to me, and I sat there, and fasted seven days.

Chapter 48

1 And it came to pass after the seventh day, that I prayed before the Mighty One and
said, 0 my Lord, You summon the advent of the times and they stand before You;
2 You cause the power of the ages to pass away, and they do not resist You; You
arrange the method (progress / procedures) of the seasons, and they obey You.
3 You alone know the duration of the generations, and You do not reveal Your
mysteries to many.
4 You make known the multitude of the fire, and You weigh the lightness of the
wind.
5 You explore the limit of the heights, and You scrutinize the depths of the darkness.
6 You care for the number which pass away that they may be preserved and You
prepare an habitation (abode) for those that are to be.
7 You remember the beginning which You have made, and the destruction that is to
be You do not forget. 8 With nods of fear and indignation You command the flames,
and they change into
spirits, and with a word You quicken that which was not, and with mighty power
You hold that which has not yet come.
9 You instruct created things in the understanding of You, and You make wise the
spheres (orbs / heavenly bodies) so as to minister in their orders.
10 Armies innumerable stand before You and minister in their orders quietly at Your
nod.
11 Hear Your servant and give ear to my petition.
12 For in a little time are we born, and in a little time do we return.
13 But with You hours are as a time (an age / eon) , and days as generations.
14 Be not angry with man; for he is nothing and take not account of our works; for
what are we?
15 For by Your gift we come into the world, and we depart not of our own will.
16 For we said not to our parents, Beget us, Nor did we send to Sheol (place of the
dead) and say, Receive us.
17 What therefore is our strength that we should bear Your rage or what are we that
we should endure Your judgment?
18 Protect us in Your compassions, and in Your mercy help us.
19 Behold the little ones that are subject to You, and save all that draw near to You:
Do not destroy the hope of our people, and do not cut short the times (occurrences)
of our aid.
20 For this is the nation which You have chosen, and these are the people, to whom
You find no equal.
21 But I will speak now before You, and I will say as my heart thinks.
22 In You do we trust, for Your law is with us and we know that we will not fall so
long as we keep Your statutes.
23 To all time are we blessed at all events in this that we have not mingled with the
Gentiles.
24 For we are all one celebrated people, who have received one law from One:
25 And the law which is among us will aid us, and the surpassing wisdom which is
in us will help us.
26 And when I had prayed and said these things, I was greatly weakened. And He
answered and said to me: You have prayed simply, 0 Baruch, and all your words
have been heard.
27 But My judgment exacts its own and My law exacts its rights.
28 For from your words I will answer you, and from your prayer I will speak to you.
29 For this is as follows: he that is corrupted is not at all (is as though he does not
exist);
30 He has acted sinfully in any way he could and has not remembered my
goodness, and has not remembered My goodness, nor accepted My long-suffering.
31 Therefore you will surely be taken up, as I before told you.
32 For that time will arise which brings affliction; for it will come and pass by with
quick vehemence, and it will be turbulent coming in the heat of indignation.
33 And it will come to pass in those days that all the inhabitants of the earth will be
moved one against another, because they do not know that My judgment has drawn
near.
34 For there will not be found many wise at that time, and the intelligent will be but
a few. Moreover, even those who know will most of all be silent.
35 And there will be many rumors and tidings, not just a few. And the actions and
deeds of spirits (phantoms) will be manifest, and many promises will be recounted.
Some of them (will prove) idle, and some of them will be confirmed.
36 And honor will be turned into shame, and strength will be humiliated into
contempt, and decency will be destroyed, and beauty will become ugliness.
37 And many will say to many at that time: "Where has the multitude of intelligence
hidden itself, and to what place has the multitude of wisdom removed itself?"
38 And while they are thinking on these things, envy will arise in those who had not
thought highly of themselves, and passion will seize him that is peaceful, and many
will be stirred up in anger to injure many, and they will rouse up armies in order to
shed blood, and in the end they will perish together with them.
39 And it will come to pass at the same time, that a change of times will manifestly
appear to every man, because in all those times they polluted themselves. and they
practiced oppression, and walked every man in his own works, and remembered not
the law of the Mighty One.
40 Therefore a fire will consume their thoughts, and in flame will the control of their
thoughts be tested; for the Judge will come and will not tarry, because each of the
inhabitants of the earth knew when he was transgressing. But because of their pride
they did not know My Law.
41 But many will certainly weep over the living more than over the dead.
42 And I answered and said: 0 Adam, what have you done to all those who are born
from you? And what will be said to the first Eve who hearkened to the serpent?
43 For all this multitude are going to corruption, nor is there any numbering of those
whom the fire will devour.
44 But again I will speak in Your presence.
45 You, 0 LORD, my Lord, know what is in Your creature.
46 Long ago You command the dust to produce Adam, and You know the number
of those who are born from him, and how far they have sinned before You, who
have existed and not confessed You as their Creator.
47 Their end will convict all of them, and Your law which they have transgressed
will reward (revenge) them on Your day.
48 But now let us dismiss the wicked and inquire about the righteous.
49 And I will recount their blessedness and not be silent in celebrating their glory,
which is reserved for them.
50 This transitory world which you live, has made you endured much labor in a
short time, so in that world to which there is no end you will receive great light.

