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Laterod-nccording to Act of Parliament of Canada, in the year 1008,

at Ottawa.

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by R, JD. Richardgon & Co,, 1x the office of the Minister of Agrivulture, |

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A Translation fre 1 the Syriac

The Second Letter of Baruch,

The letter of Baruch the writer,

Which he sent from Jerusalem to Babylon, And this is the missive which he sent, Even Baruch the son of Neriah:

To the nine tribes and a half, Those who are staying

Beyond the river Euphrates,

In which these things were written.

Thus saith Baruch

The son of Neriah to the brothers Who are exiled, “ Mercy and peace. I remember, my brothers,

The love of Him who conducted us, Because He loved us from the first, And that He never hated us,

But rather was training us.

And surely I know

That lo we were all of us bound, Twelve tribes in one bond,

As from one father

Ourselves were born. Therefore I was the more careful

To leave for you the words

Of this letter before I die.

That ye may be comforted over the evil

That reached you, and that ye may grieve again Over the evil that happened to your brothers, And again also that ye may justify the judgment

Of Him Who decreed against you That ye be exiled. For less

Is what ye suffered,

Than what ye did,

In order that in after times

Ye may be found worthy of your fathers. ‘Therefore if ye consider these things, That it is for your good ye suffered now,

‘That ye should not afterward be judged and tortured, Then ye will obtain an everlasting hope,

If so be that ye cast the more

From your hearts that vain error,

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For which ye went from hence.

For if ye do this, thus

Constantly He will remember you Who at all times cast out in our behalf

Those who were more than we,

That He may not always forget or forsake us, But with many compassions

He may gather again those who were scattered.

So my brothers be ye informed

First of that which happened

To Zion; that there mounted against us Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon,

For we sinned against Him Who made us,

And we kept not the commands which He commanded us, But there overtook us also what

Happened to you. More again we suffered.

For to us also it happened.

And now my brothers I make known to you That when the foes surrounded the city

They were sent as messengers of the Most High,

And they overthrew the strength of the stout Wall, and dismantled the firm

Corners of iron, those things

Which could not be uprooted.

But however some vessels

Of the vessels of the sanctuary they hid, So that they might not be taken by the foe. And when they had done this,

‘Then they surrendered them to the foe, When the wall was overthrown;

And when the houses were plundered, And when the palace was burned,

And the people were conquered. Because they were surrendered Lest triumphing should be :

The foes, and saying, ‘‘ Thus

Ourselves prevailed by force.”

Up also to the house of the Most High,

We will desolate with war. And your brothers also They bound and conducted to Babylon,

And they made them dwell there.

And ourselves survive here,

A small remnant. This is

The trouble about which I write to you For surely I know

That was comforting you, The dwelling of Zion, so long As ye knew it was prospering, More than the troubles

ed

Which were troubling you, because ye were far from it, But also in behalf of comfort

Hear ye a word. For myself

Was mourning over Zion

And entreating compassions from the Most High. And I said, How long

Do these things stand for us,

And at all times evils come on us,

These things that the Mighty One did According to the multitude of His compassions, And the Most High after the greatness of His pity,

And He reveuled to me a word that I should be comforted.

And He showed me a vision, so that

I should not be troubled more,

And He made known to me the secret of the times, And the coming of the seasons He showed me.

Therefore my brothers, I write to you,

So that ye may be comforted from the multitude Of your troubles. And be ye aware

That our Master requites us requital

From all our foes,

According to all that they did to us, Also that the more is approaching The end which the Most High made.

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i 6 { i | And His compassions that are coming, and not i Far is the end of His judgment, NM For so ourselves see now if The greatness of the prosperity of the heathen,

Though these are godless, é But this we liken to vanity; ‘4 And ourselves gaze on the greatness of their dominion, j Though these are impious, i

But they will be like raindrops, | And ourselves see the stability of their power, | f Though opposed to the Mighty One, | ‘ These stand every hour, : But they will be accounted as spittle ; |

And ourselves thought on the glory | Of their greatness, though these

4 Keep not the commands of the Most High.

iy But as smoke they will pass,

4 A.1 ourselves meditate on

’ ‘The beauty of their show, though

4 These are involved in pollution,

\ But as grass

Which is scorched, they will fade ; and we made account Of the force of their severity, | Though these remember not the end,

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But as straw which passes

They shall be crushed ; and ourselves consider About the beauty of their power,

Though these deny His goodness.

That it is He Who gave to them, But as a cloud which passes

They will pass, for the Most High Hastens with haste His times,

And bringing, He brings His seasons,

And judging He will judge those who are in His world, And will erect everything in truth,

On account of all their deeds of pollution.

And searching He will search out concealed thoughts, And all that in the chambers that are in

The members of a man, is treasured,

And to discovery before every one

He brings forth into rebuke. So then Let not prevail over your hearts

One of those things which subsist, But rather let us look forward,

Because that thing is coming

Which was promised to us. And ict us not regard Now the pleasures of the heathen,

But Ict us remember what

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At the end is promised to us, Because passing pass by

The bounds of times and seasons, And all that is in them together.

And at the end of the age, then He wiil show The great power of his guiding,

When everything comes to judgment, Yourselves then possess your hearts.

