Baruch, 2

1. Therefore the Lord hath made good his word, which he pronounced against us, and against our judges that judged Israel, and against our kings, and against our princes, and against the men of Israel and Juda,

1. That is why the Lord our God has carried out the word which he spoke against us, against the judges who have governed Israel, against our kings, our princes and the men of Israel and Judah.

2. To bring upon us great plagues, such as never happened under the whole heaven, as it came to pass in Jerusalem, according to the things that were written in the law of Moses;

2. No one under the sky has ever seen the like of what happened in Jerusalem, according to what is written in the book of Moses.

3. That a man should eat the flesh of his own son, and the flesh of his own daughter.

3. For people among us came to eat their son's and daughter's flesh.

4. Moreover he hath delivered them to be in subjection to all the kingdoms that are round about us, to be as a reproach and desolation among all the people round about, where the Lord hath scattered them.

4. And he handed them over into the power of all the surrounding kingdoms, so that they were cursed and humiliated among the neighboring peoples among whom the Lord had scattered them.

5. Thus we were cast down, and not exalted, because we have sinned against the Lord our God, and have not been obedient unto his voice.

5. Submission and not command has been our lot, because we have sinned against the Lord our God and have not listened to his voice.

6. To the Lord our God appertaineth righteousness: but unto us and to our fathers open shame, as appeareth this day.

6. Just is the Lord our God, whereas shame and confusion befit us and our fathers right down to this day.

7. For all these plagues are come upon us, which the Lord hath pronounced against us

7. All those evils which the Lord prophesied concerning us have fallen upon us.

8. Yet have we not prayed before the Lord, that we might turn every one from the imaginations of his wicked heart.

8. And we have not begged the Lord to make each of us turn away from the thoughts of our evil hearts.

9. Wherefore the Lord watched over us for evil, and the Lord hath brought it upon us: for the Lord is righteous in all his works which he hath commanded us.

9. Then the Lord kept watch over the evils and allowed them to come upon us, for the Lord is just in all that he has commanded us to do.

10. Yet we have not hearkened unto his voice, to walk in the commandments of the Lord, that he hath set before us.

10. We have not listened to his voice nor followed the commands which the Lord has ordered us to keep.

11. And now, O Lord God of Israel, that hast brought thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and high arm, and with signs, and with wonders, and with great power, and hast gotten thyself a name, as appeareth this day:

11. And now, Lord God of Israel, you who brought your people out of Egypt with a strong hand, with miracles and wonders and great power, you who stretched out your arm and made for yourself a name such as you have today,

12. O Lord our God, we have sinned, we have done ungodly, we have dealt unrighteously in all thine ordinances.

12. we have sinned. We have been godless and unjust, Lord, careless about all your commands.

13. Let thy wrath turn from us: for we are but a few left among the heathen, where thou hast scattered us.

13. May your fury be turned away from us, for there are very few of us left among the nations in which you have scattered us.

14. Hear our prayers, O Lord, and our petitions, and deliver us for thine own sake, and give us favour in the sight of them which have led us away:

14. Hear our supplication and our prayer, O Lord, deliver us for your own honor and let us find favor with those who deported us.

15. That all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God, because Israel and his posterity is called by thy name.

15. Let all the earth know that you are the Lord our God, because Israel and its people bear your name.

16. O Lord, look down from thine holy house, and consider us: bow down thine ear, O Lord, to hear us.

16. Lord, look down from your holy dwelling place and think of us; Lord, incline your ear and listen;

17. Open thine eyes, and behold; for the dead that are in the graves, whose souls are taken from their bodies, will give unto the Lord neither praise nor righteousness:

17. Lord, open your eyes and consider: it is not the dead, lying in the netherworld, who will praise your glory and justice,

18. But the soul that is greatly vexed, which goeth stooping and feeble, and the eyes that fail, and the hungry soul, will give thee praise and righteousness, O Lord.

18. since their spirit has been taken from their breast. Grieving under his burden, and walking bowed down and exhausted, the man with eyes sore from weeping and who is hungry - these are they, who can give you glory and justice, O Lord.

19. Therefore we do not make our humble supplication before thee, O Lord our God, for the righteousness of our fathers, and of our kings.

19. For it is not on account of the merits of our fathers and of our kings that we pour out our cry for pity before you, O Lord our God.

20. For thou hast sent out thy wrath and indignation upon us, as thou hast spoken by thy servants the prophets, saying,

20. You have sent down on us your fury and your anger as you announced through your servants, the prophets, saying,

21. Thus saith the Lord, Bow down your shoulders to serve the king of Babylon: so shall ye remain in the land that I gave unto your fathers.

21. "Thus says the Lord: Bend your shoulders and serve the king of Babylon and you will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers.

22. But if ye will not hear the voice of the Lord, to serve the king of Babylon,

22. But if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord your God and serve the king of Babylon,

23. I will cause to cease out of the cites of Judah, and from without Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: and the whole land shall be desolate of inhabitants.

23. I will bring to an end in the towns of Judah and in Jerusalem the song of joy and gladness, the song of the bridegroom and the bride, and the whole country will become a desert without inhabitants.

24. But we would not hearken unto thy voice, to serve the king of Babylon: therefore hast thou made good the words that thou spakest by thy servants the prophets, namely, that the bones of our kings, and the bones of our fathers, should be taken out of their place.

24. We did not listen to your invitation to serve the king of Babylon and so you carried out what you had foretold by your servants, the prophets, that the bones of our kings and our fathers would be taken from their graves.

25. And, lo, they are cast out to the heat of the day, and to the frost of the night, and they died in great miseries by famine, by sword, and by pestilence.

25. See, they have been exposed to the heat of the day and the cold of the night; they died in cruel sufferings, by famine, by the sword and by plagues.

26. And the house which is called by thy name hast thou laid waste, as it is to be seen this day, for the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Juda.

26. And you have reduced the nation which bears your name to the state in which it is today because of the wickedness of the people of Judah.

27. O Lord our God, thou hast dealt with us after all thy goodness, and according to all that great mercy of thine,

27. However, you have acted towards us, O Lord our God, indulgently and with great tenderness,

28. As thou spakest by thy servant Moses in the day when thou didst command him to write the law before the children of Israel, saying,

28. as you foretold by your servant Moses, the day you ordered him to write down your Law in the presence of the children of Israel saying:

29. If ye will not hear my voice, surely this very great multitude shall be turned into a small number among the nations, where I will scatter them.

29. If you do not listen to my voice, this great and vast multitude will be reduced to a small remnant among the nations where I shall scatter them;

30. For I knew that they would not hear me, because it is a stiffnecked people: but in the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves.

30. for I know well that they will not listen to me because they are a stiff-necked people. But in the land of their exile their hearts will be converted

31. And shall know that I am the Lord their God: for I will give them an heart, and ears to hear:

31. and they will know that I am the Lord their God.

32. And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and think upon my name,

32. And I will give them a heart and listening ears, that they may praise me in the land of their exile and remember my name.

33. And return from their stiff neck, and from their wicked deeds: for they shall remember the way of their fathers, which sinned before the Lord.

33. They will repent of their stiff-necked obstinacy and their evil deeds, because they will remember what happened to their fathers who had sinned before the Lord.

34. And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an oath unto their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they shall be lords of it: and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished.

34. And I will lead them into the land which I have promised by oath to their fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and they will take possession of it. I will increase their number and it will no longer diminish.

35. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God, and they shall be my people: and I will no more drive my people of Israel out of the land that I have given them.

35. I will make with them an everlasting covenant; I will be their God and they shall be my people. I will no longer drive my people Israel from the land which I have given them.