4 Baruch

Chapter 8

  1. 1 And the day came on which God brought the people out of Babylon.
  2. 2 And the Lord said unto Jeremiah: Arise, thou and the people, and come to the Jordan, and thou shalt say to the people: Whoever desires the Lord, let him forsake the works of Babylon; and the men who took wives from among them, and the women who took husbands from among them.
  3. 3 And let those who hearken to thee cross over, and take them up to Jerusalem; but those who hearken not to thee, bring them not into it.
  4. 4 And Jeremiah spake these words to them; and they arose and came to the Jordan to cross over, he telling them the words which the Lord had spoken to him. And half of those who had married among them would not hearken to Jeremiah, but said to him: We will never forsake our wives; but we will bring them back with us into our city.
  5. 5 So they crossed the Jordan and came to Jerusalem. And Jeremiah and Baruch and Abimelech stood, saying: No man who has fellowship with the Babylonians shall enter into this city.
  6. 6 And they said to them: Let us arise and return to Babylon, to our own place. And they went.
  7. 7 And when they came to Babylon, the Babylonians came out to meet them, saying: Ye shall not enter our city, for ye hated us and went out from us in secret; therefore ye shall not come in to us. For we have sworn an oath one to another by the name of our god, to receive neither you nor your children, since ye went out from us in secret.
  8. 8 And when they understood, they turned back, and came to a desert place far from Jerusalem, and built themselves a city, and called its name Samaria.
  9. 9 And Jeremiah sent to them, saying: Repent; for an angel of righteousness is coming, and he will bring you into your high place.