Second Baruch

And he answered and said to me:

Baruch,

this is the interpretation of the vision which you saw.

Just as you saw

a forest,

vast, which was surrounded by

mountains

high and rugged,

this is the word:

Behold, the days are coming,

and this kingdom which once destroyed Zion will be destroyed,

and it will be subjected to the one that comes after it.

Moreover, that one also, after a time, will be destroyed,

and another, a third, will arise,

and it also will rule in its time and will be destroyed.

And after these things a fourth kingdom will arise, whose dominion will be harsh

and evil, more than

those

which were before it,

and it will hold sway for many times.

like the forests of the plain,

and it will hold sway over

the times,

and it will be exalted more than the cedars of Lebanon.

And in it truth will be hidden,

and all those who are polluted with iniquity will flee to it,

as evil beasts flee and creep into the forest.

And it will come to pass, when the time of its consummation draws near that it should fall,

then will be revealed

the principality

of my Messiah,

which is like the fountain and the vine.

And when it is revealed, it will uproot the multitude of its host.

And as for what you saw: the lofty cedar that was left from that forest,

and that the vine spoke with it these words

which you heard,

this is the meaning: