The Learning Curve/The Learning Curve (Weird Science, 1996).iso/religion/apochrypha/9baruch

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   The Book of Baruch



   Bar 1:1
   And 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,

   Bar 1:2
   In the fifth year, and in the seventh day of the month, what
   time as the Chaldeans took Jerusalem, and burnt it with fire.

   Bar 1:3
   And 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,

   Bar 1:4
   And 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.

   Bar 1:5
   Whereupon they wept, fasted, and prayed before the Lord.

   Bar 1:6
   They made also a collection of money according to every man's
   power:

   Bar 1:7
   And 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,

   Bar 1:8
   At 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,

   Bar 1:9
   After 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.

   Bar 1:10
   And 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;

   Bar 1:11
   And 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:

   Bar 1:12
   And 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.

   Bar 1:13
   Pray 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.

   Bar 1:14
   And 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.

   Bar 1:15
   And 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,

   Bar 1:16
   And to our kings, and to our princes, and to our priests, and
   to our prophets, and to our fathers:

   Bar 1:17
   For we have sinned before the Lord,

   Bar 1:18
   And disobeyed him, and have not hearkened unto the voice of
   the Lord our God, to walk in the commandments that he gave us
   openly:

   Bar 1:19
   Since 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.

   Bar 1:20
   Wherefore 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.

   Bar 1:21
   Nevertheless 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:

   Bar 1:22
   But 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.

   Bar 2:1
   Therefore the Lord hath made good his word, which he
   pronounced against us, and against our judges that judged
   Israel, and against our kings, and against our princes, and
   against the men of Israel and Juda,

   Bar 2:2
   To bring upon us great plagues, such as never happened under
   the whole heaven, as it came to pass in Jerusalem, according to
   the things that were written in the law of Moses;

   Bar 2:3
   That a man should eat the flesh of his own son, and the flesh
   of his own daughter.

   Bar 2:4
   Moreover he hath delivered them to be in subjection to all
   the kingdoms that are round about us, to be as a reproach and
   desolation among all the people round about, where the Lord hath
   scattered them.

   Bar 2:5
   Thus we were cast down, and not exalted, because we have
   sinned against the Lord our God, and have not been obedient unto
   his voice.

   Bar 2:6
   To the Lord our God appertaineth righteousness: but unto us
   and to our fathers open shame, as appeareth this day.

   Bar 2:7
   For all these plagues are come upon us, which the Lord hath
   pronounced against us

   Bar 2:8
   Yet have we not prayed before the Lord, that we might turn
   every one from the imaginations of his wicked heart.

   Bar 2:9
   Wherefore the Lord watched over us for evil, and the Lord
   hath brought it upon us: for the Lord is righteous in all his
   works which he hath commanded us.

   Bar 2:10
   Yet we have not hearkened unto his voice, to walk in the
   commandments of the Lord, that he hath set before us.

   Bar 2:11
   And now, O Lord God of Israel, that hast brought thy people
   out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and high arm, and
   with signs, and with wonders, and with great power, and hast
   gotten thyself a name, as appeareth this day:

   Bar 2:12
   O Lord our God, we have sinned, we have done ungodly, we have
   dealt unrighteously in all thine ordinances.

   Bar 2:13
   Let thy wrath turn from us: for we are but a few left among
   the heathen, where thou hast scattered us.

   Bar 2:14
   Hear our prayers, O Lord, and our petitions, and deliver us
   for thine own sake, and give us favour in the sight of them
   which have led us away:

   Bar 2:15
   That all the earth may know that thou art the Lord our God,
   because Israel and his posterity is called by thy name.

   Bar 2:16
   O Lord, look down from thine holy house, and consider us: bow
   down thine ear, O Lord, to hear us.

   Bar 2:17
   Open thine eyes, and behold; for the dead that are in the
   graves, whose souls are taken from their bodies, will give unto
   the Lord neither praise nor righteousness:

   Bar 2:18
   But the soul that is greatly vexed, which goeth stooping and
   feeble, and the eyes that fail, and the hungry soul, will give
   thee praise and righteousness, O Lord.

   Bar 2:19
   Therefore we do not make our humble supplication before thee,
   O Lord our God, for the righteousness of our fathers, and of our
   kings.

   Bar 2:20
   For thou hast sent out thy wrath and indignation upon us, as
   thou hast spoken by thy servants the prophets, saying,

   Bar 2:21
   Thus saith the Lord, Bow down your shoulders to serve the
   king of Babylon: so shall ye remain in the land that I gave unto
   your fathers.

