Bilingual reading

These are the words of the book which Baruch the son of Nerias, the son of Maaseas, the son of Sedekias, the son of Asadias, the son of Helkias, wrote in Babylon,

in the fifth year, in the seventh day of the month, at the time when the Chaldeans took Jerusalem and burned it with fire.

Baruch read the words of this book in the hearing of Jechonias the son of Joakim king of Judah, and in the hearing of all the people who came to hear the book,

and in the hearing of the mighty men, and of the kings’ sons, and in the hearing of the elders, and in the hearing of all the people, from the least to the greatest, even of all those who lived at Babylon by the river Sud.

Then they wept, fasted, and prayed before the Lord.

They also made a collection of money according to every man’s ability;

and they sent it to Jerusalem to Joakim the high priest, the son of Helkias, the son of Salom, and to the priests and to all the people who were found with him at Jerusalem,

at the same time when he took the vessels of the house of the Lord, that had been carried out of the temple, to return them into the land of Judah, the tenth day of Sivan—silver vessels which Sedekias the son of Josias king of Judah had made,

after Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon had carried away Jechonias, the princes, the captives, the mighty men, and the people of the land from Jerusalem, and brought them to Babylon.

And they said: Behold, we have sent you money; therefore buy with the money burnt offerings, sin offerings, and incense, and prepare an oblation, and offer upon the altar of the Lord our God;

and pray for the life of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, and for the life of Baltasar his son, that their days may be as the days of heaven above the earth.

The Lord will give us strength and light to our eyes. We will live under the shadow of Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon and under the shadow of Baltasar his son, and we shall serve them many days, and find favor in their sight.

Pray for us also to the Lord our God, for we have sinned against the Lord our God. To this day the wrath of the Lord and his indignation is not turned from us.

You shall read this book which we have sent to you, to make confession in the house of the Lord upon the day of the feast and on the days of the solemn assembly.

You shall say: To the Lord our God belongs righteousness, but to us confusion of face, as at this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

to our kings, to our princes, to our priests, to our prophets, and to our fathers,

because we have sinned before the Lord.

We have disobeyed him and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in the commandments of the Lord that he has set before us.

Since the day that the Lord brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt to this present day, we have been disobedient to the Lord our God, and we have been negligent in not listening to his voice.

Therefore the plagues have clung to us, along with the curse which the Lord declared through Moses his servant in the day that he brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt to give us a land that flows with milk and honey, as at this day.

Nevertheless we didn’t listen to the voice of the Lord our God, according to all the words of the prophets whom he sent to us,

but we each walked in the imagination of his own wicked heart, to serve strange gods and to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God.

هٰذا كَلامُ الكِتابِ الَّذي كَتَبَه باروكُ بنُ نيرِيَّا بنِ مَعَسْيا بنِ صِدقِيَّا بنِ حَسَدْيا بنِ حِلْقِيَّا في بابِل

في السَّنَةِ الخامِسَةِ في السَّابِعِ مِنَ الشَّهر، في الوَقْتِ الَّذي أَخَذَ فيه الكَلْدانِيُّونَ أُورَشَليمَ وأَحْرَقوها بِالنَّار

وتَلا باروكُ كَلامَ هٰذا الكِتابِ على مِسمَعَي يَكُنْيا بنِ يوياقيمَ مَلِكِ يَهوذا وعلى مَسامِعِ جَميعِ الشَّعْبِ الَّذي جاءَ لِٱستِماعِ هٰذا الكِتاب

وعلى مَسامِعِ أَصْحابِ السُّلطةِ وبَني المُلوك، ومَسامِعِ الشُّيوخ، ومَسامِعِ كُلِّ الشَّعْب، مِنَ الصِّغارِ إِلى الكِبار، جَميعِ السَّاكِنينَ في بابِلَ على نَهْرِ سود

فبكوا وصاموا وصلوا امام الرب

و جمعوا من الفضة قدر ما استطاعت يد كل واحد

وأَرسَلوه إِلى أُورَشَليم، إِلى يوياقيمَ بنِ حِلْقِيَّا بنِ شَلُّومَ الكاهِن، وإِلى الكَهَنَةِ وإِلى كُلِّ الشَّعبِ الَّذي معَه في أُورَشَليم

