 巴:1.(bar)  [巴路克]    [Baruk]   [共 6 章]  [思高聖經]
  
 巴:1.1      以下是巴路克在巴比倫所寫的書上的言論：──巴路克是乃梨雅的兒子，是瑪阿色雅的孫子，是漆德克雅的曾孫，是哈撒狄雅的玄孫，是希耳克亞的四世孫－
 巴:1.2      那時是加色丁人佔領和焚毀耶路撒冷五週年月之七日，
 巴:1.3      巴路克把這本書上的言論，朗誦給猶大王約雅金的兒子耶苛尼雅，及一切前來聽講的人：
 巴:1.4      即貴族和王孫、長老和全體人民，不分老幼，他們都住在巴比倫穌得河畔。
 巴:1.5      他們聽了，便痛哭起來，在上主面前禁食祈禱；
 巴:1.6      又各按自己的力量募集了銀錢，
 巴:1.7      送到耶路撒冷，交給沙隆的孫子希耳克雅的兒子約雅金司祭，和與他同在耶路撒冷的其他司祭和全體人民。
 巴:1.8      同時巴路克在「息汪」月十日，取回了被人從聖殿中奪去的器皿，準備帶回猶大地去──這些銀器皿原是猶大王約史雅的兒子漆德克雅鑄造的；
 巴:1.9      那時，巴比倫王拿步高已由耶路撒冷將耶苛尼雅、政要、技工、貴族和當地的平民擄到巴比倫去了──
 巴:1.10     他們致書說：「請看，我們給你們送來一批銀錢，要你們購買全燔祭及贖罪祭的犧牲和乳香，備辦祭品，獻在上主我們天主的祭壇上，
 巴:1.11     並為巴比倫王拿步高，和他的兒子巴耳塔撒的長壽祈禱，使他們在世壽與天齊；
 巴:1.12     並望上主賜與我們力量，光照我們的眼目，使我們能在巴比倫王拿步高，和他的兒子巴耳塔撒的福蔭下生活，長久事奉他們，在他們面前獲得寵遇。
 巴:1.13     此外，願你們也為我們祈求上主我們的天主，因為我們得罪了上主我們的天主，因此時至今日，上主的義怒和憤恨，仍未離開我們。
 巴:1.14     最後，願你們誦讀我們遙寄給你們的這封書信，好能在帳棚節和大集會那日在上主的聖所裏自訟自承，
 巴:1.15     說：[認罪悔過]  正義屬於上主我們的天主，但是，像今日的恥辱，是我們所應得的，即猶大人和耶路撒冷的居民，
 巴:1.16     [認罪悔過]  我們的君王和政要，我們的司祭和先知，以及我們的祖先，所應得的，
 巴:1.17     因為我們都在上主面前犯了罪，
 巴:1.18     且背叛了他，沒有聽從上主我們天主的聲音，沒有隨從上主給我們頒賜的法令。
 巴:1.19     從上主領我們的祖先出離埃及地那一天，直到今日，我們常背叛上主我們的天主，固執不聽他的聲音，
 巴:1.20     因此正如今日一樣，諸多災難纏繞著我們，而上主在領我們的祖先出離埃及地為賜與我們流奶流蜜之地的那天，藉他的僕人梅瑟預告的詛咒，都降到我們身上。
 巴:1.21     我們不但沒有依照上主給我們派來的先知的種種教訓，聽從上主我們天主的聲音，
 巴:1.22     反而各隨自己邪心惡念行事，供奉外邦的神祇，行了上主我們天主所憎惡的事。
  