   Bar 2:22
   But if ye will not hear the voice of the Lord, to serve the
   king of Babylon,

   Bar 2:23
   I will cause to cease out of the cites of Judah, and from
   without Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of joy, the
   voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: and the
   whole land shall be desolate of inhabitants.

   Bar 2:24
   But we would not hearken unto thy voice, to serve the king of
   Babylon: therefore hast thou made good the words that thou
   spakest by thy servants the prophets, namely, that the bones of
   our kings, and the bones of our fathers, should be taken out of
   their place.

   Bar 2:25
   And, lo, they are cast out to the heat of the day, and to the
   frost of the night, and they died in great miseries by famine,
   by sword, and by pestilence.

   Bar 2:26
   And the house which is called by thy name hast thou laid
   waste, as it is to be seen this day, for the wickedness of the
   house of Israel and the house of Juda.

   Bar 2:27
   O Lord our God, thou hast dealt with us after all thy
   goodness, and according to all that great mercy of thine,

   Bar 2:28
   As thou spakest by thy servant Moses in the day when thou
   didst command him to write the law before the children of
   Israel, saying,

   Bar 2:29
   If ye will not hear my voice, surely this very great
   multitude shall be turned into a small number among the nations,
   where I will scatter them.

   Bar 2:30
   For I knew that they would not hear me, because it is a
   stiffnecked people: but in the land of their captivities they
   shall remember themselves.

   Bar 2:31
   And shall know that I am the Lord their God: for I will give
   them an heart, and ears to hear:

   Bar 2:32
   And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and
   think upon my name,

   Bar 2:33
   And return from their stiff neck, and from their wicked
   deeds: for they shall remember the way of their fathers, which
   sinned before the Lord.

   Bar 2:34
   And I will bring them again into the land which I promised
   with an oath unto their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and
   they shall be lords of it: and I will increase them, and they
   shall not be diminished.

   Bar 2:35
   And I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their
   God, and they shall be my people: and I will no more drive my
   people of Israel out of the land that I have given them.

   Bar 3:1
   O Lord Almighty, God of Israel, the soul in anguish the
   troubled spirit, crieth unto thee.

   Bar 3:2
   Hear, O Lord, and have mercy; ar thou art merciful: and have
   pity upon us, because we have sinned before thee.

   Bar 3:3
   For thou endurest for ever, and we perish utterly.

   Bar 3:4
   O Lord Almighty, thou God of Israel, hear now the prayers of
   the dead Israelites, and of their children, which have sinned
   before thee, and not hearkened unto the voice of thee their God:
   for the which cause these plagues cleave unto us.

   Bar 3:5
   Remember not the iniquities of our forefathers: but think
   upon thy power and thy name now at this time.

   Bar 3:6
   For thou art the Lord our God, and thee, O Lord, will we
   praise.

   Bar 3:7
   And for this cause thou hast put thy fear in our hearts, to
   the intent that we should call upon thy name, and praise thee in
   our captivity: for we have called to mind all the iniquity of
   our forefathers, that sinned before thee.

   Bar 3:8
   Behold, we are yet this day in our captivity, where thou hast
   scattered us, for a reproach and a curse, and to be subject to
   payments, according to all the iniquities of our fathers, which
   departed from the Lord our God.

   Bar 3:9
   Hear, Israel, the commandments of life: give ear to
   understand wisdom.

   Bar 3:10
   How happeneth it Israel, that thou art in thine enemies'
   land, that thou art waxen old in a strange country, that thou
   art defiled with the dead,

   Bar 3:11
   That thou art counted with them that go down into the grave?

   Bar 3:12
   Thou hast forsaken the fountain of wisdom.

   Bar 3:13
   For if thou hadst walked in the way of God, thou shouldest
   have dwelled in peace for ever.

   Bar 3:14
   Learn where is wisdom, where is strength, where is
   understanding; that thou mayest know also where is length of
   days, and life, where is the light of the eyes, and peace.

   Bar 3:15
   Who hath found out her place? or who hath come into her
   treasures ?

   Bar 3:16
   Where are the princes of the heathen become, and such as
   ruled the beasts upon the earth;

   Bar 3:17
   They that had their pastime with the fowls of the air, and
   they that hoarded up silver and gold, wherein men trust, and
   made no end of their getting?

