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The book of Barukh (also, Βαροὺχ and Baruch/Barouch) is a deuterocanonical work traditionally attributed to Barukh son of Neriyah, the scribe of the prophet Jeremiah. Preserved in the Seputagint, the text is one of a good number of Jewish works from Antiquity either written in Greek or whose Aramaic and Hebrew source was lost. While the opening portions of Barukh (1:1-3:8) show quintessential signs of having been translated from Hebrew, this poetic section is of uncertain origin and a Vorlage cannot be constructed for it with the same level of accuracy. (Visit here for the reconstructed Hebrew Vorlage of Baruch 1:1-3:8 by Emmanuel Tov, vocalized and cantillated by Isaac Gantwerk Mayer.)
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| Source (Greek) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
3 9 ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, ἐντολὰς ζωῆς, ἐνωτίσασθε γνῶναι φρόνησιν. 10 τί ἐστιν Ἰσραήλ, τί ὅτι ἐν γῇ τῶν ἐχθρῶν εἶ, ἐπαλαιώθης ἐν γῇ ἀλλοτρίᾳ, 11 συνεμιάνθης τοῖς νεκροῖς, προσελογίσθης μετὰ τῶν εἰς ᾅδου; 12 ἐγκατέλιπες τὴν πηγὴν τῆς σοφίας. 13 τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ θεοῦ εἰ ἐπορεύθης, κατῴκεις ἄν ἐν εἰρήνῃ τὸν αἰῶνα. 14 μάθε ποῦ ἐστιν φρόνησις, ποῦ ἐστιν ἰσχύς, ποῦ ἐστιν σύνεσις τοῦ γνῶναι ἅμα, ποῦ ἐστιν μακροβίωσις καὶ ζωή, ποῦ ἐστιν φῶς ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ εἰρήνη. — |
3 9 Hear, O Yisrael, commandments of life; give ear to learn insight. 10 Why is it, O Yisrael, why is it that you are in the enemies’ land, that you became old in a foreign land; 11 you were defiled with corpses, you were counted among those in Sheol?[1] lit. Hades 12 You have forsaken the spring of wisdom. 13 If in the way of YHVH you had gone, you would be living in peace forever. 14 Learn where there is insight, where there is strength, where there is intelligence, to know at the same time where there is longevity and life, where there is light for eyes and peace. |
15 τίς εὗρεν τὸν τόπον αὐτῆς, καὶ τίς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τοὺς θησαυροὺς αὐτῆς; 16 ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ ἄρχοντες τῶν ἐθνῶν καὶ οἱ κυριεύοντες τῶν θηρίων τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, 17 οἱ ἐν τοῖς ὀρνέοις τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐμπαίζοντες καὶ τὸ ἀργύριον θησαυρίζοντες καὶ τὸ χρυσίον, ᾧ ἐπεποίθεισαν ἄνθρωποι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν τέλος τῆς κτήσεως αὐτῶν 18 οἱ τὸ ἀργύριον τεκταίνοντες καὶ μεριμνῶντες, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐξεύρεσις τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν 19 ἠφανίσθησαν καὶ εἰς ᾅδου κατέβησαν, καὶ ἄλλοι ἀντανέστησαν ἀντ᾿ αὐτῶν. |
15 Who has found her place, and who entered into her treasuries? 16 Where are the magistrates of the nations and those who have dominion over the animals that are on the earth, 17 those who make sport among the birds of the sky and who store up silver and gold, in which humans have trusted, and there is no end to their acquisition, 18 those who scheme for silver and are anxious, and there is no trace of their works? 19 They have vanished and gone down to Sheol,[2] lit. Hades and others have arisen in their place. |
20 νεώτεροι εἶδον φῶς καὶ κατῴκησαν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὁδὸν δὲ ἐπιστήμης οὐκ ἔγνωσαν 21 οὐδὲ συνῆκαν τρίβους αὐτῆς οὐδὲ ἀντελάβοντο αὐτῆς· οἱ υἱοὶ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ὁδοῦ αὐτῶν πόρρω ἐγενήθησαν. 22 οὐδὲ ἠκούσθη ἐν Χαναὰν οὐδὲ ὤφθη ἐν Θαιμὰν, 23 οὔτε υἱοὶ Ἄγαρ οἱ ἐκζητοῦντες τὴν σύνεσιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, οἱ ἔμποροι τῆς Μερρὰν καὶ Θαιμὰν οἱ μυθολόγοι καὶ οἱ ἐκζητηταὶ τῆς συνέσεως ὁδὸν τῆς σοφίας οὐκ ἔγνωσαν οὐδὲ ἐμνήσθησαν τὰς τρίβους αὐτῆς. |