 巴:2.1      [承認受的刑罰很公道]  為此，上主實踐了他對我們，和對治理以色列的我們的長官，對我們的君王和政要，對以色列人和猶大人所說的話：
 巴:2.2      他在耶路撒冷按著梅瑟法律的記載所作的，在普天之下從來沒有發生過，
 巴:2.3      就是：我們中有人烹食自己兒子的肉，有人烹食自己女兒的肉；
 巴:2.4      且將他們交付給我們四周列國權下，使他們在上主叫他們流徙所到的四鄰民族中，遭受詛咒凌辱，
 巴:2.5      他們成了階下囚，不是在人之上，因為我們得罪了上主我們的天主，沒有聽從他的聲音。
 巴:2.6      [充軍者的懺悔]  正義屬於上主我們的天主，但是像今日的恥辱，是我們和我們的祖先所應得的。
 巴:2.7      上主對我們所警告的一切災禍，都來到了我們身上。
 巴:2.8      但我們沒有勉力求上主息怒，誰也沒有離棄自己的邪心惡念，
 巴:2.9      因此上主常警錶，等待時機，把災禍降到我們身上；的確，不論上主吩咐我們什麼，他常是正義的，
 巴:2.10     只是我們沒有聽從他的聲音，沒有按照上主給我們頒賜的法令行事。
 巴:2.11     [懇切祈禱]  如今，上主以色列的天主!你曾以強力的手、奇事、神蹟、偉大的能力和伸展的手臂，領你的人民出離了埃及地，使你獲得有如今日的盛名。
 巴:2.12     上主，我們的天主啊!我們犯了罪，行了不義，違犯了你的一切誡命，
 巴:2.13     願你的義怒不再向我們發作，因為在你使我們流徙所到的民族中，我們剩下的人數已很稀少。
 巴:2.14     上主，求你俯聽我們的祈求和哀禱，求你為了你的緣故，拯救我們，恩賜我們在俘擄我們的人前獲得寵遇，
 巴:2.15     叫全地都知道你是上主，我們的天主，因為以色列和他的後裔，是歸你名下的。
 巴:2.16     上主，求你從你的聖殿垂視眷念我們；上主，求你側耳俯聽；
 巴:2.17     上主，求你睜眼看一看，不是那些在陰府裏，五內已沒有氣息的死人，能歸光榮和正義於上主，
 巴:2.18     而是備受痛苦的心靈，行走傴僂和力量衰弱，眼睛憔悴無光，和忍饑受餓的生靈，纔能歸光榮和正義於你，上主!
 巴:2.19     [承認不堪受上主的仁慈]  上主，我們的天主!我們並不是仗恃我們祖先或我們君王的功績，將我們的請求呈遞到你台前，
 巴:2.20     因為你曾向我們生氣發怒，正如你藉你的僕人先知們申明說：
 巴:2.21     「上主這樣說：你們該低頭服事巴比倫王，這樣你們便可住在我賜給你們祖先的地上；
 巴:2.22     假使你們不聽從上主的聲音，不服事巴比倫王，
 巴:2.23     我就要使猶大城內，和耶路撒冷街上再也聽不到歡愉和喜樂的聲音，新郎和新娘的聲音，全地要變為無人居住的荒野。」
 巴:2.24     我們既沒有聽從你的聲音，沒有服事巴比倫王，所以你實踐了你藉你的僕人先知們說的話：「我們的君王和我們祖先的骨骸，必被人從墳墓中掘出來。」
 巴:2.25     看，他們已被掘了出來，日晒夜凍。他們都在極慘的痛苦中，死於饑餓、刀劍和瘟疫；
 巴:2.26     連那歸你名下的殿宇，因了以色列家和猶大家的罪孽，你也將它弄成像今日的樣子。
 巴:2.27     [上主必施仁慈]  雖然如此，上主我們的天主!你對待我們實在寬宏大量，無限仁慈，
 巴:2.28     正如你在命令你的僕人梅瑟給以色列子民寫下你的法律的那天，藉他申明說：
 巴:2.29     「假使你們不聽從我的聲音，這龐大的民眾，在我使他們流徙所到的民族中，必會變成弱小的。
 巴:2.30     我原知道他們不會聽從我，因為他們是一強項的民族；但是在充軍的地方，他們必回心轉意，
 巴:2.31     承認我是上主，他們的天主，我也要賜他們心明耳順，
 巴:2.32     叫他們在充軍之地讚美我，記念我的名號。
 巴:2.33     他們必回心轉意，不再強項，不再作惡，因為他們記著他們在上主面前犯罪的祖先的結局。
 巴:2.34     那時，我要再領他們回到我起誓許給他們的祖先亞巴郎、依撒格和雅各伯的地域去，叫他們恢復祖業；我也要增加他們的人數，叫他們不再減少；
 巴:2.35     我要與他們訂立永久的盟約：我要作他們的天主，他們要作我的人民；我決不再將我的人民以色列逐出我賜與他們的地域。」
  