   Bar 3:18
   For they that wrought in silver, and were so careful, and
   whose works are unsearchable,

   Bar 3:19
   They are vanished and gone down to the grave, and others are
   come up in their steads.

   Bar 3:20
   Young men have seen light, and dwelt upon the earth: but the
   way of knowledge have they not known,

   Bar 3:21
   Nor understood the paths thereof, nor laid hold of it: their
   children were far off from that way.

   Bar 3:22
   It hath not been heard of in Chanaan, neither hath it been
   seen in Theman.

   Bar 3:23
   The Agarenes that seek wisdom upon earth, the merchants of
   Meran and of Theman, the authors of fables, and searchers out of
   understanding; none of these have known the way of wisdom, or
   remember her paths.

   Bar 3:24
   O Israel, how great is the house of God! and how large is the
   place of his possession!

   Bar 3:25
   Great, and hath none end; high, and unmeasurable.

   Bar 3:26
   There were the giants famous from the beginning, that were of
   so great stature, and so expert in war.

   Bar 3:27
   Those did not the Lord choose, neither gave he the way of
   knowledge unto them:

   Bar 3:28
   But they were destroyed, because they had no wisdom, and
   perished through their own foolishness.

   Bar 3:29
   Who hath gone up into heaven, and taken her, and brought her
   down from the clouds?

   Bar 3:30
   Who hath gone over the sea, and found her, and will bring her
   for pure gold?

   Bar 3:31
   No man knoweth her way, nor thinketh of her path.

   Bar 3:32
   But he that knoweth all things knoweth her, and hath found
   her out with his understanding: he that prepared the earth for
   evermore hath filled it with fourfooted beasts:

   Bar 3:33
   He that sendeth forth light, and it goeth, calleth it again,
   and it obeyeth him with fear.

   Bar 3:34
   The stars shined in their watches, and rejoiced: when he
   calleth them, they say, Here we be; and so with cheerfulness
   they shewed light unto him that made them.

   Bar 3:35
   This is our God, and there shall none other be accounted of
   in comparison of him

   Bar 3:36
   He hath found out all the way of knowledge, and hath given it
   unto Jacob his servant, and to Israel his beloved.

   Bar 3:37
   Afterward did he shew himself upon earth, and conversed with
   men.

   Bar 4:1
   This is the book of the commandments of God, and the law that
   endureth for ever: all they that keep it shall come to life; but
   such as leave it shall die.

   Bar 4:2
   Turn thee, O Jacob, and take hold of it: walk in the presence
   of the light thereof, that thou mayest be illuminated.

   Bar 4:3
   Give not thine honour to another, nor the things that are
   profitable unto thee to a strange nation.

   Bar 4:4
   O Israel, happy are we: for things that are pleasing to God
   are made known unto us.

   Bar 4:5
   Be of good cheer, my people, the memorial of Israel.

   Bar 4:6
   Ye were sold to the nations, not for [your] destruction: but
   because ye moved God to wrath, ye were delivered unto the
   enemies.

   Bar 4:7
   For ye provoked him that made you by sacrificing unto devils,
   and not to God.

   Bar 4:8
   Ye have forgotten the everlasting God, that brought you up;
   and ye have grieved Jerusalem, that nursed you.

   Bar 4:9
   For when she saw the wrath of God coming upon you, she said,
   Hearken, O ye that dwell about Sion: God hath brought upon me
   great mourning;

   Bar 4:10
   For I saw the captivity of my sons and daughters, which the
   Everlasting brought upon them.

   Bar 4:11
   With joy did I nourish them; but sent them away with weeping
   and mourning.

   Bar 4:12
   Let no man rejoice over me, a widow, and forsaken of many,
   who for the sins of my children am left desolate; because they
   departed from the law of God.

   Bar 4:13
   They knew not his statutes, nor walked in the ways of his
   commandments, nor trod in the paths of discipline in his
   righteousness.

   Bar 4:14
   Let them that dwell about Sion come, and remember ye the
   captivity of my sons and daughters, which the Everlasting hath
   brought upon them.

   Bar 4:15
   For he hath brought a nation upon them from far, a shameless
   nation, and of a strange language, who neither reverenced old
   man, nor pitied child.

   Bar 4:16
   These have carried away the dear beloved children of the
   widow, and left her that was alone desolate without daughters.

   Bar 4:17
   But what can I help you?

   Bar 4:18
   For he that brought these plagues upon you will deliver you
   from the hands of your enemies.