Chapter 49

1 Nevertheless, I will again ask mercy from You, 0 Mighty One, who made all
things.
2 In what shape will those live who live in Your day? Or how will the splendor of
those who are after that time continue?
3 Will they then resume this form of the present, and put on these members which
hold us back, impeded us, and are now involved in evils, and in which evils are
consummated, or will You possibly change these things which have been in the
world as You also change the world?

Chapter 50

1 And He answered and said to me: "Hear, Baruch, this word, and write the
remembrance of all that you will learn in your heart.
2 The earth will certainly return the dead, which it now receives in order to preserve
them. It will not change their form, but it will return them in the same form it
received them, and as I delivered them to it, so will it raise them.
3 Then it will be necessary to show the living that the dead have come to life again,
and that those who had departed have returned again.
4 And when they have recognized those whom they now know, then judgment will
grow strong, and those things which were spoken of prior will come to be.

Chapter 51
1 When that appointed day has passed, the appearance of those who are condemned
will be changed and the glory of those who are justified will be shown.
2 For the appearance of those who act wickedly will become worse because they will
suffer torment.
3 But the glory of those who have now been justified in My law, who have had
understanding in their life, and who have planted the root of wisdom in their heart,
their splendor for their face will be changed and glorified. Their face will be turned
into the light of their beauty, that they may be able to take and receive the world
which does not die, which is promised to them at that time.
4 Those that rejected My law, and stopped their ears that they might not hear
wisdom or receive understanding will lament their actions over and above all things.
5 When they see those they were exalted over but who will be exalted and glorified
more than they, they will both be transformed, the latter into the splendor of angels,
and the former will waste away more as they wonder at the visions when they see
the angelic forms.
6 For they will first see these things and afterwards depart to be tormented.
7 But those who have been saved by their works, and to whom the law has been a
hope and understanding, and an expectation, and wisdom, and a confidence, will
have wonders appear in their time.
8 For they will behold the world which is now invisible to them, and they will
behold the time which is now hidden from them:
9 And time will no longer cause them to age.
10 For they will dwell in the high places of that world and they will be made like the
angels and they will be made equal to the stars, and they will be changed into every
form they desire from beauty to loveliness and from light to glorious splendor.
11 Before them the borders of Paradise will be spread out, and the beauty and
majesty of the living creatures which are beneath the throne will be shown to them.
They will see the armies of the angels who are held fast by My word, lest they
should appear and are held fast by a command, that they may stand in their places
until the time of their appearance comes.
12 There will be righteous excellence surpassing that of the angels.
13 For the first will receive the last. Those who have passed away will receive whom
they were expecting. Those who had passed away and who we had head of we
should expect to see.
14 For they have been delivered from the tribulation of this world and laid down
their burden of anguish.
15 For what have men lost their life, and for what have those who were on the earth
exchanged their soul?
16 They did not choose the time which is beyond the reach of anguish. But they
chose that time whose results are full of lamentations and evils, and they denied the
world which does make those who come to it grow old, but they rejected the time of
glory. Thus that they will not have the honor of which I told you before."

Chapter 52

1 And I asked: How can we forget those whom are destined for sorrow?
2 Why do we mourn for those who die? Why do we weep for those who depart to
Sheol?
3 Lamentations should be reserved for the beginning of the torment to come. Let
tears be stored up for the time of destruction.
4 But even in the face of these things will I speak. What will the righteous do now?
5 Rejoice in the suffering which you now suffer. Why do you look for the decline of
your enemies?
6 Make your soul ready for what is reserved for you, and prepare your souls for the
reward which is stored up for you.

Chapter 53

1 And when I had said these things I fell asleep and I saw a vision. A cloud was
ascending from a very large sea, and I kept looking at it and I saw it was full of black
and white waters, and there were many colors in those same waters, and it looked
like powerful lightning as seen from a summit.
2 And I saw the cloud passing quickly in short courses, and it covered all the earth.
3 Then, after these things that cloud began to pour all the waters that were in it upon
the earth.
4 And I saw that all the waters which fell from it looked different.
5 To begin with, the waters were black and there was a lot for a time, and afterwards
I saw that the waters became bright, but they were not as much, and after that I
again saw black waters, and after these things again bright, and again black and
again bright how this was done twelve times, but the black were always more
numerous than the bright.
6 At the end of the cloud it rained black waters, and they were darker than had been
all those waters that were before, and fire was mingled with them, and where those
waters descended, they work devastation and destruction.
7 And after all of this I saw that lightning I had seen on the summit of the cloud
seized hold of it and hurled it to the earth.
8 Now that lightning shone very brightly so that it illuminated the whole earth, and
it healed those regions where the last waters had descended and work devastation.
9 And it took hold of the whole earth, and had dominion over it.
10 After these things I saw the twelve rivers were ascending from the sea, and they
began to surround that lightning and to become subject to it.
11 And because of my fear I awoke.