 巴:3.1      [祈主施援]  全能的上主，以色列的天主!憂傷的靈魂和苦惱的心靈正在向你呼號：
 巴:3.2      上主!求你俯聽垂憐，因為你是仁慈的天主；求你垂憐，因我們得罪了你。
 巴:3.3      你永居王位，而我們卻要永遠喪亡。
 巴:3.4      全能的上主，以色列的天主!求你俯聽垂死的以色列人，和犯罪得罪了你的人的子孫的祈禱：他們沒有聽從你，他們天主的聲音，因此災禍便纏繞我們。
 巴:3.5      求你不再紀憶我們祖先的不義，求你在此時只憶及你的威能和你的聖名，
 巴:3.6      因為你是上主，我們的天主，我們要讚頌你，上主!
 巴:3.7      你使我們存心敬畏你，正是為叫我們稱呼你的名號；如今我們就在流徙之地讚頌你，從心裏離棄我們的祖先在你前所犯的一切不義。
 巴:3.8      看，我們今天仍在你叫我們流徙所到的充軍地，飽受詛咒凌辱，為補贖我們祖先的一切不義，因為他們離棄了上主，我們的天主。
  
                             二　先知的勸言(３9－４4)
  
 巴:3.9      [真實的智慧]  以色列，請聽取生命的規律，請側耳領會智慧。
 巴:3.10     以色列! 這是什麼事呢﹖怎麼你竟住在敵人的國內，在異地衰老，
 巴:3.11     與亡者同污，與降入陰府的人同列呢﹖
 巴:3.12     這是因為你離棄了智慧的泉源。
 巴:3.13     倘若你走天主的道路，你必永遠處於平安之中。
 巴:3.14     你應學習智慧的所在，力量的所在，聰明的所在；這樣，你也能知道長壽和生命的所在，眼的光明和平安的所在。
 巴:3.15     誰找到了智慧的處所﹖誰進入了智慧的寶庫﹖
 巴:3.16     [智慧憑人力不可獲得]  治理人民和馴服地上走獸的人，在那裏呢﹖
 巴:3.17     玩弄空中的飛鳥和積蓄人依恃的金銀而貪得無厭的人，在那裏呢﹖
 巴:3.18     專心致志鑄造銀器，使自己的作品無奇不有的人，在那裏呢﹖
 巴:3.29     他們都不見了，降入了陰府；已另有人起來代替了他們。
 巴:3.20     年輕的一代一生在世上，就住在地上；但他們仍不認識智慧的道路，
 巴:3.21     仍不知道智慧的途徑，連他們的子孫，也沒有得到她，因為他們離她的道路很遠。
 巴:3.22     在客納罕沒有人聽說過她，在特曼沒有人看見過她，
 巴:3.23     連在地上尋求明智的哈加爾的子孫，以及講說寓言並尋求明智的米得楊和特瑪商人，也不認識智慧的道路，不提及她的途徑。
 巴:3.24     以色列天主的住所多麼廣大，他的領域多麼寬闊!
 巴:3.25     真是廣大無邊，高遠無垠。
 巴:3.26     在那裏曾出生過自古有名，身材魁梧和勇敢善戰的巨人，
 巴:3.27     天主卻沒有簡選他們，沒有指示給他們智慧的道路；
 巴:3.28     他們滅亡了，因為沒有智慧；他們滅亡了，因為他們昏愚。
 巴:3.29     誰曾上到天上，取得智慧，使她從雲中降下﹖
 巴:3.30     誰曾橫渡海洋，尋獲智慧，用純金購買了她呢﹖
 巴:3.31     沒有人認識她的道路，沒有人探得她的途徑。
 巴:3.32     [惟獨天主有智慧]  惟有那全知者認識她，以自己的才智尋獲了她，是他永遠堅定了大地，使大地充滿了牲畜；
 巴:3.33     是他命閃光發出，閃光即發出；他一召回，即顫慄應命。
 巴:3.34     星辰各在自己的崗位閃爍，喜形於色；
 巴:3.35     他一召喚，隨即答說：我們在此!向自己的創造者欣然閃爍。
 巴:3.36     他就是我們的天主，沒有別的可同他相比；
 巴:3.37     他尋得的智慧的一切道路，將她賜給了他的僕人雅各伯，和他心愛的以色列；
 巴:3.38     從此智慧在地上出現，與世人共相往還。
  
 巴:4.1      她就是天主的誡命書，是永存的法律；凡遵守她的，必得生命；凡離棄她的，必要死亡。
 巴:4.2      雅各伯!你該悔悟，該爭取她，該在她的光照下，向者著光輝進發；
 巴:4.3      你應該將你的光榮給與他人，不要將你的特權讓與異民。
 巴:4.4      以色列人，我們真有福!天主將所喜悅的，啟示給我們了。
  