   Bar 4:19
   Go your way, O my children, go your way: for I am left
   desolate.

   Bar 4:20
   I have put off the clothing of peace, and put upon me the
   sackcloth of my prayer: I will cry unto the Everlasting in my
   days.

   Bar 4:21
   Be of good cheer, O my children, cry unto the Lord, and he
   will deliver you from the power and hand of the enemies.

   Bar 4:22
   For my hope is in the Everlasting, that he will save you; and
   joy is come unto me from the Holy One, because of the mercy
   which shall soon come unto you from the Everlasting our Saviour.

   Bar 4:23
   For I sent you out with mourning and weeping: but God will
   give you to me again with joy and gladness for ever.

   Bar 4:24
   Like as now the neighbours of Sion have seen your captivity:
   so shall they see shortly your salvation from our God which
   shall come upon you with great glory, and brightness of the
   Everlasting.

   Bar 4:25
   My children, suffer patiently the wrath that is come upon you
   from God: for thine enemy hath persecuted thee; but shortly thou
   shalt see his destruction, and shalt tread upon his neck.

   Bar 4:26
   My delicate ones have gone rough ways, and were taken away as
   a flock caught of the enemies.

   Bar 4:27
   Be of good comfort, O my children, and cry unto God: for ye
   shall be remembered of him that brought these things upon you.

   Bar 4:28
   For as it was your mind to go astray from God: so, being
   returned, seek him ten times more.

   Bar 4:29
   For he that hath brought these plagues upon you shall bring
   you everlasting joy with your salvation.

   Bar 4:30
   Take a good heart, O Jerusalem: for he that gave thee that
   name will comfort thee.

   Bar 4:31
   Miserable are they that afflicted thee, and rejoiced at thy
   fall.

   Bar 4:32
   Miserable are the cities which thy children served: miserable
   is she that received thy sons.

   Bar 4:33
   For as she rejoiced at thy ruin, and was glad of thy fall: so
   shall she be grieved for her own desolation.

   Bar 4:34
   For I will take away the rejoicing of her great multitude,
   and her pride shall be turned into mourning.

   Bar 4:35
   For fire shall come upon her from the Everlasting, long to
   endure; and she shall be inhabited of devils for a great time.

   Bar 4:36
   O Jerusalem, look about thee toward the east, and behold the
   joy that cometh unto thee from God.

   Bar 4:37
   Lo, thy sons come, whom thou sentest away, they come gathered
   together from the east to the west by the word of the Holy One,
   rejoicing in the glory of God.

   Bar 5:1
   Put off, O Jerusalem, the garment of mourning and
   affliction, and put on the comeliness of the glory that cometh
   from God for ever.

   Bar 5:2
   Cast about thee a double garment of the righteousness which
   cometh from God; and set a diadem on thine head of the glory of
   the Everlasting.

   Bar 5:3
   For God will shew thy brightness unto every country under
   heaven.

   Bar 5:4
   For thy name shall be called of God for ever The peace of
   righteousness, and The glory of God's worship.

   Bar 5:5
   Arise, O Jerusalem, and stand on high, and look about toward
   the east, and behold thy children gathered from the west unto
   the east by the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the
   remembrance of God.

   Bar 5:6
   For they departed from thee on foot, and were led away of
   their enemies: but God bringeth them unto thee exalted with
   glory, as children of the kingdom.

   Bar 5:7
   For God hath appointed that every high hill, and banks of
   long continuance, should be cast down, and valleys filled up, to
   make even the ground, that Israel may go safely in the glory of
   God,

   Bar 5:8
   Moreover even the woods and every sweetsmelling tree shall
   overshadow Israel by the commandment of God.

   Bar 5:9
   For God shall lead Israel with joy in the light of his glory
   with the mercy and righteousness that cometh from him.




   The Epistle [or Letter] of Jeremiah [Jeremy]
   [The Epistle of Jeremy [sometimes Chapter Six of Baruch]]


   EpJer 6:1
   A copy of an epistle, which Jeremy sent unto them which were
   to be led captives into Babylon by the king of the Babylonians,
   to certify them, as it was commanded him of God.

   EpJer 6:2
   Because of the sins which ye have committed before God, ye
   shall be led away captives into Babylon by Nabuchodonosor king
   of the Babylonians.

   EpJer 6:3
   So when ye be come unto Babylon, ye shall remain there many
   years, and for a long season, namely, seven generations: and
   after that I will bring you away peaceably from thence.