Chapter 54

1 And I besought the Mighty One, and said: You alone, 0 Lord, know the deep
things of the world before they happen. The things which occur in their times You
bring about by Your word. You speed the beginning of these times against the
works of the inhabitants of the earth, and the end of the seasons You alone know.
2 For You nothing is too hard. You do everything easily by a nod.
3 You, to whom the depths come as the heights, and whose word the beginnings of
the ages serve;
4 You, who reveal to those who fear what You prepared for them so that they may
be comforted.
5 You show great acts to those who do not know You. You break down the walls of
those who are ignorant, and You light up what is dark, and You reveal what is
hidden to the pure, who have submitted themselves to You and in Your law.
6 You have shown your servant this vision. Reveal its interpretation to me.
7 I know that for those things I have asked You about, I have received and answer.
You have revealed to me with what voice I should praise You, and with what
members of mine I should praises You and cause hallelujahs to ascend to You.
8 If my members were mouths and the hairs of my head were voices, I could not
give you adequate food of praise, nor could I worship you as is befitting. I could
never tell the glory of your beauty or praise you enough.
9 For what am I among men? Why am I counted among those who are more
excellent than I that I have heard all these marvelous things from the Most High and
numberless promises from Him who created me?
10 Blessed be my mother among those that bear, and let she that bare me be praised
among women.
11 For I will not be silent in praising the Mighty One, and with the voice of praise I
will tell His marvelous deeds.
12 For who does deeds like Your marvelous deeds, 0 God? Who comprehends Your
deep thought of life.
13 With Your counsel You govern all the creatures which Your right hand has
created. You have established every fountain of light beside You, and You have
prepared the treasures of wisdom beneath Your throne.
14 Those who do not love your law perish justly. The torment of judgment awaits
those who have not submitted themselves to Your power.
15 For though Adam first sinned and untimely brought death upon all, yet each of
those who were born from him has prepared his own soul for the torment to come,
and each one of them has chosen for himself glories to come.
16 It is certain that he who believes will receive reward.
17 But now, you wicked are bond for destruction because you will quickly be visited
because you have rejected the understanding of the Most High.
18 His works have not taught you, and you have not been convinced by the skill of
His creation which argued with you continually.
19 Adam is therefore not the cause, except for only his own soul, but each of us has
been the Adam (man) of his own soul.
20 But You, 0 Lord, explain (open) to me those things which You have revealed to
me, and inform me regarding that which I besought You.
21 For at the creation and until the end of the world, vengeance will be taken upon
those who have done wickedness according to the wickedness in them, and You will
glorify the faithful according to their faithfulness.
22 For those who are among Your own You rule, and those who sin You blot out
from among Your own.

Chapter 55

1 Then, when I had finished speaking the words of this prayer I sat there under a
tree that I might rest in the shade of the branches.
2 And I wondered and was amazed as I pondered the multitude of goodness which
sinners who are upon the earth have rejected, and the tremendous torment they
have hated, though they knew that they would be tormented because of the sin they
had committed.
3 And when I was thought about these things the angel Ramiel, who presides over
visions of truth, was sent to me, and he said to me:
4 Why does your heart trouble you, Baruch, and why do you have disturbing
thoughts?
5 If the report you have only heard regarding judgment moved you so much what
will you do when you see it manifest before yours eyes?
6 And if you expect the day of the Mighty One and you are so overcome just by the
expectation, what will you do when you come to its actual occurrence?
7 If at the mention of the announcement of the torment of those who have done
foolishly, you are so completely upset, how much more will you be when the event
reveals astonishing things? And if you have heard announcements of the good and
evil things which are coming and are grieved, what will you do when you behold
the majesty that will be revealed, which will convict some and cause others to
rejoice.
Chapter 56

1 Nevertheless, because you have asked the Most High to reveal to you the
interpretation of the vision you have seen, I have been sent to tell you.
2 And the Mighty One has certainly made known to you the arrangement of the
times which have passed, and are destined to pass in His world regarding those of
deceit and of those of truth from the beginning of its creation to its end.
3 As you saw, a tremendous cloud ascended from the sea, and covered the earth.
This is the duration of the world which the Mighty One made when he thought to
make the world.
4 And when the world came into being and had left His presence (area of the
throne), the time of the world was short, and was established according to the vast
intelligence of Him who sent it.
5 And as you saw before on the summit of the cloud, black waters descended
previously on the earth. This is the transgression that Adam the first man
committed.
6 For since the time he transgressed, (early) untimely death came. Grief was named
and anguish was prepared, pain was created, and trouble was born, disease took
hold, and Sheol kept demanding to be renewed in blood The birth of children was
brought about, and the passion of parents was its fruit, and the greatness of
humanity was humiliated, and goodness died.
7 What can be blacker or darker than these things?
8 This is the beginning of the black waters which you have seen.
9 From these black waters, black was derived, and from the darkness, darkness was
produced.
10 For he became a danger to his own soul and even to the angels.
11 At the time when he was created, they (the angels) enjoyed liberty.
12 But some of them descended, and mingled with the women. 13 And those who did
so were tormented in chains.
14 But the rest of the multitude of the angels, of which there is no number, restrained
themselves.
15 Those who lived on the earth perished together with them (the fallen angels)
through the waters of the flood.
16 These are the first black waters.

Chapter 57

1 And after these waters you saw bright waters. This is the spring of Abraham and
his generations and the birth of his son and his son's son and of those like them.
2 Because at that time the unwritten law was named among them. The words of the
commandments were then fulfilled. Belief in the coming judgment was then born
and hope of the world that was to be renewed was then created. The promise of life
to come was began.
3 These are the bright waters, which you have seen.

Chapter 58

1 The third black waters you have seen are the mingling of all sins, which the nations
committed after the death of those righteous men in the wickedness of the land of
Egypt where they did unrighteousness. And they made their sons serve
unrighteousness.
2 However, these also perished in the end.