           三　安慰書
  
 巴:4.5      [小引]  我的百姓，以色列的遺民啊!請你們鼓起勇氣!
 巴:4.6      你們被賣給外邦人，不是為被消滅，只是因為你們觸怒了天主，你們纔被交付給敵人；
 巴:4.7      實在，你們觸怒了你們的造主，因為你們給惡魔而不給天主獻祭，
 巴:4.8      忘了生養你們的永生的天主，使養育你們的耶路撒冷悲傷，
 巴:4.9      她眼見天主的義怒降在你們身上，不由得說： [耶路撒冷訴苦：「熙雍的鄰邦!請你們聽罷!天主給我招來了莫大的憂苦]
 巴:4.10     因為我看見我的兒女被放逐：這是永生者放逐他們。
 巴:4.11     我曾在喜樂中，撫養了他們，如今卻在痛苦悲傷中讓他們離去。
 巴:4.12     誰也不要對我這被眾人遣棄的寡婦，幸災樂禍!我孤苦伶仃，是為了我子女的罪惡，因為他們離棄了天主的法律；
 巴:4.13     他們沒有認識他的規誡，沒有履行天主誡命的道路，沒有隨從他正義紀律的路途。
 巴:4.14     熙雍的鄰邦!請你們前來，懷念永生者放逐我兒女的事。
 巴:4.15     他從遠方給他們引來了一個民族，是一個沒有廉恥和言語不同的民族，不知敬老，也不知恤幼。
 巴:4.16     他們奪去了寡婦的愛子，使她喪失兒女，孤苦伶仃。
 巴:4.17     但是我又怎能援助你們呢﹖
 巴:4.18     只有給你們招來這些災禍的那位，纔能救你們脫離敵人的掌握。
 巴:4.19     去罷!孩子們，去罷!我該獨自一個留下；
 巴:4.20     我要脫去昇平時的衣飾，穿上我哀禱的苦衣，一生不斷向永生者呼號。
 巴:4.21     孩子們!奮勇起來向天主呼號罷!他必拯救你們脫離強權和敵人的掌握。
 巴:4.22     我曾期望永生者拯救你們，聖者就給我帶來喜樂，因為永生者，你們的救主，不久就要對你們施行仁慈。
 巴:4.23     我曾含淚悲痛讓你們離去，天主卻快要以永遠的喜樂和歡欣，將你們交還給我；
 巴:4.24     就如現在熙雍的鄰邦看見你們被擄去，同樣不久他們要見到你們的天主以絕大的光榮，和永恒的光輝賜給你們的救援。
 巴:4.25     孩子們!你們該忍受天主向你們發洩的忿怒。仇人迫害了你，但不久你將看見他們的沒落和踐踏他們的頸項。
 巴:4.26     我嬌貴的兒女被人擄去，沿著崎嶇的道路前行，好似被仇人奪去的羊群。
 巴:4.27     孩子們!奮勇起來，向天主呼號罷!因為使這事降到你們身上的那位，必要眷念你們。
 巴:4.28     從前你們心意昏愚，徘徊岐途，遠離天主；如今卻要十倍往昔，回轉頭來尋求天主，
 巴:4.29     因為給你們招來這些災禍的那位，要拯救你們，賜給你們永遠的喜樂。
 巴:4.30     [耶路撒冷獲得安慰]  耶路撒冷!請你鼓起勇氣!給你起名的那位，必要撫慰你。
 巴:4.31     凡虐待過你，見你衰落而欣喜的，是有禍的；
 巴:4.32     奴役你子女的，是有禍的；那收留過你子女的城邑，是有禍的；
 巴:4.33     因為她怎樣見你衰落而歡欣，怎樣見你滅亡而喜慶，她也要同樣因自己的荒涼而哀傷。
 巴:4.34     我必奪去她因人煙稠密而有的繁榮，使她的誇耀化為哀傷，
 巴:4.35     因為必有長久不滅的火從永生者那裏降在她身上，使她長期受惡魔的侵擾。
 巴:4.36     耶路撒冷!請你向東遠眺，遙望由天主那裏給你降來的喜樂。
 巴:4.37     看，離你遠去的子女正在歸來；奉聖者的命，他們由東方到西方，集合歸來，因著天主的光榮喜躍若狂。
  