   EpJer 6:4
   Now shall ye see in Babylon gods of silver, and of gold, and
   of wood, borne upon shoulders, which cause the nations to fear.

   EpJer 6:5
   Beware therefore that ye in no wise be like to strangers,
   neither be ye and of them, when ye see the multitude before them
   and behind them, worshipping them.

   EpJer 6:6
   But say ye in your hearts, O Lord, we must worship thee.

   EpJer 6:7
   For mine angel is with you, and I myself caring for your
   souls.

   EpJer 6:8
   As for their tongue, it is polished by the workman, and they
   themselves are gilded and laid over with silver; yet are they
   but false, and cannot speak.

   EpJer 6:9
   And taking gold, as it were for a virgin that loveth to go
   gay, they make crowns for the heads of their gods.

   EpJer 6:10
   Sometimes also the priests convey from their gods gold and
   silver, and bestow it upon themselves.

   EpJer 6:11
   Yea, they will give thereof to the common harlots, and deck
   them as men with garments, [being] gods of silver, and gods of
   gold, and wood.

   EpJer 6:12
   Yet cannot these gods save themselves from rust and moth,
   though they be covered with purple raiment.

   EpJer 6:13
   They wipe their faces because of the dust of the temple, when
   there is much upon them.

   EpJer 6:14
   And he that cannot put to death one that offendeth him
   holdeth a sceptre, as though he were a judge of the country.

   EpJer 6:15
   He hath also in his right hand a dagger and an ax: but cannot
   deliver himself from war and thieves.

   EpJer 6:16
   Whereby they are known not to be gods: therefore fear them
   not.

   EpJer 6:17
   For like as a vessel that a man useth is nothing worth when
   it is broken; even so it is with their gods: when they be set up
   in the temple, their eyes be full of dust through the feet of
   them that come in.

   EpJer 6:18
   And as the doors are made sure on every side upon him that
   offendeth the king, as being committed to suffer death: even so
   the priests make fast their temples with doors, with locks, and
   bars, lest their gods be spoiled with robbers.

   EpJer 6:19
   They light them candles, yea, more than for themselves,
   whereof they cannot see one.

   EpJer 6:20
   They are as one of the beams of the temple, yet they say
   their hearts are gnawed upon by things creeping out of the
   earth; and when they eat them and their clothes, they feel it
   not.

   EpJer 6:21
   Their faces are blacked through the smoke that cometh out of
   the temple.

   EpJer 6:22
   Upon their bodies and heads sit bats, swallows, and birds,
   and the cats also.

   EpJer 6:23
   By this ye may know that they are no gods: therefore fear
   them not.

   EpJer 6:24
   Notwithstanding the gold that is about them to make them
   beautiful, except they wipe off the rust, they will not shine:
   for neither when they were molten did they feel it.

   EpJer 6:25
   The things wherein there is no breath are bought for a most
   high price.

   EpJer 6:26
   They are borne upon shoulders, having no feet whereby they
   declare unto men that they be nothing worth.

   EpJer 6:27
   They also that serve them are ashamed: for if they fall to
   the ground at any time, they cannot rise up again of themselves:
   neither, if one set them upright, can they move of themselves:
   neither, if they be bowed down, can they make themselves
   straight: but they set gifts before them as unto dead men.

   EpJer 6:28
   As for the things that are sacrificed unto them, their
   priests sell and abuse; in like manner their wives lay up part
   thereof in salt; but unto the poor and impotent they give
   nothing of it.

   EpJer 6:29
   Menstruous women and women in childbed eat their sacrifices:
   by these things ye may know that they are no gods: fear them
   not.

   EpJer 6:30
   For how can they be called gods? because women set meat
   before the gods of silver, gold, and wood.

   EpJer 6:31
   And the priests sit in their temples, having their clothes
   rent, and their heads and beards shaven, and nothing upon their
   heads.

   EpJer 6:32
   They roar and cry before their gods, as men do at the feast
   when one is dead.

   EpJer 6:33
   The priests also take off their garments, and clothe their
   wives and children.

   EpJer 6:34
   Whether it be evil that one doeth unto them, or good, they
   are not able to recompense it: they can neither set up a king,
   nor put him down.

   EpJer 6:35
   In like manner, they can neither give riches nor money:
   though a man make a vow unto them, and keep it not, they will
   not require it.