Chapter 59

1 And the fourth bright waters you have seen are the birth of Moses, Aaron, Miriam,
and Joshua the sons of Nun and Caleb and of all those like them.
2 For at that time the lamp of the eternal law shone on all those who sat in darkness,
which announced to them that believe the promise of their reward, and to them that
deny, the torment of fire which is reserved for them.
3 But also the heavens at that time were shaken from their place, and those who
were under the throne of the Mighty One were disturbed, when He was taking
Moses to Himself For He showed him many reproofs along with the principles of the
law and the completion of the times, as He also showed to you. He also showed the
pattern of Zion and its size, in the pattern of which the sanctuary of the present time
was to be made.
4 But then also He showed him the size of the fire, the depths of the abyss, the
weight of the winds, the number of the drops of rain,
5 How much of (His) anger (He) holds back, and the amount of long-suffering (He
has), and the truth of (His) judgment,
6 And the origin of wisdom, the wealth of understanding, the wellspring of
knowledge,
7 The height of the air, and the greatness of Paradise, the end of the ages, and the
beginning of the day of judgment,
8 The amount of the offerings, the earths which are yet to come,
9 The mouth of Gehenna (hell), the place of vengeance, the place of faith, and the
place of hope, 10 The visions of future torment, the multitude of angelic hosts, the
flaming hosts,
the splendor of the lightning and the voice of the thunders, the orders of the captains
of the angels, the treasuries of light, and the changing of times, and the searching of
the law.
11.These are the bright fourth waters which you have seen.

Chapter 60

1 The fifth black waters you have seen rammg are the deeds the Amorites
committed, and the spells of their incantations which they performed, and the
unrighteousness contained in their mysteries, and the pollutions they mixed.
2 Even Israel was polluted by sins in the days of the judges, though they saw many
slip from Him who made them.

Chapter 61

1 And the sixth bright waters you saw is the time in which David and Solomon were
born.
2 That was the time of the building of Zion, the dedication of the sanctuary, the
shedding of much blood of the nations that sinned, and many offerings which were
given in the dedication of the sanctuary.
3 Peace and tranquility existed at that time, And wisdom was heard in the
congregation.
4 The wealth of understanding was magnified in the congregations, and the holy
feasts and ceremonies were carried out in blessings and great joy.
5 The judgment of the rulers was without guile and it was witnessed as such. The
righteous law of the Mighty One was accomplished with truth.
6 And the land was then loved by the Lord because its inhabitants sinned not and it
was glorified beyond all lands. At that time the city Zion ruled over all lands and
regions.
7 These are the bright waters which you have seen.

Chapter 62

1 And the seventh black waters which you have seen is the perversion brought about
by the counsel of Jeroboam, who decided to make two calves of gold:
2 And all the iniquities which kings who were after him sinfully worked,
3 And the curse of Jezebel and the worship of idols which Israel practiced at that
time.
4 The withholding of rain, and the famines which occurred until women ate the fruit
of their wombs,
5 And the time of their captivity which came upon the nine tribes and a half tribe
because they were in many sins.
6 Then, Salmanasar, King of Assyria, came and led them away captive.
7 But regarding the Gentiles, how they always were sinful and wicked, and always
unrighteousness would be wearisome to tell
8 These are the seventh black waters which you have seen.

Chapter 63

1 And the eighth bright waters you have seen is the correction and uprightness of
Hezekiah King of Judah and the grace of God which came upon him. 2 When
Sennacherib was aggressing in order to kill Hezekiah the deadly rage of
Sennacherib troubled Hezekiah because a great population of the nations were with
him .
3 When Hezekiah the king heard those things which the king of Assyria was
devising and how he planned to come and seize him and destroy his people, the two
and a half tribes which remained and how he wished to overthrow Zion Hezekiah
trusted in his works, and had hope in his righteousness, and spoke with the Mighty
One and said:
4 "Look! Sennacherib is prepared to destroy us, and he will boast and strut when he
has destroyed Zion."
5 And the Mighty One heard him because Hezekiah was wise and so He listened to
his prayer because he was righteous.
6 Then the Mighty One commanded Ramiel, His angel, who speaks with you.
7 And I went out and destroyed their population, whose count of their chiefs alone
was a hundred and eighty-five thousand, and each one of them had an equal
number that he commanded.
8 And at that time I burned their bodies from the inside out, but their clothing and
weapons I preserved outwardly so that more wonderful deeds of the Mighty One
might be seen, and that because of this His name might be spoken of throughout the
whole earth.
9 And Zion was saved and Jerusalem delivered and Israel was freed from
tribulation.
10 And all those who were in the holy land rejoiced, and the name of the Mighty
One was mentioned and glorified.
11 These are the bright waters which you have seen.

Chapter 64

1 "The ninth black waters which you saw was all the wickedness which was in the
days of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah.
2 His deed showed that he had no regard for God. He killed the righteous people,
and he forcibly stole away judgment. He shed the blood of the innocent. He violently
raped women, he overturned the altars and destroyed their offerings. He drove out
their priests so that they could not minister in the sanctuary.
3 He made an image with five faces: four of them looked to the four winds, and the
fifth on the top of the image was a passionate enemy of the Mighty One.
4 Then rage went out from the presence of the Mighty One to the intent that Zion
should be pulled up by its roots, just like it happened in your days.
5 A decree went out from God against the two tribes and a half tribe that they
should also be led away captive, as you have now seen.
6 The impiety of Manasseh increased greatly to the point that it removed the praise
of the Most High from the sanctuary.
7 Because of this Manasseh was then named "the impious", and finally his dwelling
was in the fire.
8 For though his prayer was heard by the Most High, finally, when he was thrown
into the brass horse and the brass horse was then melted, it was meant as a sign to
him for that time.
9 He had not lived perfectly. He was not worthy but this was done so that he might
know by whom he should be tormented in the end.
10 For He who is able to reward is also able to torment. Chapter 65
1 Manasseh acted without regard for God, and thought that in his time the Mighty
One would not look into these things.
2 These are the ninth black waters which you saw.

