The Book of the Apocalypse of Baruch, the son of Neriah.
Translated from Greek into Syriac.
And it happened in the twenty-fifth year of Jeconiah, king of Judah,
that the word of the Lord came to Baruch, the son of Neriah, and said to him:
“Have you seen
everything that this people does to me,
the evil deeds which these two remaining tribes have done,
more than the ten tribes that were taken captive?
The tribes,
for,
the former ones,
were forced by their kings to sin;
these two, however, were themselves forcing
and compelling their kings to sin.
Therefore, behold, I am bringing evil
upon this city and upon its inhabitants,
and it shall be removed from before me for a time;
and I will scatter this people among
the nations, that they may do good to the nations.
And my own people shall be chastised,
and the time will come when they will seek the prosperity of their times.
Now I have told you these things so that you may tell Jeremiah and all those who are like you
to depart from this city.
For your works are to this city
like a firm pillar,
and your prayers
like
a strong wall.”
And I said, “O Lord, my Lord,
did I come into the world for this, that I should see
the evil
of my mother? No, my Lord!
If I have found mercy in your eyes,
take my spirit first, that I may go to my fathers
and not see the destruction of my mother.
For two things constrain me greatly:
for to stand against you
I am not able, but neither to see
the evil
of my mother is my soul able.
Yet one thing I will say before you, O Lord:
What, then, will happen after these things?
For if you destroy your city
and surrender your land to those who hate us,
how will the name of Israel be remembered any more?
Or how shall anyone speak of your praises?
Or to whom
will be explained
that which is in your law?
Or will creation return to its nature,
and the world will return to its former silence,
and the multitude
of souls will be taken away,
and the nature of humanity will no longer
be named.
And where is all that
which you said
to Moses concerning us?’