   EpJer 6:36
   They can save no man from death, neither deliver the weak
   from the mighty.

   EpJer 6:37
   They cannot restore a blind man to his sight, nor help any
   man in his distress.

   EpJer 6:38
   They can shew no mercy to the widow, nor do good to the
   fatherless.

   EpJer 6:39
   Their gods of wood, and which are overlaid with gold and
   silver, are like the stones that be hewn out of the mountain:
   they that worship them shall be confounded.

   EpJer 6:40
   How should a man then think and say that they are gods, when
   even the Chaldeans themselves dishonour them?

   EpJer 6:41
   Who if they shall see one dumb that cannot speak, they bring
   him, and intreat Bel that he may speak, as though he were able
   to understand.

   EpJer 6:42
   Yet they cannot understand this themselves, and leave them:
   for they have no knowledge.

   EpJer 6:43
   The women also with cords about them, sitting in the ways,
   burn bran for perfume: but if any of them, drawn by some that
   passeth by, lie with him, she reproacheth her fellow, that she
   was not thought as worthy as herself, nor her cord broken.

   EpJer 6:44
   Whatsoever is done among them is false: how may it then be
   thought or said that they are gods?

   EpJer 6:45
   They are made of carpenters and goldsmiths: they can be
   nothing else than the workmen will have them to be.

   EpJer 6:46
   And they themselves that made them can never continue long;
   how should then the things that are made of them be gods?

   EpJer 6:47
   For they left lies and reproaches to them that come after.

   EpJer 6:48
   For when there cometh any war or plague upon them, the
   priests consult with themselves, where they may be hidden with
   them.

   EpJer 6:49
   How then cannot men perceive that they be no gods, which can
   neither save themselves from war, nor from plague?

   EpJer 6:50
   For seeing they be but of wood, and overlaid with silver and
   gold, it shall be known hereafter that they are false:

   EpJer 6:51
   And it shall manifestly appear to all nations and kings that
   they are no gods, but the works of men's hands, and that there
   is no work of God in them.

   EpJer 6:52
   Who then may not know that they are no gods?

   EpJer 6:53
   For neither can they set up a king in the land, nor give rain
   unto men.

   EpJer 6:54
   Neither can they judge their own cause, nor redress a wrong,
   being unable: for they are as crows between heaven and earth.

   EpJer 6:55
   Whereupon when fire falleth upon the house of gods of wood,
   or laid over with gold or silver, their priests will flee away,
   and escape; but they themselves shall be burned asunder like
   beams.

   EpJer 6:56
   Moreover they cannot withstand any king or enemies: how can
   it then be thought or said that they be gods?

   EpJer 6:57
   Neither are those gods of wood, and laid over with silver or
   gold, able to escape either from thieves or robbers.

   EpJer 6:58
   Whose gold, and silver, and garments wherewith they are
   clothed, they that are strong take, and go away withal: neither
   are they able to help themselves.

   EpJer 6:59
   Therefore it is better to be a king that sheweth his power,
   or else a profitable vessel in an house, which the owner shall
   have use of, than such false gods; or to be a door in an house,
   to keep such things therein, than such false gods. or a pillar
   of wood in a a palace, than such false gods.

   EpJer 6:60
   For sun, moon, and stars, being bright and sent to do their
   offices, are obedient.

   EpJer 6:61
   In like manner the lightning when it breaketh forth is easy
   to be seen; and after the same manner the wind bloweth in every
   country.

   EpJer 6:62
   And when God commandeth the clouds to go over the whole
   world, they do as they are bidden.

   EpJer 6:63
   And the fire sent from above to consume hills and woods doeth
   as it is commanded: but these are like unto them neither in shew
   nor power.

   EpJer 6:64
   Wherefore it is neither to be supposed nor said that they are
   gods, seeing, they are able neither to judge causes, nor to do
   good unto men.

   EpJer 6:65
   Knowing therefore that they are no gods, fear them not,

   EpJer 6:66
   For they can neither curse nor bless kings:

   EpJer 6:67
   Neither can they shew signs in the heavens among the heathen,
   nor shine as the sun, nor give light as the moon.

   EpJer 6:68
   The beasts are better than they: for they can get under a
   cover and help themselves.

   EpJer 6:69
   It is then by no means manifest unto us that they are gods:
   therefore fear them not.

   EpJer 6:70
   For as a scarecrow in a garden of cucumbers keepeth nothing:
   so are their gods of wood, and laid over with silver and gold.