Chapter 66

1 “And the tenth bright waters which you have seen is the purity of the generations
of Josiah King of Judah, who was the only one at the time who submitted himself to
the Mighty One with all his heart and with all his soul.
2 He cleansed the land from idols, and sanctified all the vessels which had been
polluted, and restored the offerings to the altar, and the horn of the holy was lifted,
and he exalted the righteous, and honored all that were wise in understanding, and
brought back the priests to their ministry, and destroyed and removed the magicians
and enchanters and necromancers from the land.
3 He killed the sinners that were living and they also took from the sepulchers the
bones of the dead and burned them with fire.
4 He established the festivals and the Sabbaths in their sanctity. He burned their
polluted ones in the fire and the lying prophets which deceived the people were also
burned in the fire, and the people who listened to them when they were living, he
threw them into the brook Cedron, and heaped stones upon them.
5 And he was zealous with passion for the Mighty One with all his soul. He alone
was steadfast in the law at that time, so that he left none that was uncircumcised, or
that sinned in all the land, all the days of his life.
6 Therefore he will receive an eternal reward, and he will be glorified with the
Mighty One beyond many at a later time.
7 For on his account and on account of those who are like him were the honorable
glories, of which you was told before, created and prepared.
8 These are the bright waters which you have seen.

Chapter 67

1 And the eleventh black waters which you have seen is the calamity which is now
befalling Zion.
2 Do you think that there is no anguish to the angels in the presence of the Mighty
One because Zion was delivered up in such a way or that the Gentiles boast in their
hearts, and amass before their idols? The gentiles say, 'she who so often trod down is
now trodden down and she who reduced others to slavery is now a slave herself.
3 Do you think that in these things the Most High rejoices, or that His name is
glorified?
4 But how will it effect His righteous judgment?
5 Yet after these things the gentile will seize and scatter them in the tribulation and
they will dwell in shame in every place.
6 Because Zion is delivered up and Jerusalem has been laid waste, idols prosper in
the cities of the Gentiles, and the cloud of smoke from the incense of the
righteousness which the commands is now extinguished in Zion. In every place in
and surrounding Zion there is the smoke of sin.
7 The King of Babylon who has now destroyed Zion will arise, and he will boast
about being ruler over the people, and he will speak great things in his heart in the
presence of the Most High. 8 But he will fall in the end. These are the black waters.

Chapter 68

1 The twelfth bright waters which you have seen is the word.
2 After these things occur a time will come when your people will fall into distress,
so that they will all run the risk of perishing together.
3 Nevertheless, they will be saved, and their enemies will fall in their presence.
4 In time they will have much joy.
5 After a little space of time Zion will be built again, and its offerings will be restored
again, and the priests will return to their ministry, and the Gentiles will come to
glorify it, but not as fully as they did in the beginning.
6 After these things there will be the fall of many nations.
8 These are the bright waters which you have seen."

Chapter 69

1 The last waters which you have seen were darker than all that were before them.
Those were after the twelfth number were collected together. They belong to the
entire world.
2 The Most High made division from the beginning, because He alone knows what
will happen due to the depth and breadth of the sin which will be committed before
Him. He foresaw six kinds of them.
5 He also foresaw six kinds of good works of the righteous which will be
accomplished before Him. They wiII go beyond those which He will work at the end
and conclusion of the age.
6 For Him there were not black waters with black, nor bright with bright; because it
is the end.

Chapter 70

1 Hear the interpretation of the last black waters which are to come after the all
other black waters. This is the word.
2 The days will come when the time of the age is ripe that is the harvest of evil and
good seeds. This is what the Mighty One will bring upon the earth and its
inhabitants and upon its rulers. It is disturbing to the spirit and lethargy of heart.
3 They will hate one another, and provoke one another to fight, and the cruel will
rule over the honorable, and those of low status will be honored above the famous.
4 Many will be delivered into the hands of the few, and those who were nothing will
rule over the strong. The poor will have abundance beyond the rich, and the wicked
will exalt themselves above the heroic.
5 The wise will be silent, and the foolish will speak. The ideas of men will not be
heeded, nor will the counsel of the mighty. The hope of those who hope be will not
be rewarded.
6 And when those things which were predicted have come to pass confusion will fall
upon all men. Some of them will fall in battle, some of them will die in torment and
pain, and some of them wiII be destroyed by their own people.
7 Then the Most High will reveal those peoples whom He has prepared from before
and they will come and make war with the leaders that will be left.
8 And whosoever survives the war will die in the earthquake, and whosoever
survives the earthquake will be burned by the fire, and whosoever survives the fire
will be destroyed by famine. 9 But whosoever of the victors and the' vanquished survives
and escapes all these
things mentioned before will be delivered into the hands of My servant Messiah.
10 For all the earth will devour its inhabitants.

Chapter 71

1 And the holy land will have mercy on its own, and it will protect its inhabitants at
that time.
2 This is the vision you have seen and this is the interpretation.
3 I have come to tell you these things because your prayer has been heard by the
Most High.

