Baruch, 3

1. O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish the troubled spirit, crieth unto thee.

1. Almighty Lord, God of Israel, a soul in anguish and a discouraged spirit cries out to you.

2. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy; ar thou art merciful: and have pity upon us, because we have sinned before thee.

2. Listen, Lord, and have pity for we have sinned against you;

3. For thou endurest for ever, and we perish utterly.

3. for you reign forever while we perish forever.

4. O Lord Almighty, thou God of Israel, hear now the prayers of the dead Israelites, and of their children, which have sinned before thee, and not hearkened unto the voice of thee their God: for the which cause these plagues cleave unto us.

4. Lord, all-powerful God of Israel, listen then to the prayers of the dead of Israel. We are the sons of those who sinned against you, who did not listen to the voice of their God, and this is why disgrace has come upon us.

5. Remember not the iniquities of our forefathers: but think upon thy power and thy name now at this time.

5. Do not remember any longer the wrongdoing of our fathers, but remember at this time your power and your name;

6. For thou art the Lord our God, and thee, O Lord, will we praise.

6. for you are the Lord, our God and we will praise you, Lord.

7. And for this cause thou hast put thy fear in our hearts, to the intent that we should call upon thy name, and praise thee in our captivity: for we have called to mind all the iniquity of our forefathers, that sinned before thee.

7. That is why you have put your fear into our hearts and we call upon your name. And we will praise you in our exile for we have removed from our hearts all the wrong of our fathers who sinned against you.

8. Behold, we are yet this day in our captivity, where thou hast scattered us, for a reproach and a curse, and to be subject to payments, according to all the iniquities of our fathers, which departed from the Lord our God.

8. We are here today in our exile where you have scattered us to be insulted, cursed and condemned for the wrongdoing of our fathers, who separated themselves from the Lord our God.

9. Hear, Israel, the commandments of life: give ear to understand wisdom.

9. Listen, Israel, to the commands of life, give ear so as to learn prudence,

10. How happeneth it Israel, that thou art in thine enemies' land, that thou art waxen old in a strange country, that thou art defiled with the dead,

10. Why, Israel! Why are you in the land of your foes? Why are you growing old in a foreign country, contaminated by pagans,

11. That thou art counted with them that go down into the grave?

11. counted among those who go to the pit?

12. Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom.

12. You have abandoned the source of Wisdom.

13. For if thou hadst walked in the way of God, thou shouldest have dwelled in peace for ever.

13. If you had walked in the way of God, peace would be your dwelling place forever.

14. Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is understanding; that thou mayest know also where is length of days, and life, where is the light of the eyes, and peace.

14. Learn where is Wisdom, where is Strength and Understanding, that you may know, at the same time, where are length of days and life, light of the eyes and Peace.

15. Who hath found out her place? or who hath come into her treasures ?

15. Who will find Wisdom's dwelling? Who will enter her storage rooms?

16. Where are the princes of the heathen become, and such as ruled the beasts upon the earth;

16. Where are the leaders of the nations, those who commanded the beasts of the earth,

17. They that had their pastime with the fowls of the air, and they that hoarded up silver and gold, wherein men trust, and made no end of their getting?

17. who played with the birds of the heavens, who piled up silver and gold - in which men put their trust - and who never tired of collecting it?

18. For they that wrought in silver, and were so careful, and whose works are unsearchable,

18. Amassing money was their only concern, their business beyond measure.

19. They are vanished and gone down to the grave, and others are come up in their steads.

19. But they have disappeared, they have gone down to the dead and others have risen in their place.

20. Young men have seen light, and dwelt upon the earth: but the way of knowledge have they not known,

20. A younger generation is there on the earth and enjoys the light, but they have not known the ways of knowledge; they have not seen his tracks nor have they met him,

21. Nor understood the paths thereof, nor laid hold of it: their children were far off from that way.

21. and their sons after them did not leave their paths.

22. It hath not been heard of in Chanaan, neither hath it been seen in Theman.

22. No one in Canaan has heard of Wisdom, no one has seen her in Teman.

23. The Agarenes that seek wisdom upon earth, the merchants of Meran and of Theman, the authors of fables, and searchers out of understanding; none of these have known the way of wisdom, or remember her paths.

23. The sons of Agar, who seek knowledge of the earth, the traders of Madian and Teman, the tellers of fables and philosophers, they have not known the path of Wisdom, they have not discovered her ways.

24. O Israel, how great is the house of God! and how large is the place of his possession!

24. O Israel, how great is the house of God, how vast his dominion!

25. Great, and hath none end; high, and unmeasurable.

25. It is great and has no limits. It is lofty, wide and immeasurable.

26. There were the giants famous from the beginning, that were of so great stature, and so expert in war.

26. There were born the ancient and famous giants of high stature and skillful in war.

27. Those did not the Lord choose, neither gave he the way of knowledge unto them:

27. God did not choose them, he did not teach them the ways of Wisdom,

28. But they were destroyed, because they had no wisdom, and perished through their own foolishness.

28. and they perished because of their folly, because they lacked knowledge.

29. Who hath gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds?

29. Who has ascended to Heaven that he may lay hold of her and bring her down from the clouds?

30. Who hath gone over the sea, and found her, and will bring her for pure gold?

30. Who has crossed seas and found her, and bought her with the purest of gold?

31. No man knoweth her way, nor thinketh of her path.

31. There is no one who knows her path, no one who thinks of her way.

32. But he that knoweth all things knoweth her, and hath found her out with his understanding: he that prepared the earth for evermore hath filled it with fourfooted beasts:

32. But he who knows everything recognizes her. He has found her in his own intellect. He who created the earth, for all time, and has filled it with four-footed beings.

33. He that sendeth forth light, and it goeth, calleth it again, and it obeyeth him with fear.

33. He who sends the light, and it goes, who recalls it, and trembling it obeys.

34. The stars shined in their watches, and rejoiced: when he calleth them, they say, Here we be; and so with cheerfulness they shewed light unto him that made them.

34. The stars shine, full of joy, to keep their night watches. He calls them and they answer, "Here we are." They shine with joy for their Creator.

35. This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of in comparison of him

35. It is he who is our God, no other can be compared with him.

36. He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it unto Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved.

36. He has found the way of understanding and has given her to Jacob his servant and to Israel his well-beloved.

37. Afterward did he shew himself upon earth, and conversed with men.

37. Then Wisdom was seen on earth and lived among men.