 巴:5.1      耶路撒冷!請你脫去你居喪悲傷的衣裳，永遠穿上天主光榮的華服，
 巴:5.2      披上天主正義的披肩，在你頭上戴上永生者光榮的冠冕，
 巴:5.3      因為天主要對天下萬邦顯示你的榮耀，
 巴:5.4      給你起名永遠叫「正義的和平」和「虔敬的光榮。」
 巴:5.5      耶路撒冷!請你起來，站在高處，向東遠眺，看，你的子女奉聖者的命，由西方 至東方集合，喜慶天主終於想起了他們。
 巴:5.6      他們離你遠去，由仇人押送步行；如今天主卻將他們給你再領回來；他們體面光榮，被人抬回，好像皇子一樣；
 巴:5.7      因為天主已命令夷平一切的高山和永恒的丘陵，填平所有的山谷，使它們化為平地，好讓以色列在天主的光榮下平安前行；
 巴:5.8      森林和一切香樹要依照天主的命令，給以色列散佈蔭涼；
 巴:5.9      因為天主要在喜樂中，以自己本有的仁慈和正義，在自己榮耀的光輝下，親自領回以色列。
  
           四　耶肋米亞的書信
  
 巴:6.0      這是耶肋米亞給那些被巴比倫王要擄到巴比倫去作俘擄的人，寄發的書信副本，給他們報告天主吩咐他的事。
 巴:7.1      [寫信的目的]  為了你們在天主面前犯的罪過，你們纔被巴比倫人的君王拿步高擄到巴比倫去作俘擄。
 巴:7.2      你們到了巴比倫，要在那裏寄居多年和一長久的時間，直到第七代，然後我纔領你們從那裏平安出來。
 巴:7.3      你們在巴比倫時，要看見許多金、銀、木製的神像，由人們抬在肩上，向外方人示威。
 巴:7.4      你們務要小心，切不要連你們也像外邦人一樣，對這些神像，起敬起畏。
 巴:7.5      幾時你們一見群眾在神像前敬拜，就該在心中說：上主，只有你應受欽崇。
 巴:7.6      因為有我的天使與你們在一起，他必照顧你們的性命。
 巴:7.7      [偶像無能]  神像的舌頭是匠人琢磨的，再包上金銀；都是假造的，不能說話。
 巴:7.8      人們又拿金子，打造金冠，戴在他們神像的頭上，像是一個愛裝飾的女郎。
 巴:7.9      有時司祭竟竊取神像身上的金銀，私自使用，甚或用以酬謝院中的廟妓。
 巴:7.10     這些金、銀、木製的神像，穿上衣裳雖像人一樣，仍不免要生銹生蟲。
 巴:7.11     它們雖身披紫錦紅袍，臉上卻不斷落滿廟內的塵土，需人拂拭。
 巴:7.12     有些手執權杖，像是一個作地方判官的人，卻不能處死得罪自己的人；
 巴:7.13     有些右手執劍持斧，卻不能拯救自己脫免戰爭和強盜。
 巴:7.14     由此可知它們並不是神，不應害怕!
 巴:7.15     [偶像無用]  正如人做的器皿，一經破爛，就失去了用途；安置在廟裏的神像，也是這樣。
 巴:7.16     它們的眼睛蓋滿了進廟的人雙腳揚起的灰塵；
 巴:7.17     如同對得罪皇上，快要處死的囚犯，四面門窗緊閉；同樣司祭設門安鎖加閂，關閉它們的廟宇，以免強盜來洗劫。
 巴:7.18     廟宇裏的燈，點得比神像還多；可是它們連一盞也看不見。
 巴:7.19     它們好像廟中的木樑一樣：人們都說它們的內部已經腐爛；地裏出來的爬蟲侵食它們和它們的衣飾，它們卻毫不自覺；
 巴:7.20     它們的臉面已讓廟裏的火煙燻得烏黑；
 巴:7.21     蝙蝠、燕子和雀鳥，都在它們身上頭上飛舞；同樣，貓兒也任情跳躍：
 巴:7.22     由此你們該知，它們並不是神，不應害怕!
 巴:7.23     [偶像無知]  人給神像包上金銀，為光華美麗，但若沒有人擦去銹污，它們不會光亮；因為即在被鑄造時，它們已毫無知覺。
 巴:7.24     不論人用什麼價錢將它們買來，它們總不會生氣；
 巴:7.25     它們沒有腳，要人抬在肩上，給人露出自己的恥辱，致使敬拜的人也因此感到羞愧；為使它們不翻倒在地，就得由人扶持；