Chapter 72

1 Listen, regarding the bright lightning which is to come at the end, after the black
waters. This is the word.
2 Mter the signs which you were told of before, when the nations become turbulent,
and the time of My Messiah is come, he will summon all the nations. Some of them
he will spare, and some of them he will kill.
3 These things will come upon the nations which are spared by Him.
4 Every nation which does not know Israel and has not trodden down the seed of
Jacob will be spared.
5 This is because some out of every nation will be subjected to your people.
6 But all those who have ruled over you or have known you will be given up to the
sword.

Chapter 73

1 When He has brought everything that is in the world low and has sat down on the
throne of His kingdom in peace for the dispensation, joy will be revealed and rest
will appear.
2 Healing will descend in the dew and disease will go away and anxiety, pain and
sorrow will vanish from among men. Gladness will go forth through the whole
earth.
3 And no one will again die before his time (young) nor will adversity suddenly
befall any.
4 Judgments, reproach, arguments, revenge, spilling of blood, passions, envy,
hatred, and things like these will be condemned when they are removed.
5 For it is these very things which have filled this world with evils. On account of
these the life of man has been greatly troubled.
6 Wild beasts will come from the forest and minister to men, asps and dragons
(serpents) will come out from their holes to submit themselves to a little child.
7 Women will no longer then have pain when they bear children or suffer torment
when they yield the fruit of the womb.

Chapter 74

1 In those days the reapers will not grow weary, nor those that build be weary from
work. The works will quicken itself and speed those who do the work and give
them much tranquility.
2 That which is corruptible will be destroyed. It is the beginning of that which is not
corruptible.
3 Those things predicted will belong to this age. It is far removed from evil and near
to things eternal.
4 This is the bright lightning which came after the last dark waters."

Chapter 75

1 And I asked: Lord, Who can understand Your goodness? For it is

incomprehensible.
2 Who can look into your compassions, which are infinite?
3 Who can understand Your intelligence?
4 Who is able to explain the thoughts of Your mind?
5 Who of those born can hope to attain those things unless to him are merciful and
gracious?
6 Certainly if You did not have compassion on those who are under Your right hand
they could not come to those things. Only those who are in the numbers you named
can be called.
7 We who exist know why we have come and so we submit ourselves to Him who
brought us out of Egypt. We will come again and remember those things which have
passed. We will rejoice in what has been.
8 But if we do not know why we have come and if we do not recognize the kingdom
of Him who brought us up out of Egypt, we will have to come again and seek after
those things which have been now. We will be grieved with pain again because of
those things which have befallen.

Chapter 76

1 And He answered and said to me: This vision has been revealed and interpreted to
you as you asked me to do, now hear the word of the Most High that you may know
what is to befall you after these things.
2 You will surely leave this earth, but not by death, but you will be preserved until
the end of the age (times).
3 Go up to the top of that mountain, and all the regions of that land, and the figure of
the inhabited world, and the tops of the mountains, and the depth of the valleys, and
the depths of the seas, and the number of the rivers will pass before you so that you
may see what you are leaving, and to what place you are going. Now this will
happen after forty days.
4 Go now during these days and teach the people as much as you are able so that
they may learn and not die at the last age but they may learn in order that they may
live at the last age."

Chapter 77

1 And I, Baruch, went from there and came to the people, and assembled them
together from the greatest to the least, and said to them:
2 Hear, children of Israel! See how many of you are who remain of the twelve tribes
of Israel.
3 To you and to your fathers the Lord gave a law more excellent than to all peoples.
4 Because your brethren transgressed the commandments of the Most High, He
brought vengeance upon you and upon them. He did not spare the former, and the
latter also He gave into slavery.
5 He did not leave a trace of them. But you are here with me.!
6 If you direct your ways correctly you will not depart as your brethren departed,
but they will come back to you.
7 You worship He who is full of mercy. Your hope is in Him who is gracious and
true. He will do good and not evil.
8 Have you not seen what has befallen Zion?
9 Do you think that the place (area/location) had sinned and that is why it was
overthrown? Did you think that the land had performed foolishness and that
because of this it was delivered up?
10 Don't you know it was because of you who sinned, that those things which did
not sin were overthrown? It was because of you who performed wickedness that
those thing which did not do foolish acts were delivered up to its enemies?
11 All the people answered and said to me, We can recall the good things which the
Mighty One has done for (to) us. We do recall them. There are these things and those
things which we do not remember that He in His mercy knows.
12 In spite of this, please do this for us, your people, write to our brethren in Babylon
an letter of (religious) teaching and a scroll containing hope so that you may confirm
them before you leave us.
13 The religious leaders (shepherds) of Israel have died, and the lamps which gave
light are extinguished, and the fountains from which we drank have withheld their
stream.
14 We are left in the darkness among the trees of the forest, the thirst of the
wilderness."
15 And I answered and said to them: Shepherds and lamps and fountains come from
the law: And though we leave, yet the law remains.
16 If you have respect for the law, and are determined to become wise, a lamp will
not be lacking, and a shepherd (religious leader) will not fail, and a fountain will not
dry up.
17 I will write also to your brethren in Babylon, and I will send by means of men,
and I will write in like manner to the nine tribes and a half, and send by means of a
bird.
18 And on twenty-first day in the eighth month that I, Baruch, came and sat down
under the oak under the shadow of the branches, and no man was with me, but I
was alone.
19 And I wrote these two letters; one I sent by an eagle to the nine and a half tribes;
20 And the other I sent to those that were at Babylon by means of three men.
21 And I called the eagle and spoke these words to it: The Most High has made you
that you should be higher than all birds.
22 Now go and do not stop in any place, nor enter a nest, nor settle upon any tree,
till you have passed over the breadth of the many waters of the river Euphrates, and
have gone to the people that dwell there, and drop down to them this letter.
23 Remember that at the time of the deluge Noah received the fruit of the olive from
a dove when he sent it out from the ark.
24 The ravens also ministered to Elijah, bringing him food as they had been
commanded.
25 Solomon, in the time of his kingdom, when he wished to send or seek for
anything, commanded a bird to go out and it obeyed him as he commanded it.
26 So do not tire, and do not turn to the right hand nor the left, but fly and go by a
direct way, that you may preserve the command of the Mighty One, according as I
said to you.