Trust ye what was from the first,

Because not from either

World would ye be rejoiced. Bec.use now Ye are exiled, and again ye would be tortured,

For what is now present Or past or coming,

In all these neither

Is the evil fully evil,

Nor the good again,

Is it perfectly good.

For ali the health

That is now, turns to sickness,

And all the might that is now,

Turns to weakness; and all

The grandeur that is now, turns to misery; And all the strength of youth

Turns to old age and to ending, And all the fairness of beauty that is now, Turns to fading and deformity; And all the dominion of pride that is now,

Turns to humiliation and to shame;

And all the glory of greatness that is now, Turns to shame of silence;

And all the pomp and arrogance that is now,

Turns to downfall of stillness;

And all luxury and pleasure that is now, Turns to overthrow and to decay;

And all the clamour of boasting that is now,

Turns to dust and to silence;

And all possessions and riches that are now,

Turn to the underworld alone; And all greeds of desire that are now,

Turn to death without their wish;

And all desires of the passion that is now, Turn to judgment of torture;

And all craft and cunning that is now,

Turns to reproof of truth;

And all sweetness of lust that is now, Turns to judgment and to cond:mnation; And all love of falsehood

10

Turns to disgrace by the truth. So while these all of them subsist, Now hopes a man that they will not be punished,

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a But the end of all will come in truth. : So lo I will make known to you i 4 While I live, 4 i For J tell of excellence ye shall learn. j , For the Mighty One commanded me,

That I instruct you and place before you A little of the precepts

Of His judgments, before I die. Recollect ye that it is true.

| 4 ' I will call as witness to witness against you,

b Moses, heaven and earth, |

i And I say that if ye transgress

Against the law ye will be scattered. ) 4 And if ye keep it ye will be kept. | f Moreover also lastly | 4 I tell you this that when " Ye were staying together ’ i Twelve tribes in the desert, | | Even from aiter his death Ye thrust these things from you,

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Which were told of from the first. And now Moses was telling you From the first that it might not

Befall you, and lo it befell you,

For ye forsook the laws. t Myself also, lo I say To you after ye suffered,

That if ye obey those things wi / : Aa, That were told you, ye will receive hel) From the Mighty One everything | A That was treasured and kept for you. | And this my letter shall be | Between you and me for testimony | i That ye be remembering the commands of the Mighty One, i So that also for myself there may be i

A plea of defence,

Before Him Who sent me. | | And be ye remembering the laws Ht

And Zion and the Holy Land, | And your brothers, and the treaty of your fathers,

And forget ye not the festivals and the rest day, “a And commit ye this letter, And the fulfilment of the law of your children After you, as also

Your fathers committed to you ; And at all times constantly

Be ye supplicating and praying Earnestly from all your souls,

So that the Mighty One may think upon you And may not consider the multitude of your sins, And may remember the rectitude of your fathers. For unless according to the multitude

Of His compassions He should judge us,

Alas for us to all generations.

But again be ye aware

That in former times, and in races from the first,

Those same our fathers had

For them the help of upright men And of pious sages. Moreover also We were in this our land,

And those were helping us When we were sinning,

And they were entreating over us From Him Who made us.

Because they were relying

Upon their Maker, and the Mighty One was hearing Their prayers, and was sparing us. But now the upright ones were gathered in, q

13

And the sages left, and also ourselves Went forth from the land, And Zion was bereft of us, And we have nothing now

Except the Mighty One and His law, So if we direct

And order our hearts, we shall receive Ourselves all that we lost,

And much more than these things That we lost, many times over,

For what we lost was what decays And what we receive is undecaying.

And also to our brothers thus

I wrote at Babylon, that also to them

I might attest t* ese same things, and let them be At all tiraes bet’ 2 your eyes,

All these things that are before said. Because ever still in the Spirit

Are we, and in the power of our liberty, And yet the Most High

Is long suffering with us here,

And He made know) us what is about to be, And He conceals not from us

What happens at last,

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So first that He may vindicate

His judgment and confirm

What is right for Him. Let us prepare

Our soul to receive and not for it to be taken away,

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And that we may hope and not be ashamed, And that we may repose with our fathers And not be tortured with our foes,

For the youthhood of the world passed by,

And the strength of creation is already Vinished, and what is coming Of the times is a short while, And they pass and the pitcher reaches

The well, and the ship the harbour,

And the journey of the travellers the city, And life to the end. And yet

Prepare ye your souls that while

Ye voyage and disembark from the ship Ye may be eased, and not when ye go Be condemned, for lo when

The Most High brings all these things

There is no space again there for returning, And no limit to the times,

And no prolonging o: the seasons,

And no change of the course,

And no space for supplication, And no sending of requests, And no obtaining of knowledge, And no gift of love,

And no space for penitence of soul And no deprecation of folly,

And no entreaty of fathers,

And no prayer of sage,

And no help of upright ones. There is there decree of judgment, Of decay, a road of fire,

And a path that reaches to the pit.

Therefore one by one each one, One law, one world,

And for those who are in it

An end for them all their life.

And those that He can He will make expiation For them, and together He will destroy

Those that are stained with sin.

So when ye receive this my letter

Read ye it in your assemblies with care, And be ye studying in it,

Especially on the days of your fasts, And ye be remembering me

So —

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Through this letter,

As myself also,

I am remembering you in it, And at all time be ye in health.

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