Book of Baruch

The Book of Baruch is a Deuterocanonical book of the Bible, which is held as scripture by both Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. (Protestants hold it as one of the Apocrypha.) It claims to be written by the prophet Jeremiah's scribe, Baruch, in 582 BC. All scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, (c) 1989.

First Chapter

 * The Lord will give us strength, and light to our eyes; we shall live under the protection of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and under the protection of his son Belshazzar, and we shall serve them many days and find favor in their sight.
 * Baruch 1:12 NRSV


 * And you shall say: The Lord our God is in the right, but there is open shame on us today, on the people of Judah, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on our kings, our rulers, our priests, our prophets, and our ancestors, because we have sinned before the Lord. We have disobeyed him, and have not heeded the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in the statutes of the Lord that he set before us.
 * Baruch 1:15-18 NRSV

Second Chapter

 * Hear, O Lord, our prayer and our supplication, and for your own sake deliver us, and grant us favor in the sight of those who carried us into exile; so that all the earth may know that you are the Lord our God, for Israel and his descendants are called by your name. O Lord, look down from your Holy Dwelling, and consider us. Incline your ear, O Lord and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see, for the dead who are in Hades, whose spirit has been taken from their bodies, will not ascribe glory or justice to the Lord; but the person who is deeply grieved, who walks bowed and feeble, with failing eyes and famished soul, will declare your glory and righteousness, O Lord.
 * Baruch 2:14-18 NRSV


 * Yet you have dealt with us, O Lord our God, in all your kindness and in all your great compassion.
 * Baruch 2:27 NRSV

Third Chapter

 * Hear the commandments of life, O Israel; give ear, and learn wisdom! Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies, that you are growing old in a foreign country, that you are defiled with the dead, that you are counted among those in Hades? You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom. If you had walked in the way of God, you would be living in peace for ever. Learn where there is wisdom, where there is strength, where there is understanding, so that you may at the same time discern where there is length of days, and life, where there is light for the eyes, and peace.
 * Baruch 3:9-14 NRSV


 * Who has gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her down from the clouds? Who has gone over the sea, and found her, and will buy her for pure gold? No one knows the way to her, or is concerned about the path to her. But the one who knows all things knows her, he found her by his understanding. The one who prepared the earth for all time filled it with four-footed creatures; the one who sends forth the light, and it goes; he called it, and it obeyed him, trembling; the stars shone in their watches, and were glad; he called them, and they said, ‘Here we are!’ They shone with gladness for him who made them. This is our God; no other can be compared to him. He found the whole way to knowledge, and gave her to his servant Jacob and to Israel, whom he loved. Afterwards she appeared on earth and lived with humankind.
 * Baruch 3:29-37 NRSV

Fourth Chapter

 * She is the book of the commandments of God, the law that endures for ever. All who hold her fast will live, and those who forsake her will die. Turn, O Jacob, and take her; walk towards the shining of her light. Do not give your glory to another, or your advantages to an alien people. Happy are we, O Israel, for we know what is pleasing to God.
 * Baruch 4:1-4 NRSV


 * Take courage, my children, cry to God, and he will deliver you from the power and the hand of the enemy. For I have put my hope in the Everlasting to save you, and joy has come to me from the Holy One, because of the mercy that will soon come to you from your Everlasting Savior.
 * Baruch 4:21-22 NRSV


 * Take courage, my children, and cry to God, for you will be remembered by the one who brought this upon you. For just as you were disposed to go astray from God, return with tenfold zeal to seek him. For the one who brought these calamities upon you will bring you everlasting joy with your salvation.
 * Baruch 4:27-29 NRSV

Fifth Chapter

 * Take off the garment of affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God. Put on the robe of righteousness that comes from God; put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting; for God will show your splendor everywhere under heaven. For God will give you evermore the name, 'Righteous Peace, Godly Glory.'
 * Baruch 5:1-4 NRSV

The Letter of Jeremiah (Baruch 6)

 * The Letter of Jeremiah is sometimes appended to the end of Baruch as chapter Six (like the Latin Vulgate and the King James Version), but it is actually considered a separate work. (as it is in the Septuagint).