Chapter 78

1 These are the words of that letter which Baruch the son of Neriah sent to the nine
and a half tribes, which were across the river Euphrates, in which these things were
written.
2 Baruch the son of Neriah says to the brethren carried into captivity: "Mercy and
peace."
3 I bear in mind, my brethren, the love of Him who created us, who loved us from
ancient times, and never hated us, but above all taught us.
4 And truly I know that all of us in the twelve tribes are bound by one bond,
inasmuch as we are born from one father.
5 Because of this 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 come
upon you, and also that you may be grieved regarding the evil that has befallen your
brethren; and also that you may justify (understand and accept) His judgment which
He has decreed against you that you should be carried away captives. What you
have suffered is a sentence disproportionably greater than what you have done. But
this was done in order that, at the last times, you may be found worthy of your
fathers.
6 So, if you consider that you have now suffered those things for your good, that you
may not be condemned and tormented in the end, then you will receive eternal
hope. But you must remove from your heart all error and vanity, for it was because
of this you departed from here.
7 If you so do these things He will never forget you. He who gave His promise to
those greater than us but on our behalf, that He will never forget or forsake us, but
will gather together again those who were dispersed with much mercy.

Chapter 79

1 Now, my brethren, learn first what befell Zion and how Nebuchadnezzar King of
Babylon came up against us.
2 For we have sinned against Him who made us, and we have not kept the
commandments which he ordered us to keep. Yet he has not chastened us as we
deserved.
3 For what befell you we also suffer in a the highest degree, for it happened to us
also.

Chapter 80

1 And now, my brethren, I reveal to you that when the enemy had surrounded the
city the angels of the Most High were sent, and they collapsed the fortifications of
the strong wall and they destroyed the solid iron corners, which could not be pulled
up.
2 Nevertheless, they hid all the vessels of the sanctuary, to prevent the enemy from
possessing them.
3 And when they had done these things, they delivered to the enemy the collapsed
wall, and the plundered house, and the burnt temple, and the people who were
overcome because they were delivered up. They did this so the enemy could not
boast and say: “In war. by force have we been able to lay waste to the house of the
Most High."
4 They also have bound your brethren and led away them to Babylon, and have
forced them to live there.
5 But we, being very few, have been left here ..
6 This is the tribulation about which I wrote to you.
7 And certainly I know that alleviation of the pain of the inhabitants of Zion consoles
you. You knew that they prospered so your consolation was greater than the
tribulation which you endured in having to leave it.

Chapter 81

1 But regarding consolation, listen to my word.

2 I was grieving regarding Zion, and I prayed for mercy from the Most High, and I
said:
3 How long will these things last for us? Will we always have these evils on us?"
4 The Mighty One acted according out of the multitude of His mercies and according
to the vastness of His compassion. He revealed to me His word so that my suffering
would be relieved. He showed me visions that I should not again endure anguish.
He made known to me the mystery of the times. And the advent of the hours he
showed me.

Chapter 82

1 Therefore, my brethren, I have written to you, that you may comfort yourselves
regarding the multitude of tribulations.
2 You know that our Maker will certainly avenge us and do to our enemies
according to all that they have done to us. The end, which the Most High will make
is very near will bring His mercy and the final result of His judgment is by no means
far off.
3 For now we see the numerous prosperity of the Gentiles, even though they act
sinfully and they are like a vapor.
4 We see their great power, even though they act wickedly, But they will become like
a drop (of water).
5 We see the strength of their might, even though they resist the Mighty One every
hour. But they will be considered as spittle.
6 We consider the glory of their greatness, though they do not keep the statutes of
the Most High. But as smoke will they pass away.
7 And we think about the beauty of theirs gracefulness, even though they give it
with pollutions. But as grass that withers will they fade away.
8 And we consider the strength of their cruelty, though they do not remember what
it brought or how it ended. But as a wave that passes (through them) they will be
broken.
9 And we remark about how the brag about being mighty although they deny that it
was God that gave it to them. But they will disappear like a passing cloud.

