Second Baruch

And it came to pass on the following day,

and behold, the army of the Chaldeans surrounded the city.

And in the evening time,

I, Baruch, left the people,

and went out and stood by the oak.

And I was grieving over Zion

and groaning

over the captivity that had come upon the people.

And behold, suddenly,

a spirit of power lifted me up

and carried me high above the wall of Jerusalem.

And I looked, and behold, four angels standing at

the four corners of the city,

each one of them holding a torch of fire in his hands.

And another angel descended from heaven and said to them:

“Hold your torches and do not kindle them,

until I tell you.

For I have been sent first to speak a word to the earth,

and deposit with it what the Lord Most High commanded me.”

And I saw him descend into the Holy

of Holies,

and take from there the veil,

and the holy ephod,

and the mercy seat,

and the two tablets,

and the holy garments

of the priests,

and the censer,

and the forty-eight precious stones

which the priest used to wear, and all the holy vessels of the tabernacle.

And he said to the earth with a loud voice:

“Earth, earth,

earth, hear the word

of God,

the Mighty One,

and receive these things which I commit to you,

and keep them until the last times,

so that, when you are commanded, you may produce them,

lest strangers gain possession of them.

For the time has arrived when Jerusalem also shall be delivered up for a time,

until it is said that it is restored again forever."

And the earth opened its mouth

and swallowed them up.