Baruch

Prophecy · Deuterocanon · Traditionally Baruch ben Neriah · 2nd to 1st century BCE

Set during the Babylonian exile, the Book of Baruch contains a communal confession of sin, a prayer for deliverance, and a poetic discourse identifying divine wisdom with the Torah. It concludes with messages of consolation for Jerusalem and a polemic against Babylonian idolatry.

6 chapters

• 1Baruch 1Baruch reads his scroll to the exiles in Babylon, who send funds to Jerusalem along with a confession of their sins.
• 2Baruch 2The exiles continue their prayer, confessing that God justly punished them as Moses foretold, and begging for mercy and restoration.
• 3Baruch 3Following a plea for mercy, a wisdom poem identifies Israel’s exile as the result of forsaking God, the source of wisdom.
• 4Baruch 4Jerusalem laments her children's exile, exhorts them to seek God, and promises that their captors will soon face destruction.
• 5Baruch 5Jerusalem is commanded to cast off her mourning as God gloriously gathers and returns her exiled children on a flattened path.
• 6Baruch 6Jeremiah’s letter warns Jewish exiles in Babylon not to fear or worship lifeless Babylonian idols made of wood, gold, and silver.