Chapter 83

1 Most High will certainly speed up His times, and He will bring on His hours.
2 He will judge those who are in His world with certainty, and visit truth on all their
hidden works.
3 He will examine the secret thoughts, and those things of all the members of man
which they laid up in the secret chambers. He will make them appear in the presence
of all with reproof.
4 Allow none of these present things to ascend into your hearts, but above all let us
be expectant because that which is promised to us will come.
5 Do not let us look to the delights of the Gentiles now but let us remember what has
been promised to us in the end.
6 For the end of the times and of the seasons and whatever is with them will cease
together.
7 The conclusion of the age will show the tremendous strength of its ruler, when all
things come to judgment.
8 Prepare your hearts for that which you have believed or you will be in bondage in
both worlds and you be led away captive here and be tormented there.
9 That which is now or which was, or which will come, is the evil fully evil, nor the
good fully good.
10 For all your health of this time are turning into sickness, and all strength of this
time is turning into weakness, and all the power of this time is turning into
impotence, and the energy of youth is turning into old age and death.
11 Every beauty of gracefulness of this time is becoming faded and hateful, and
every prideful kingdom of this time is turning into humiliation and shame, and
every praise of the glory of this time is turning into the embarrassment of silence,
and every empty bragging insult of this time is turning into a mute ruin.
12 Every delight and joy of this time is turning to worms and decay, and every noise
of the proud of this time is turning into dust and lethargy.
13 Every possession of riches of this time is being turned into Sheol (hell) alone, and
all the yearning of passion of this time is turning into death, and every lustful desire
of this time is turning into judgment with torment.
14 Every trick and craftiness of this time is turning into a proof of the truth. Every
sweet ointment of this time is turning into judgment and condemnation, and every
love of lying is turning to rudely to the truth.
15 Since all these things are done now does anyone think that they will not be
avenged? The consummation of all things will come to the truth.

Chapter 84

1 Because of these things I have revealed to you this while I am still alive. I have said
these things that you should learn the things that are excellent, for the Mighty One
has commanded me to instruct you. So I will set before you some of the
commandments of His judgment before I die.
2 Do not forget that Moses called heaven and earth to witness against you and said:
3 If you transgress the law you will be dispersed, but if you keep it you will be
kept." He also used to say these things to you when you, the twelve tribes, were
together in the desert.
4 After his death you threw them away from you and because of this there came
upon you what had been predicted.
5 Moses used to tell you tell you what would befall you, and now you see they have
befallen you because you have forsaken the law.
6 Now, I also say to you after you have suffered, that if you obey those things which
have been said to you, you will receive from the Mighty One whatever has been laid
up and waiting for you.
7 Let this letter be for a testimony between me and you so that you may remember
the commandments of the Mighty One and that there may be to me a defense in the
presence of Him who sent me.
8 And remember the law and Zion, the holy land, your brethren, and the covenant of
your fathers. Do not forget the festivals and the sabbaths.
9 Deliver this letter and the traditions of the law to your sons after you, as also your
fathers delivered them to you.
10 At all times make requests and pray diligently and unceasingly with your whole
heart that the Mighty One may hold nothing against you, and that He may not count
the multitude of your sins, but instead remember the rectitude of your fathers.
11 If He doe not judges us according to the multitude of His mercies, woe to all us
who are born.

Chapter 85

1 Do you not know that in the past and in the generations of old our fathers had
helpers? They were righteous men and holy prophets.
2 We were in our own land and they helped us when we sinned, and they interceded
for us with Him who made us, because they trusted in their works, and the Mighty
One heard their prayer and forgave us.
3 But now the righteous have been gathered and the prophets have fallen asleep, and
we also have gone out from the land, and Zion has been taken from us, and we have
nothing now except the Mighty One and His law.
4 If therefore we direct and commit our hearts we will receive everything that we
lost, and much better things than we lost by many times.
5 For what we have lost would decay, but what we will receive will not be
corruptible.
6 Also, I have written to our brethren to Babylon that to them also I may testify to
these very things.
7 Let all those things I said before be always before your eyes, because we are still in
the spirit and the power of our liberty.
8 The Most High is long-suffering towards us here, and He has shown us what is to
be, and has not concealed from us what will happen in the end.
9 Before judgment takes its own (costs), and truth that which is its due, let us
prepare our souls so that we may possess and not be taken as a possession and that
we may hope and not be put to shame, and that we may rest with our fathers, and
not be tormented with our enemies.
10 For the youth of the world is past, and the strength of the creation already
exhausted, and the occurrence of the times is very short because they have already
passed by. The pitcher is near to the cistern, and the ship to the port, and the course
of the journey nears the city, and life to its conclusion.
11 Prepare your souls, so that when you sail and ascend from the ship you may have
rest and not be condemned when you depart.
12 When the Most High will bring about all these things there will not be a place left
for repentance, nor a limit to the times or a duration for the hours, or a change of
ways, or a place to pray, or a way to send pleas, or to receive knowledge, or give of
love. There will be no place of repentance for the soul, nor prayers for offences, nor
intercession of the fathers, nor prayer of the prophets, nor help of the righteous.
13 There is the sentence of decay, the way of fire, and the path which leads to
Gehenna (place of burning/ hell/ destruction).
14 There is one law (made ) by one. There is one age and an end for all who are in it.
15 Then He will save those whom He can forgive, and at the same time destroy those
who are polluted with sins.

Chapter 86

1 When you receive this, my letter, read it in your congregations with care.
2 Meditate on it, and above all do this on the days of your fasts.
3 Keep me in mind by means of this letter, as I also keep you in mind in it, always.
Fare you well.

Chapter 87

1 And when I had ended all the words of this letter, and had written it without tiring
to its close, that I folded it, and sealed it carefully, and bound it to the neck of the
eagle, and dismissed it and sent it.