Second Baruch

The Prayer of Baruch.

And it came to pass after the seventh day,

I prayed before the Mighty One and said:

O Lord, you summon the advent of the times, and they stand before you.

You cause the dominion of the ages to pass away,

and they do not resist you.

You govern the course of the seasons, and they obey you.

You alone know the span of the generations,

and you do not reveal your mysteries to the many.

You make known the multitude of fire, and the lightness of the wind

you weigh.

You explore the limit of the heights,

and the depths of the darkness you search out.

You command the number

that passes away

and is preserved,

and you prepare

a dwelling place for those who are yet to be.

You remember the beginning that you made,

and the destruction that is to come you do not forget.

With signs of fear and tempest you command

the flames, and they change into winds.

And by a word you bring into being that which was not,

and you hold that which has not yet

come

with great power.

You teach creation by your understanding,

and you make wise the heavenly bodies to minister in their orders.

Hosts without

number

stand before you and serve

in their ranks,

quietly at your command.

Hear your servant and listen to my petition.

For in a short time we were born,

and in a short time we return.

With you, however, hours are like

times,

and days like generations.

Do not,

therefore, be angry with humanity,

because they are nothing.

And do not take account of

our deeds.

For what are we?

For behold, by your gift

we came

into the world,

and we depart not by our own will.

For we did not say to our parents, 'Beget us,'

nor did we send to Sheol saying, 'Receive us.'

What then is our strength that we should bear your wrath,

or what are we that we should endure your judgment?

Protect us with your mercies,

and in your grace help us.

Look upon the little ones who are subjected to you,

and save all those who draw near to you;

and do not cut off the hope of our people,

and do not shorten the times of our help.

For this is

the people

that you have chosen,

and these are the people to whom you find no equal.

But

I will speak before you

now,

and I will say as my heart considers.

In you we trust, for behold, your law is with us,

and we know that we will not fall as long as we hold fast to your statutes.

At all times we are blessed,

even in this, that we have not mingled with the nations.

For we are all one renowned people,

who received one law from One;

and that law which is among us

helps us,

and the excellent wisdom that is in us will aid us.

And when I had prayed and said these things,

I grew very weak.

And he answered and said to me:

“You have prayed simply, O Baruch,

and all your words have been heard.

But my judgment demands what is its own,

and my law demands its due.

For from your words I will answer you,

and from your prayer I will speak with you.

For this is the case:

that

he who is corruptible was nothing,

and acted wickedly as though he were able to do something,

and did not remember my grace,

and did not accept my longsuffering.

Therefore, you shall surely be taken up,

as I told you beforehand;

and there will come

the time of which I spoke to you.

And that time which distresses will arise;

for it will come and pass by with swift violence,

and it will be turbulent as it comes in the heat of indignation.

And it will happen in those days

that they will rest,

all the inhabitants of the earth, one upon another,

because they do not know that my judgment has drawn near.

For not

For

not many wise will be found at that time,

and the intelligent will be few,

but even those who know will mostly keep silent.

And there will be many rumors, and reports not a few,

and works of phantasms will be shown,

and promises not a few will be recounted,

some of them empty,

and some of them will be confirmed.

And honor will turn into shame,

and strength will be humbled to contempt,

and will be dissolved

order,

and beauty

will become a scorn.

And many will say

to many

at that time: 'Where has the multitude of understanding hidden itself,

and whither has the multitude of wisdom departed?'

And while they are meditating on these things,

then zeal will arise in those who were not expecting

it;

and passion will seize the one who was at peace,

and many will be stirred up in anger to injure many,

and they will rouse armies to shed blood,

and with them at the end they will perish together.

And it will come to pass at that same time,

the change of the times will be clearly seen by everyone,

because in all these times they were defiled and acted oppressively,

and each one walked in his own works,

and they did not remember the law of the Mighty One.

Therefore, fire will consume their thoughts,

and with flame the meditations of their reins will be tested.

For there will come

the Judge,

and he will not delay.

Because each one of the inhabitants of the earth

knew when he was doing wrong,

and they did not know my law

because of their pride.

Then many will weep

truly,

over the living more than over the dead.

And I answered and said:

'O, what have you done,

Adam,

to all those who were born from you?

And what will be said to Eve, the first, who obeyed the serpent,

that all this multitude goes to destruction,

and there is no number to those whom the fire consumes?'

Nevertheless, I will speak again before you:

You, O Lord, my Lord, know what is in your creation.

For you in former times commanded the dust that it should produce Adam,

and you know the number of those who were born from him,

and how greatly they have sinned before you, those

who have existed,

and did not confess you as their Creator.

And concerning all these,

their end will reprove them,

and your Law, which they transgressed,

will repay them on your day.

Now, however, let us leave the wicked

and inquire concerning the righteous.

And I will recount their blessedness and will not be silent

from praising their glory,

which is preserved for them.

For truly, just as for a little while in this world

which passes away,

in which you live,

you have endured great weariness,

so in that world which has no end,

you will receive great light.