وكانَ باروكُ قد أَخَذَ آنِيَةَ بَيتِ الرَّبِّ المَسْلوبَةَ مِنَ الهَيكَل، لِيَرُدَّها إِلى أَرضِ يَهوذا في العاشِرِ مِن سيوان، وهي آنِيَةُ الفِضَّةِ الَّتي صَنَعَها صِدقِيَّا بنُ يوشِيَّا، مَلِكُ يَهوذا

بَعدَ ما جَلا نَبوكَدنَصَّرُ، مَلِكُ بابِل، يَكُنْيا والرُّؤَساءَ والسُّجَناءَ وأَصْحابَ السُّلطَةِ وشَعْبَ الأَرضِ، من أُورَشَليم، وذَهَبَ بِهم إِلى بابِل

وقالوا: «ها إِنَّنا قد أَرسَلْنا إِلَيكم فِضَّةً، فٱشتَروا بِالفِضَّةِ مُحرَقاتٍ وذَبائِحَ لِلخَطيئَةِ وبَخورًا، وٱصنَعوا تَقادِمَ وقَدِّموها على مَذبَحِ الرَّبِّ إِلٰهِنا

و صلوا من اجل حياة نبوكد نصر ملك بابل وحياة بلشصر ابنه لكي تكون ايامهما كايام السماء على الارض

فيُؤتِيَنا الرَّبُّ قُوَّةً ويُنيرَ عُيونَنا ونَحْيا تَحتَ ظِلِّ نَبوكَدنَصَّر، مَلِكِ بابِل، وظِلِّ بَلشَصَّرَ ٱبنِه، ونَخْدُمَهما أَيَّامًا كَثيرة ونَنالَ حُظوَةً لَدَيهما

وصَلُّوا مِن أَجلِنا إِلى الرَّبِّ إِلٰهِنا، فإِنَّنا قد خَطِئْنا إِلى الرَّبِّ إِلٰهِنا، ولم نُحَوِّلْ سُخْطَ الرَّبِّ وغَضَبَه عنَّا إِلى هٰذا اليَوم

وٱتْلوا هٰذا الكِتابَ الَّذي أَرسَلْناه إِلَيكم لِيُنادى بِه في بَيتِ الرَّبِّ في يَومِ العيد وفي الأَيَّامِ المُناسِبة

وقولوا: لِلرَّبِّ إِلٰهِنا البِرُّ، ولَنا خِزْيُ الوُجوه، كما في هٰذا اليَوم، لِبَني يَهوذا ولِسُكَّانِ أُورَشَليم

و لملوكنا ورؤسائنا وكهنتنا وانبيائنا وابائنا

لِأَنَّنا خَطِئْنا إِلى الرَّبِّ

وعَصَيناه ولم نَسمَعْ لِصَوتِ الرَّبِّ إِلٰهِنا لِنَسيرَ على أَوامِرِ الرَّبِّ الَّتي جَعَلَها نُصْبَ عُيونِنا

مِن يَومِ أَخرَجَ الرَّبُّ آباءَنا مِن أَرضِ مِصرَ إِلى هٰذا اليَوم، ما زِلْنا نُعاصي الرَّبَّ إِلٰهَنا ونَتَمَرَّد، فلا نَستَمِعُ لِصَوتِه

فلَحِقَت بِنا الشُّرورُ واللَّعنَةُ الَّتي أَمَرَ الرَّبُّ موسى عَبدَه بِها، يَومَ أَخرَجَ آباءَنا مِن أَرضِ مِصْر، لِيُعطِيَنا أَرضًا تَدُرُّ لَبَنًا حَليبًا وعَسَلًا، كما في هٰذا اليَوم

فلَم نَستَمِعْ لِصَوتِ الرَّبِّ إِلٰهِنا، بِحَسَبِ جَميعِ كَلامِ الأَنبِياءِ الَّذينَ أَرسَلَهم إِلَينا

ومَضَينا كُلُّ واحِدٍ على عَزْمِ قَلبِه الشِّرِّير، عامِلينَ لِآلِهَةٍ أُخَر، صانِعينَ الشَّرَّ أَمامَ عَينَيِ الرَّبِّ إِلٰهِنا