4 Baruch

Chapter 3

  1. 1 And when the hour of the night was come, as the Lord had told Jeremiah, Jeremiah and Baruch went up together upon the walls of the city.
  2. 2 And there was a sound of a trumpet, and angels came forth out of heaven holding torches in their hands, and they stood upon the walls of the city.
  3. 3 And when Jeremiah and Baruch saw them, they wept, saying: Now we know that the word is true.
  4. 4 And Jeremiah besought the angels, saying: I beseech you, destroy not the city yet, until I speak a word unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto the angels: Destroy not the city until I speak with my chosen one Jeremiah. And Jeremiah said: I pray thee, Lord, bid me speak before thee.
  5. 5 And the Lord said: Speak, my chosen one Jeremiah.
  6. 6 And Jeremiah said: Behold now, Lord, we know that thou art delivering thy city into the hands of its enemies, and they shall carry the people away to Babylon.
  7. 7 What shall we do with thy holy things, and with the vessels of thy service? What wilt thou have us do with them?
  8. 8 And the Lord said unto him: Take them and deliver them to the earth and to the altar, saying: Hear, O earth, the voice of him that created thee in the abundance of the waters, who sealed thee with seven seals in seven seasons, and after these things thou shalt receive thy beauty: keep the vessels of the service until the gathering of the beloved.
  9. 9 And Jeremiah spake: I beseech thee, Lord, shew me what I shall do for Abimelech the Ethiopian; for he hath done many kindnesses to the people and to thy servant Jeremiah, for it was he that drew me up out of the pit of mire. And I would not have him see the destruction and the desolation of the city, but would have him spared that grief.
  10. 10 And the Lord said unto Jeremiah: Send him to the vineyard of Agrippa by the mountain road, and I will shelter him until I return the people to the city.
  11. 11 And the Lord said unto Jeremiah: Go with thy people unto Babylon, and abide with them, bringing them good tidings, until I return them to the city.
  12. 12 But leave Baruch here, until I speak with him.
  13. 13 When the Lord had said these things, he went up from Jeremiah into heaven.
  14. 14 And Jeremiah and Baruch went into the sanctuary, and delivered the vessels of the service to the earth, as the Lord had told them; and in that very hour the earth swallowed them up. And the two sat down and wept.
  15. 15 And when morning was come, Jeremiah sent Abimelech away, saying: Take the basket and go to the farm of Agrippa by the mountain road, and bring a few figs and give them to the sick among the people; for the favour of the Lord is upon thee, and the glory upon thy head.
  16. 16 And he went, as he had told him.