   EpJer 6:71
   And likewise their gods of wood, and laid over with silver
   and gold, are like to a white thorn in an orchard, that every
   bird sitteth upon; as also to a dead body, that is east into the
   dark.

   EpJer 6:72
   And ye shall know them to be no gods by the bright purple
   that rotteth upon then1: and they themselves afterward shall be
   eaten, and shall be a reproach in the country.

   EpJer 6:73
   Better therefore is the just man that hath none idols: for he
   shall be far from reproach.




   The Book of Susanna  [in Daniel]
   [The History of Susanna [in Daniel]]

   Set apart from the beginning of Daniel, because it is not in
   the Hebrew, as neither the Narration of Bel and the Dragon.


   Sus 1:1
   There dwelt a man in Babylon, called Joacim:

   Sus 1:2
   And he took a wife, whose name was Susanna, the daughter of
   Chelcias, a very fair woman, and one that feared the Lord.

   Sus 1:3
   Her parents also were righteous, and taught their daughter
   according to the law of Moses.

   Sus 1:4
   Now Joacim was a great rich man, and had a fair garden
   joining unto his house: and to him resorted the Jews; because he
   was more honourable than all others.

   Sus 1:5
   The same year were appointed two of the ancients of the
   people to be judges, such as the Lord spake of, that wickedness
   came from Babylon from ancient judges, who seemed to govern the
   people.

   Sus 1:6
   These kept much at Joacim's house: and all that had any suits
   in law came unto them.

   Sus 1:7
   Now when the people departed away at noon, Susanna went into
   her husband's garden to walk.

   Sus 1:8
   And the two elders saw her going in every day, and walking;
   so that their lust was inflamed toward her.

   Sus 1:9
   And they perverted their own mind, and turned away their
   eyes, that they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just
   judgments.

   Sus 1:10
   And albeit they both were wounded with her love, yet durst
   not one shew another his grief.

   Sus 1:11
   For they were ashamed to declare their lust, that they
   desired to have to do with her.

   Sus 1:12
   Yet they watched diligently from day to day to see her.

   Sus 1:13
   And the one said to the other, Let us now go home: for it is
   dinner time.

   Sus 1:14
   So when they were gone out, they parted the one from the
   other, and turning back again they came to the same place; and
   after that they had asked one another the cause, they
   acknowledged their lust: then appointed they a time both
   together, when they might find her alone.

   Sus 1:15
   And it fell out, as they watched a fit time, she went in as
   before with two maids only, and she was desirous to wash herself
   in the garden: for it was hot.

   Sus 1:16
   And there was no body there save the two elders, that had hid
   themselves, and watched her.

   Sus 1:17
   Then she said to her maids, Bring me oil and washing balls,
   and shut the garden doors, that I may wash me.

   Sus 1:18
   And they did as she bade them, and shut the garden doors, and
   went out themselves at privy doors to fetch the things that she
   had commanded them: but they saw not the elders, because they
   were hid.

   Sus 1:19
   Now when the maids were gone forth, the two elders rose up,
   and ran unto her, saying,

   Sus 1:20
   Behold, the garden doors are shut, that no man can see us,
   and we are in love with thee; therefore consent unto us, and lie
   with us.

   Sus 1:21
   If thou wilt not, we will bear witness against thee, that a
   young man was with thee: and therefore thou didst send away thy
   maids from thee.

   Sus 1:22
   Then Susanna sighed, and said, I am straitened on every side:
   for if I do this thing, it is death unto me: and if I do it not
   I cannot escape your hands.

   Sus 1:23
   It is better for me to fall into your hands, and not do it,
   than to sin in the sight of the Lord.

   Sus 1:24
   With that Susanna cried with a loud voice: and the two elders
   cried out against her.

   Sus 1:25
   Then ran the one, and opened the garden door.

   Sus 1:26
   So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the
   garden, they rushed in at the privy door, to see what was done
   unto her.

   Sus 1:27
   But when the elders had declared their matter, the servants
   were greatly ashamed: for there was never such a report made of
   Susanna.

   Sus 1:28
   And it came to pass the next day, when the people were
   assembled to her husband Joacim, the two elders came also full
   of mischievous imagination against Susanna to put her to death;

   Sus 1:29
   And said before the people, Send for Susanna, the daughter of
   Chelcias, Joacim's wife. And so they sent.

   Sus 1:30
   So she came with her father and mother, her children, and all
   her kindred.

