Baruch 3

Geneva^{(i) 1} O Lorde Almightie, O God of Israel, the soule that is in trouble, and the spirite that is vexed, cryeth vnto thee. ² Heare, O Lord, and haue mercie: for thou art mercifull, and haue pitie vpon vs, because wee haue sinned before thee. ³ For thou endurest for euer, & we vtterly perish. ⁴ O Lorde Almightie, the God of Israel, heare nowe the prayer of the dead Israelites, and of their children, which haue sinned before thee, and not hearkened vnto the voyce of thee ther God, wherefore these plagues hang vpon vs. ⁵ Remember not ye wickednesse of our fathers, but thinke vpo thy power, & thy Name at this time. ⁶ For thou art the Lorde our God, and thee, O Lord, will we prayse. ⁷ And for this cause hast thou put thy feare in our hearts, that we should call vpon thy Name, and prayse thee in our captiuitie: for we haue considered in our mindes all the wickednesse of our fathers, that sinned before thee. ⁸ Beholde, we are yet this day in our captiuitie, where thou hast scattered vs, to be a reproche and a curse, and subiect to payments, according to all the iniquities of our fathers, which are departed from the Lord their God. ⁹ O Israel, heare ye comandements of life: hearken vnto them, that thou maiest learne wisdome. ¹⁰ What is the cause, O Israel, that thou art in thine enemies land, and art waxen olde in a strange countrey? ¹¹ And art defiled with the dead? and art counted with them, that goe downe to the graues? ¹² Thou hast forsaken ye fountaine of wisdome. ¹³ For if thou hadst walked in the way of God, thou shouldest haue remayned safe for euer. ¹⁴ Learne where is wisedome, where is strength, where is vnderstanding, that thou maiest know also from whence commeth long continuance, and life, and where the light of the eyes, and peace is. ¹⁵ Who hath found out her place? or who hath come into her treasures? ¹⁶ Where are the princes of the heathen, & such as ruled the beastes vpon the earth? ¹⁷ They that had their pastime with the foules of the heauen, that hoarded vp siluer & gold, wherein men trust, & made none ende of their gathering? ¹⁸ For they that coyned siluer, & were so careful of their worke, & whose inuention had none ende, ¹⁹ Are come to nought, and gone downe to hel, and other men are come vp in their steades. ²⁰ When they were young, they sawe the light, and dwelt vpon the earth: but they vnderstood not the way of knowledge, ²¹ Neither perceiued the pathes thereof, neither haue their children receiued it: but they were farre off from that way. ²² It hath not bene heard off in the land of Chanaan, neither hath it bene seene in Theman, ²³ Nor the Agarines that sought after wisdome vpon the earth, nor the marchants of Nerran, and of Theman, nor the expounders of fables, nor the searchers out of wisdome haue knowen the way of wisdome, neither doe they thinke vpon the pathes thereof. ²⁴ O Israel, howe great is the House of God! and howe large is the place of his possession! ²⁵ It is great, and hath none ende: it is hie, and vnmeasurable. ²⁶ There were the gyants, famous from the beginning, that were of so great stature, and so expert in warre. ²⁷ Those did not the Lord choose, neither gaue he the way of knowledge vnto them. ²⁸ But they were destroyed, because they had no wisdome, & perished through their owne foolishnes. ²⁹ Who hath gone vp into heauen, to take her, and brought her downe from the cloudes? ³⁰ Who hath gone ouer the sea to finde her, and hath brought her, rather then fine golde? ³¹ No man knoweth her wayes, neither considereth her pathes. ³² But he that knoweth al things, knoweth her, and he hath found her out with his vnderstanding: this same is he which hath prepared the earth for euermore, and hath filled it with foure footed beastes. ³³ When he sendeth out the light, it goeth: and when he calleth it againe, it obeyeth him with feare. ³⁴ And the starres shine in their watch, and reioyce. When he calleth them, they say, Here we be: and so with cherefulnesse they shewe light vnto him that made them. ³⁵ This is our God, and there shall none other be compared vnto him. ³⁶ He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath giuen it vnto Iacob his seruant, and to Israel his beloued. ³⁷ Afterwarde he was seene vpon earth, and dwelt among men.