4 Baruch

Chapter 5

  1. 1 And Abimelech carried the figs in the heat of the day, and coming to a tree he sat down under its shade to rest a little; and leaning his head upon the basket of figs he fell asleep, and slept sixty-six years, and did not wake from his sleep.
  2. 2 And afterward, rising from his sleep, he said: I would gladly have slept a little longer, and my head is heavy, for I have not had my fill of sleep.
  3. 3 And uncovering the basket of figs, he found them dripping with milk.
  4. 4 And he said: I would sleep a little, for my head is heavy.
  5. 5 But I fear lest I sleep and be slow to wake, and my father Jeremiah think little of me; for had he not been in haste, he would not have sent me out at dawn today.
  6. 6 I will rise therefore and go on in the heat, and go where there is no heat, nor toil every day.
  7. 7 So he rose and took up the basket of figs and laid it upon his shoulders, and went into Jerusalem; and he did not know it, neither the house, nor the place, nor his own kindred. And he said:
  8. 8 Blessed be the Lord, for a great bewilderment hath fallen upon me.
  9. 9 This is not the city; I have gone astray.
  10. 10 For I came by the mountain road when I rose from my sleep, and because my head was heavy, since I had not had my fill of sleep, I have lost the way.
  11. 11 It will be a wonder to tell this before Jeremiah, that I have lost my way.
  12. 12 And he went out from the city, and looking closely he saw the landmarks of the city, and said: This is indeed the city; yet I am astray.
  13. 13 And he went back again into the city and searched, and found none of his own.
  14. 14 And he said: Blessed be the Lord, for a great bewilderment hath fallen upon me.
  15. 15 And again he went out of the city, and stayed there grieving, not knowing where to go.
  16. 16 And he set down the basket, saying: I will sit here until the Lord take this bewilderment from me.
  17. 17 And as he sat, he saw an old man coming in from the field, and Abimelech said to him: I say unto thee, old man, what city is this? And he said to him: It is Jerusalem.
  18. 18 And Abimelech said to him: Where is Jeremiah the priest, and Baruch the reader, and all the people of this city? For I have not found them.
  19. 19 And the old man said to him: Art thou not of this city,
  20. 20 that thou rememberest Jeremiah today, and askest after him after so long a time?
  21. 21 For Jeremiah is in Babylon with the people; for they were carried away captive by Nebuchadnezzar the king, and Jeremiah is with them to bring them good tidings and to teach them the word.
  22. 22 And as soon as Abimelech heard this from the old man, he said:
  23. 23 Wert thou not an old man, and were it not unlawful for a man to insult his elder, I would laugh thee to scorn and say that thou art mad, because thou saidst: The people have been carried away captive into Babylon.
  24. 24 Even had the floodgates of heaven come down upon them, there has not yet been time to go to Babylon.
  25. 25 For how long is it since my father Jeremiah sent me to the farm of Agrippa for a few figs, that we might give them to the sick among the people?
  26. 26 And I went and fetched them, and coming to a tree in the heat I sat down to rest a little, and I leaned my head upon the basket and slept; and when I awoke I uncovered the basket of figs, thinking that I had been slow, and I found the figs dripping with milk, as when I gathered them.
  27. 27 And thou sayest that the people have been carried away captive into Babylon? But that thou mayest know,
  28. 28 take, see the figs. And he uncovered the basket of figs for the old man.
  29. 29 And he saw them dripping with milk. And when the old man saw them, he said: My son, thou art a righteous man, and God would not let thee see the desolation of the city.
  30. 30 For God brought this trance upon thee. For behold, it is sixty-six years today since the people were carried away captive into Babylon.
  31. 31 And that thou mayest learn, my child, that it is true, look up at the field and see that the growth of the crops is only now appearing; see also the figs, that it is not their season; and know.
  32. 32 Then Abimelech cried out with a loud voice, saying: I will bless thee, O Lord, God of heaven and earth, the rest of the souls of the righteous in every place.
  33. 33 And he said to the old man: What month is this? And he said: Nisan, and it is the twelfth day.
  34. 34 And taking some of the figs he gave them to the old man, and said to him: God will light thy way to the city above, Jerusalem.