20 Younger ones saw light, and they lived upon the earth, but they did not know the way of knowledge 21 nor understood her paths, nor did they take hold of her. Their sons ended up far away from their way. 22 She has neither been heard of in Kna’an nor been seen in Teiman[3] Yemen — 23 nor the sons of Hagar who seek out intelligence upon the earth, the merchants of Merran[4] Unknown. One suggestion is that the original text in Hebrew or Aramaic had ‘Midian,’ and that this is evidence of a scribal corruption preceding the work’s translation into Greek. and Teiman and the story-tellers and the seekers for intelligence. But they did not know the way of wisdom nor remembered her paths. |
24 ὦ Ἰσραήλ, ὡς μέγας ὁ οἶκος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐπιμήκης ὁ τόπος τῆς κτήσεως αὐτοῦ· 25 μέγας καὶ οὐκ ἔχει τελευτήν, ὑψηλὸς καὶ ἀμέτρητος. 26 ἐκεῖ ἐγεννήθησαν οἱ γίγαντες οἱ ὀνομαστοὶ οἱ ἀπ᾿ ἀρχῆς, γενόμενοι εὐμεγέθεις, ἐπιστάμενοι πόλεμον. 27 οὐ τούτους ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεὸς οὐδὲ ὁδὸν ἐπιστήμης ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς· 28 καὶ ἀπώλοντο παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν φρόνησιν, ἀπώλοντο διὰ τὴν ἀβουλίαν αὐτῶν. — |
24 Ah Yisrael, how great is the house of YHVH, and how extensive is the place of its[5] probably, ‘his' estate! 25 It is great and has no end; it is high and immeasurable. 26 The giants were born there, those renowned, those of old, seeing that they were large, experts in war. 27 Not these did YHVH choose, nor did he give them the way of knowledge, 28 and they perished because they had no insight; they perished through their recklessness. |
29 τίς ἀνέβη εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτὴν καὶ κατεβίβασεν αὐτὴν ἐκ τῶν νεφελῶν; 30 τίς διέβη πέραν τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ εὗρεν αὐτὴν καὶ οἴσει αὐτὴν χρυσίου ἐκλεκτοῦ, 31 οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ γινώσκων τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτῆς οὐδὲ ὁ ἐνθυμούμενος τὴν τρίβον αὐτῆς 32 ἀλλὰ ὁ εἰδὼς τὰ πάντα γινώσκει αὐτήν, ἐξεῦρεν αὐτὴν τῇ συνέσει αὐτοῦ· ὁ κατασκευάσας τὴν γῆν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα χρόνον, ἐνέπλησεν αὐτὴν κτηνῶν τετραπόδων· 33 ὁ ἀποστέλλων τὸ φῶς καὶ πορεύεται, ἐκάλεσεν αὐτό, καὶ ὑπήκουσεν αὐτῷ τρόμῳ· 34 οἱ δὲ ἀστέρες ἔλαμψαν ἐν ταῖς φυλακαῖς αὐτῶν καὶ εὐφράνθησαν, 35 ἐκάλεσεν αὐτοὺς καὶ εἶπον πάρεσμεν, ἔλαμψαν μετ᾿ εὐφροσύνης τῷ ποιήσαντι αὐτούς. 36 οὗτος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, οὐ λογισθήσεται ἕτερος πρὸς αὐτόν. 37 ἐξεῦρεν πᾶσαν ὁδὸν ἐπιστήμης καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν Ἰακὼβ τῷ παιδὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ Ἰσραὴλ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ· 38 μετὰ τοῦτο ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ὤφθη καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συνανεστράφη. |
