Baruch 1

¹And these ben the wordis of the book, which Baruk, the sone of Nerie, sone of Maasie, sone of Sedechie, sone of Sedei, sone of Helchie, wroot in Babilonye;

²in the fyuethe yeer, in the seuenthe dai of the monethe, in the tyme wherynne Caldeis token Jerusalem, and brenten it with fier.

³And Baruk redde the wordis of this book to the eeris of Jeconye, sone of Joachym, kyng of Juda, and to the eeris of al the puple comynge to the book;

⁴and to the eeris of the myyti sones of kyngis, and to the eeris of prestis, and to the eeris of the puple, fro the mooste `til to the leeste of hem, of alle dwellynge in Babiloyne, and at the flood Sudi.

⁵Whiche herden, and wepten, and fastiden, and preieden in the siyt of the Lord.

⁶And thei gaderiden monei, bi that that ech mannus hond myyte;

⁷and senten in to Jerusalem to Joachym, the prest, sone of Helchie, sone of Salen, and to the preestis, and to al the puple that weren foundun with hym in Jerusalem;

⁸whanne he took the vessels of the temple of the Lord, that weren takun awei fro the temple, to ayen clepe in to the lond of Juda, in the tenthe dai of the monethe Siban; the siluerne vessels, which Sedechie, the kyng of Juda, the sone of Josie,

⁹made, aftir that Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, hadde take Jeconye, and princes, and alle myyti men, and the puple of the lond fro Jerusalem, and ledde hem boundun in to Babiloyne.

¹⁰And thei seiden, Lo! we han sent to you richessis, of whiche bie ye brent sacrifices, and encense, and make ye sacrifice, and offre ye for synne at the auter of youre Lord God.

¹¹And preye ye for the lijf of Nabugodonosor, king of Babiloyne, and for the lijf of Balthasar, his sone, that the daies of hem ben on erthe as the daies of heuene;

¹²that the Lord yyue vertu to vs, and liytne oure iyen, that we lyue vndur the schadewe of Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, and vndur the schadewe of Balthasar, his sone; and that we serue hem bi many daies, and fynde grace in the siyt of hem.

¹³And preye ye for `vs silf to our Lord God, for we han synned to oure Lord God, and his strong veniaunce is not turned awei fro vs, `til in to this dai.

¹⁴And rede ye this book, which we senten to you, to be rehersid in the temple of the Lord, in a solempne dai, and in a couenable dai.

¹⁵And ye schulen seie, Riytfulnesse is to oure Lord God, but schenschipe of oure face is to vs, as this dai is, to al Juda, and to dwelleris in Jerusalem,

¹⁶to oure kyngis, and to oure princes, to oure preestis, and to oure profetis, and to oure fadris.

¹⁷We synneden bifor oure Lord God, and bileuyden not, and tristiden not in hym.

¹⁸And we weren not redi to be suget to hym, and we obeiden not to the vois of oure Lord God, that we yeden in hise comaundementis, whiche he yaf to vs;

¹⁹fro the dai in which he ledde oure fadris out of the lond of Egipt, til in to this dai, we weren vnbileueful to oure Lord God; and we weren scaterid, and yeden awei, that we herden not the vois of hym.

²⁰And many yuels and cursyngis, whiche the Lord ordeynede to his seruaunt Moises, cleuyden to vs; which Lord ledde oure fadris out of the lond of Egipt, to yyue to vs a lond flowynge mylk and hony, as in this dai.

²¹And we herden not the vois of oure Lord God, bi alle the wordis of prophetis, whiche he sente to vs, and to oure iugis;

²²and we yeden awei, ech man in to the wit of his yuel herte, to worche to alien goddis, and we diden yuels bifore the iyen of oure Lord God.

Baruch 1

¹And these are the words of the book, which Baruch the son of Nerias, the son of Maasias, the son of Sedecias, the son of Asadias, the son of Chelcias, wrote in Babylon,

²In the fifth year, and in the seventh day of the month, what time as the Chaldeans took Jerusalem, and burnt it with fire.

³And Baruch did read the words of this book in the hearing of Jechonias the son of Joachim king of Juda, and in the ears of all the people that came to hear the book,

⁴And in the hearing of the nobles, and of the king’s sons, and in the hearing of the elders, and of all the people, from the lowest unto the highest, even of all them that dwelt at Babylon by the river Sud.

⁵Whereupon they wept, fasted, and prayed before the Lord.

⁶They made also a collection of money according to every man’s power:

⁷And they sent it to Jerusalem unto Joachim the high priest, the son of Chelcias, son of Salom, and to the priests, and to all the people which were found with him at Jerusalem,

⁸At the same time when he received the vessels of the house of the Lord, that were carried out of the temple, to return them into the land of Juda, the tenth day of the month Sivan, namely, silver vessels, which Sedecias the son of Josias king of Jada had made,

⁹After that Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried away Jechonias, and the princes, and the captives, and the mighty men, and the people of the land, from Jerusalem, and brought them unto Babylon.

¹⁰And they said, Behold, we have sent you money to buy you burnt offerings, and sin offerings, and incense, and prepare ye manna, and offer upon the altar of the Lord our God;

¹¹And pray for the life of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and for the life of Balthasar his son, that their days may be upon earth as the days of heaven:

¹²And the Lord will give us strength, and lighten our eyes, and we shall live under the shadow of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and under the shadow of Balthasar his son, and we shall serve them many days, and find favour in their sight.

¹³Pray for us also unto the Lord our God, for we have sinned against the Lord our God; and unto this day the fury of the Lord and his wrath is not turned from us.

¹⁴And ye shall read this book which we have sent unto you, to make confession in the house of the Lord, upon the feasts and solemn days.

¹⁵And ye shall say, To the Lord our God belongeth righteousness, but unto us the confusion of faces, as it is come to pass this day, unto them of Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

¹⁶And to our kings, and to our princes, and to our priests, and to our prophets, and to our fathers:

¹⁷For we have sinned before the Lord,

¹⁸And disobeyed him, and have not hearkened unto the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in the commandments that he gave us openly:

¹⁹Since the day that the Lord brought our forefathers out of the land of Egypt, unto this present day, we have been disobedient unto the Lord our God, and we have been negligent in not hearing his voice.

²⁰Wherefore the evils cleaved unto us, and the curse, which the Lord appointed by Moses his servant at the time that he brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, to give us a land that floweth with milk and honey, like as it is to see this day.

²¹Nevertheless we have not hearkened unto the voice of the Lord our God, according unto all the words of the prophets, whom he sent unto us:

²²But every man followed the imagination of his own wicked heart, to serve strange gods, and to do evil in the sight of the Lord our God.