   Sus 1:31
   Now Susanna was a very delicate woman, and beauteous to
   behold.

   Sus 1:32
   And these wicked men commanded to uncover her face, (for she
   was covered) that they might be filled with her beauty.

   Sus 1:33
   Therefore her friends and all that saw her wept.

   Sus 1:34
   Then the two elders stood up in the midst of the people, and
   laid their hands upon her head.

   Sus 1:35
   And she weeping looked up toward heaven: for her heart
   trusted in the Lord.

   Sus 1:36
   And the elders said, As we walked in the garden alone, this
   woman came in with two maids, and shut the garden doors, and
   sent the maids away.

   Sus 1:37
   Then a young man, who there was hid, came unto her, and lay
   with her.

   Sus 1:38
   Then we that stood in a corner of the garden, seeing this
   wickedness, ran unto them.

   Sus 1:39
   And when we saw them together, the man we could not hold: for
   he was stronger than we, and opened the door, and leaped out.

   Sus 1:40
   But having taken this woman, we asked who the young man was,
   but she would not tell us: these things do we testify.

   Sus 1:41
   Then the assembly believed them as those that were the elders
   and judges of the people: so they condemned her to death.

   Sus 1:42
   Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, O
   everlasting God, that knowest the secrets, and knowest all
   things before they be:

   Sus 1:43
   Thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me,
   and, behold, I must die; whereas I never did such things as
   these men have maliciously invented against me.

   Sus 1:44
   And the Lord heard her voice.

   Sus 1:45
   Therefore when she was led to be put to death, the Lord
   raised up the holy spirit of a young youth whose name was
   Daniel:

   Sus 1:46
   Who cried with a loud voice, I am clear from the blood of
   this woman.

   Sus 1:47
   Then all the people turned them toward him, and said, What
   mean these words that thou hast spoken?

   Sus 1:48
   So he standing in the midst of them said, Are ye such fools,
   ye sons of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the
   truth ye have condemned a daughter of Israel?

   Sus 1:49
   Return again to the place of judgment: for they have borne
   false witness against her.

   Sus 1:50
   Wherefore all the people turned again in haste, and the
   elders said unto him, Come, sit down among us, and shew it us,
   seeing God hath given thee the honour of an elder.

   Sus 1:51
   Then said Daniel unto them, Put these two aside one far from
   another, and I will examine them.

   Sus 1:52
   So when they were put asunder one from another, he called one
   of them, and said unto him, O thou that art waxen old in
   wickedness, now thy sins which thou hast committed aforetime are
   come to light.

   Sus 1:53
   For thou hast pronounced false judgment and hast condemned
   the innocent and hast let the guilty go free; albeit the Lord
   saith, The innocent and righteous shalt thou not slay.

   Sus 1:54
   Now then, if thou hast seen her, tell me, Under what tree
   sawest thou them companying together? Who answered, Under a
   mastick tree.

   Sus 1:55
   And Daniel said, Very well; thou hast lied against thine own
   head; for even now the angel of God hath received the sentence
   of God to cut thee in two.

   Sus 1:56
   So he put him aside, and commanded to bring the other, and
   said unto him, O thou seed of Chanaan, and not of Juda, beauty
   hath deceived thee, and lust hath perverted thine heart.

   Sus 1:57
   Thus have ye dealt with the daughters of Israel, and they for
   fear companied with you: but the daughter of Juda would not
   abide your wickedness.

   Sus 1:58
   Now therefore tell me, Under what tree didst thou take them
   companying together? Who answered, Under an holm tree.

   Sus 1:59
   Then said Daniel unto him, Well; thou hast also lied against
   thine own head: for the angel of God waiteth with the sword to
   cut thee in two, that he may destroy you.

   Sus 1:60
   With that all the assembly cried out with a loud voice, and
   praised God, who saveth them that trust in him.

   Sus 1:61
   And they arose against the two elders, for Daniel had
   convicted them of false witness by their own mouth:

   Sus 1:62
   And according to the law of Moses they did unto them in such
   sort as they maliciously intended to do to their neighbour: and
   they put them to death. Thus the innocent blood was saved the
   same day.

   Sus 1:63
   Therefore Chelcias and his wife praised God for their
   daughter Susanna, with Joacim her husband, and all the kindred,
   because there was no dishonesty found in her.

   Sus 1:64
   From that day forth was Daniel had in great reputation in the
   sight of the people.