29 Who has gone up into the sky and taken her and brought her down from the clouds? 30 Who has crossed over the sea and found her and will bring her in exchange for choice gold? 31 There is no one who is familiar with her way, nor one who thinks much about her path. 32 But he who knows all things is familiar with her; he discovered her by his intelligence; he who equipped the earth for all time, he filled it with quadrupeds. 33 He who sends the light, and it goes— he summoned it and it obeyed him, with a shudder, 34 but the stars shone in their watches and were glad; 35 he called them, and they said, “We are present!” They shone with gladness for him who made them. 36 This is our elo’ah; no other will be reckoned with him. 37 He discovered the whole way of knowledge and gave her to his servant Yaaqov and to Yisrael who was loved by him. 38 After this she appeared on earth and associated among humans. |
4 1 Αὕτη ἡ βίβλος τῶν προσταγμάτων τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ὁ νόμος ὁ ὑπάρχων εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα πάντες οἱ κρατοῦντες αὐτῆς εἰς ζωήν, οἱ δὲ καταλείποντες αὐτὴν ἀποθανοῦνται. — 2 ἐπιστρέφου, Ἰακώβ, καὶ ἐπιλαβοῦ αὐτῆς, διόδευσον πρὸς τὴν λάμψιν κατέναντι τοῦ φωτὸς αὐτῆς. 3 μὴ δῷς ἑτέρῳ τὴν δόξαν σου καὶ τὰ συμφέροντά σοὶ ἔθνει ἀλλοτρίῳ. 4 μακάριοί ἐσμεν, Ἰσραήλ, ὅτι τὰ ἀρεστὰ τῷ θεῷ ἡμῖν γνωστά ἐστιν. |
4 1 She[6] i.e., way of knowledge. is the book of the decrees of YHVH and the Torah that remains forever. All who seize her are for life, but those who forsake her will die. 2 Turn, O Yaaqov, and take hold of her; pass through toward the shining in the presence of her light. 3 Do not give your glory to another and your benefits to a foreign nation. 4 Happy are we, O Yisrael, because what is pleasing to YHVH is known to us. |
5 θαρσεῖτε, λαός μου, μνημόσυνον Ἰσραὴλ. 6 ἐπράθητε τοῖς ἔθνεσιν οὐκ εἰς ἀπώλειαν, διὰ δὲ τὸ παροργίσαι ὑμᾶς τὸν θεὸν παρεδόθητε τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις· 7 παρωξύνατε γὰρ τὸν ποιήσαντα ὑμᾶς θύσαντες δαιμονίοις καὶ οὐ θεῷ. 8 ἐπελάθεσθε δὲ τὸν τροφεύσαντα ὑμᾶς θεὸν αἰώνιον, ἐλυπήσατε δὲ καὶ τὴν ἐκθρέψασαν ὑμᾶς Ἱερουσαλήμ· 9 εἶδεν γὰρ τὴν ἐπελθοῦσαν ὑμῖν ὀργὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ εἶπεν ἀκούσατε, αἱ πάροικοι Σιών, ἐπήγαγέν μοι ὁ θεὸς πένθος μέγα· 10 εἶδον γὰρ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν τῶν υἱῶν μου καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων, ἣν ἐπήγαγεν αὐτοῖς ὁ αἰώνιος· 11 ἔθρεψα γὰρ αὐτοὺς μετ᾿ εὐφροσύνης, ἐξαπέστειλα δὲ μετὰ κλαυθμοῦ καὶ πένθους. 12 μηδεὶς ἐπιχαιρέτω μοι τῇ χήρᾳ καὶ καταλειφθείσῃ ὑπὸ πολλῶν· ἠρημώθην διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας τῶν τέκνων μου, διότι ἐξέκλιναν ἐκ νόμου θεοῦ, 13 δικαιώματα δὲ αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν οὐδὲ ἐπορεύθησαν ὁδοῖς ἐντολῶν θεοῦ οὐδὲ τρίβους παιδείας ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ δικαιοσύνῃ αὐτοῦ ἐπέβησαν. 14 ἐλθάτωσαν αἱ πάροικοι Σιών, καὶ μνήσθητε τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν τῶν υἱῶν μου καὶ θυγατέρων, ἣν ἐπήγαγεν αὐτοῖς ὁ αἰώνιος· 15 ἐπήγαγεν γὰρ ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς ἔθνος μακρόθεν, ἔθνος ἀναιδὲς καὶ ἀλλόγλωσσον, οἳ οὐκ ᾐσχύνθησαν πρεσβύτην οὐδὲ παιδίον ἠλέησαν 16 καὶ ἀπήγαγον τοὺς ἀγαπητοὺς τῆς χήρας καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν θυγατέρων τὴν μόνην ἠρήμωσαν. |
5 Take courage, my people, reminder of Yisrael! 6 You were sold to the nations not for destruction, but because you angered YHVH you were delivered to your adversaries. 7 For you provoked the one who made you by sacrificing to demons and not to YHVH. 8 And you forgot the one who nursed you, El everlasting, and you even grieved Jerusalem who reared you. 9 For she saw the anger that came upon you from YHVH, and she said: Listen, you neighbors of Tsiyon, YHVH has brought great mourning upon me; 10 for they saw the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting brought upon them. 11 For I reared them with gladness, but I sent them away with weeping and grief. 12 Let no one rejoice against me, the widow and one forsaken by many; I was left desolate because of the sins of my children, because they turned away from YHVH’s Torah 13 And they did not recognize his statutes; neither did they walk in the ways of YHVH’s commandments nor tread on the paths of instruction by his righteousness. 14 Let the neighbors of Tsiyon come, And remember the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting brought upon them. 15 For he brought against them a far off nation, a shameless nation and one speaking an alien tongue, who did not respect an old man nor showed mercy to a child. 16 And they led away the beloved sons of the widow and isolated the lonely woman from her daughters. |
17 ἐγὼ δὲ τί δυνατὴ βοηθῆσαι ὑμῖν; 18 ὁ γὰρ ἐπαγαγὼν τὰ κακὰ ὑμῖν ἐξελεῖται ὑμᾶς ἐκ χειρὸς ἐχθρῶν ὑμῶν. 19 βαδίζετε, τέκνα, βαδίζετε, ἐγὼ γὰρ κατελείφθην ἔρημος· 20 ἐξεδυσάμην τὴν στολὴν τῆς εἰρήνης, ἐνεδυσάμην δὲ σάκκον τῆς δεήσεώς μου, κεκράξομαι πρὸς τὸν αἰώνιον ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις μου. — |
17 But I,[7] i.e., Jerusalem. how am I able to help you? 18 For he who brought these bad things upon you will deliver you from the hand of your enemies. 19 Walk, children, walk, for I have been left desolate. 20 I have taken off the robe of peace and put on sackcloth for my petition; I will cry out to the Everlasting in all my days. |
21 θαρσεῖτε, τέκνα, βοήσατε πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ ἐξελεῖται ὑμᾶς ἐκ δυναστείας, ἐκ χειρὸς ἐχθρῶν. 22 ἐγὼ γὰρ ἤλπισα ἐπὶ τῷ αἰωνίῳ τὴν σωτηρίαν ὑμῶν, καὶ ἦλθέν μοι χαρὰ παρὰ τοῦ ἁγίου ἐπὶ τῇ ἐλεημοσύνῃ, ἣ ἥξει ὑμῖν ἐν τάχει παρὰ τοῦ αἰωνίου σωτῆρος ὑμῶν. 23 ἐξέπεμψα γὰρ ὑμᾶς μετὰ πένθους καὶ κλαυθμοῦ, ἀποδώσει δέ μοι ὁ θεὸς ὑμᾶς μετὰ χαρμοσύνης καὶ εὐφροσύνης εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα 24 ὥσπερ γὰρ νῦν ἑωράκασιν αἱ πάροικοι Σιὼν τὴν ὑμετέραν αἰχμαλωσίαν, οὕτως ὄψονται ἐν τάχει τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑμῶν σωτηρίαν, ἣ ἐπελεύσεται ὑμῖν μετὰ δόξης μεγάλης καὶ λαμπρότητος τοῦ αἰωνίου. 25 τέκνα, μακροθυμήσατε τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπελθοῦσαν ὑμῖν ὀργήν· κατεδίωξέν σὲ ὁ ἐχθρός σου, καὶ ὄψει αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀπώλειαν ἐν τάχει καὶ ἐπὶ τραχήλους αὐτῶν ἐπιβήσῃ. 26 οἱ τρυφεροί μου ἐπορεύθησαν ὁδοὺς τραχείας, ἤρθησαν ὡς ποίμνιον ἡρπασμένον ὑπὸ ἐχθρῶν. — |
21 Take courage, O children; call out to YHVH, and he will deliver you from domination, from the hand of enemies. 22 For I have hoped in the Everlasting for your salvation, and joy has come to me from the Holy One because of the mercy that will soon come to you from your everlasting savior. 23 For I dispatched out with mourning and weeping, but YHVH will give you back to me with delight and merriment forever. 24 For as the neighbors of Tsiyon have seen your captivity now, so they will quickly see your salvation from YHVH, which will come to you with the great glory and splendor of the Everlasting. 25 O children, bear patiendy the wrath that has come upon you from YHVH. The enemy has pursued you, but you will quickly see their destruction and will tread upon their necks. 26 My pampered children have traveled rough roads; they were taken away like a flock carried off by enemies. |
27 θαρσήσατε, τέκνα, καὶ βοήσατε πρὸς τὸν θεόν, ἔσται γὰρ ὑμῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπάγοντος μνεία. 28 ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐγένετο ἡ διάνοια ὑμῶν εἰς τὸ πλανηθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, δεκαπλασιάσατε ἐπιστραφέντες ζητῆσαι αὐτόν. 29 ὁ γὰρ ἐπαγαγὼν ὑμῖν τὰ κακὰ ἐπάξει ὑμῖν τὴν αἰώνιον εὐφροσύνην μετὰ τῆς σωτηρίας ὑμῶν. |
27 Take courage, O children, and call out to YHVH, for there will be mention of you by the one who brought this. 28 For just as your intention became to go astray from YHVH, multiply by ten when you return to seek him. 29 For the one who brought these bad things upon you will bring you everlasting merriment with your salvation. |
30 θάρσει, Ἱερουσαλήμ, παρακαλέσει σὲ ὁ ὀνομάσας σὲ. 31 δείλαιοι οἱ σὲ κακώσαντες καὶ ἐπιχαρέντες τῇ σῇ πτώσει, 32 δείλαιαι αἱ πόλεις αἷς ἐδούλευσαν τὰ τέκνα σου, δειλαία ἡ δεξαμένη τοὺς υἱούς σου. 33 ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐχάρη ἐπὶ τῇ σῇ πτώσει καὶ εὐφράνθη ἐπὶ τῷ πτώματί σου, οὕτως λυπηθήσεται ἐπὶ τῇ ἑαυτῆς ἐρημίᾳ. 34 καὶ περιελῶ αὐτῆς τὸ ἀγαλλίαμα τῆς πολυοχλίας, καὶ τὸ ἀγαυρίαμα αὐτῆς ἔσται εἰς πένθος. 35 πῦρ γὰρ ἐπελεύσεται αὐτῇ παρὰ τοῦ αἰωνίου εἰς ἡμέρας μακράς, καὶ κατοικηθήσεται ὑπὸ δαιμονίων τὸν πλείονα χρόνον. — |
30 Take courage, O Jerusalem; he who named you will comfort you. 31 Wretched will be those who have harmed you and who have rejoiced at your fall. 32 Wretched will be the cities that your children served as slaves; wretched will be the one[8] i.e. Babylon that received your sons. 33 For just as she rejoiced at your fall and was glad for your ruin, so she will be grieved at her own desolation. 34 And I will take away her rejoicing of her great population, and her insolence will be turned to mourning. 35 For fire will come upon her from the Everlasting for long days, and for a rather long time she will be inhabited by demons. |
36 περίβλεψαι πρὸς ἀνατολάς, Ἱερουσαλήμ, καὶ ἰδὲ τὴν εὐφροσύνην τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ σοὶ ἐρχομένην. 37 ἰδοὺ ἔρχονται οἱ υἱοί σου, οὓς ἐξαπέστειλας, ἔρχονται συνηγμένοι ἀπ᾿ ἀνατολῶν ἕως δυσμῶν τῷ ῥήματι τοῦ ἁγίου χαίροντες τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δόξῃ. — |
36 Look around toward the East, O Jerusalem, and see the merriment that is coming to you from YHVH. 37 Behold, your sons are coming, whom you sent away; they are coming, gathered from east until west, at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of YHVH. |
5 1 Ἔκδυσαι, Ἱερουσαλήμ, τὴν στολὴν τοῦ πένθους καὶ τῆς κακώσεώς σου καὶ ἔνδυσαι τὴν εὐπρέπειαν τῆς παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δόξης εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. 2 περιβαλοῦ τὴν διπλοΐδα τῆς παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δικαιοσύνης, ἐπίθου τὴν μίτραν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλήν σου τῆς δόξης τοῦ αἰωνίου. 3 ὁ γὰρ θεὸς δείξει τῇ ὑπ᾿ οὐρανὸν πάσῃ τὴν σὴν λαμπρότητα. 4 κληθήσεται γάρ σου τὸ ὄνομα παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα εἰρήνη δικαιοσύνης καὶ δόξα θεοσεβείας. — |
5 1 Take off your robe of mourning and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on the dignity of the glory from YHVH forever. 2 Put on the double-cloth[9] or double-cloak, a style of garment. Perhaps this is a reference to the dress of the Kohen Gadol (high priest). I am put in mind of the material of the efod, the priestly vestment made of linen but with dyed wool thread (the textile then capable of being dyed), a combination forbidden in any other vestment. of the righteousness that is from YHVH; put on your head the headband[10] Find note above. If correct, and this is a reference to the attire of the high priest, then this would be a reference to the tsits. It is very tempting to think of this headband as a reference to tefillin (the totafot of Deuteronomy 6:8). of the glory of the Everlasting. 3 For YHVH will show your splendor in the all that is beneath heaven. 4 For your name will be called by YHVH forever, “Peace of righteousness and glory of piety.” |
5 ἀνάστηθι, Ἱερουσαλήμ, καὶ στῆθι ἐπὶ τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ καὶ περίβλεψαι πρὸς ἀνατολὰς καὶ ἰδέ σου συνηγμένα τὰ τέκνα ἀπὸ ἡλίου δυσμῶν ἕως ἀνατολῶν τῷ ῥήματι τοῦ ἁγίου χαίροντας τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ μνείᾳ. 6 ἐξῆλθον γὰρ παρὰ σοῦ πεζοὶ ἀγομένην ὑπὸ ἐχθρῶν, εἰσάγει δὲ αὐτοὺς ὁ θεὸς πρὸς σὲ αἰρομένους μετὰ δόξης ὡς θρόνον βασιλείας. 7 συνέταξεν γὰρ ὁ θεὸς ταπεινοῦσθαι πᾶν ὄρος ὑψηλὸν καὶ θῖνας ἀενάους καὶ φάραγγας πληροῦσθαι εἰς ὁμαλισμὸν τῆς γῆς, ἵνα βαδίσῃ Ἰσραὴλ ἀσφαλῶς τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ δόξῃ· 8 ἐσκίασαν δὲ καὶ οἱ δρυμοὶ καὶ πᾶν ξύλον εὐωδίας τῷ Ἰσραὴλ προστάγματι τοῦ θεοῦ· 9 ἡγήσεται γὰρ ὁ θεὸς Ἰσραὴλ μετ᾿ εὐφροσύνης τῷ φωτὶ τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ σὺν ἐλεημοσύνῃ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ τῇ παρ᾿ αὐτοῦ. |
5 Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand upon the height, and look around toward the East, and see your children gathered from the setting of the sun until its rising at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing at YHVH’s remembering. 6 For they went out from you on foot, led away by enemies, but YHVH will bring them to you, taken up with glory, as on a royal throne. 7 For YHVH has instructed that every high mountain and the everlasting mounds be made low and the valleys be filled to make level the ground so that Yisrael may walk safely by the glory of YHVH. 8 And even the woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Yisrael at YHVH’s ordinance. 9 For YHVH will lead Yisrael with merriment, by the light of his glory, together with the mercy and righteousness that is from him. |
The English translation here was adapted by Aharon Varady from the critical translation of Joseph Ziegler (Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum Graecum Auctoritate Societatis Litterarum Gottingensis editum XV: leremias Baruch Threni Epistula leremiae [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1957]). I have re-Hebraized divine names, translating θεὸς/θεοῦ as YHVH, as Emmanuel Tov had in the earlier section of Barukh, except where it was reasonable to assume a different divine name. I have left αἰωνίου as “Everlasting’ as I was uncertain whether this was a translation of a divine name or epithet. –Aharon Varady
Notes
| 1 | lit. Hades |
|---|---|
| 2 | lit. Hades |
| 3 | Yemen |
| 4 | Unknown. One suggestion is that the original text in Hebrew or Aramaic had ‘Midian,’ and that this is evidence of a scribal corruption preceding the work’s translation into Greek. |
| 5 | probably, ‘his' |
| 6 | i.e., way of knowledge. |
| 7 | i.e., Jerusalem. |
| 8 | i.e. Babylon |
| 9 | or double-cloak, a style of garment. Perhaps this is a reference to the dress of the Kohen Gadol (high priest). I am put in mind of the material of the efod, the priestly vestment made of linen but with dyed wool thread (the textile then capable of being dyed), a combination forbidden in any other vestment. |
| 10 | Find note above. If correct, and this is a reference to the attire of the high priest, then this would be a reference to the tsits. It is very tempting to think of this headband as a reference to tefillin (the totafot of Deuteronomy 6:8). |
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