 巴:7.26     人若把它們直立起來，它們不能自己行動；如果歪斜了，又不能自動直立；人給它們擺上供物，亦無異給死人上供。
 巴:7.27     人給它們獻的犧牲，司祭卻加以變賣，從中取利；司祭的妻室亦照樣醃存一些祭品，也不施捨給貧苦和殘疾的人；甚至在經期和將分娩的婦女，都敢觸摸獻給它們的祭品：
 巴:7.28     由此可知它們並不是神，不應害怕。
 巴:7.29     [偶像的敬禮可恥]  實在，它們怎麼能稱為神呢﹖連婦女也敢給這些金、銀、木製神像獻祭。
 巴:7.30     在廟裏，司祭穿著破裂的袈裟，剃去了鬚髮，光頭坐著；
 巴:7.31     或在神像前狂呼亂叫，好像參加喪宴的人一樣；
 巴:7.32     又脫掉神像的衣服，給自己的妻子兒女穿。
 巴:7.33     人們待神像好壞，它們都不能回報；不能委任或廢除君王，
 巴:7.34     也不能賜人財帛銀錢；人若許願而不實踐，它們也不能追索；
 巴:7.35     不能救人不死，也不能由強者手中搶救弱者；
 巴:7.36     不能使瞎子恢復視力，也不能救人脫免患難；
 巴:7.37     不知憐恤寡婦，也不知加惠孤兒：
 巴:7.38     這些包金包銀和木製的神像，好比山間採來的石塊，敬拜的人都要蒙受羞辱：
 巴:7.39     既然這樣，人又怎能相信，或稱呼它們為神呢﹖
 巴:7.40     [偶像的敬禮荒唐]  連加色丁人也不尊敬它們；幾時看見一個不能說話的啞吧，就領他到貝耳面前，求賜說話奇恩，好像它能垂聽一樣。
 巴:7.41     他們明知不能，卻不能離棄這些神祇，因為他們都愚昧無知。
 巴:7.42     婦女們身上繫上繩索，坐在路旁，燒麥糠為香；
 巴:7.43     若其中一個被一過路男人帶去，與她同睡，她就笑罵自己的同伴不如自己有身價，因為她的帶子還沒有扯斷。
 巴:7.44     對這些神像做的一切，無不荒唐，既然這樣，人又怎能相信，或稱呼它們為神呢﹖
 巴:7.45     [偶像是人的作品]  它們全是由木匠和金匠製成的，不能是別的，只能是這些匠人願做成的物品。
 巴:7.46     製造它們的那些人，自己還活不長久，他們製造的作品，又怎能是神呢﹖
 巴:7.47     只不過給自己的後代，留下欺騙和羞辱，
 巴:7.48     因為幾時民間有了戰爭或災難，司祭們就彼此商議何處能同這些神像一起隱藏。
 巴:7.49     它們竟不能救自己免於戰爭或災難，人怎麼還不覺悟它們並非神明呢﹖
 巴:7.50     由此可知：這些包金包銀和木製的神像，只不過是偽造，萬民和君王都清楚知道它們不是神明，只不過是人手的作品，沒有一點神明的作為﹖
 巴:7.51     如此還有誰不知道它們不是神明呢﹖
 巴:7.52     [偶像無力自救]  它們不能給一地方建立君王，不能給人興雲降雨；
 巴:7.53     不能為人決獄斷案，不能救護受迫害的人，因為它們毫無能力，猶如飛翔天地間的烏鴉。
 巴:7.54     幾時這些包金包銀和木製的神像的廟裏起了火，司祭們都各自逃命，它們只有像棟樑一樣，被火燒毀。
 巴:7.55     他們既不能抵抗君王和仇敵，
 巴:7.56     人怎麼還能承認，或相信它們是神呢﹖
 巴:7.57     [偶像一無可取]  這些包金包銀和木製的神像，不能救自己脫免強盜和匪徒；比它們更有力的人奪去了它們的金銀，和它們穿的衣服以後，安然離去，它們竟不能自助自救。
 巴:7.58     為此虛假的神祇，還不如一個彰顯自己權威的君王，或家中一個能供主人使用的器皿；虛假的神祇，還不如能使家中一切安全的房門；虛假的神祇，還不如一根支撐皇宮的木柱。
 巴:7.59     太陽、月亮和星辰放出光明，執行自己的職務，無不從命；
 巴:7.60     同樣，雷電閃耀，光輝燦爛；風也依命吹向四方；
 巴:7.61     雲彩一奉天主的命，即飛遊全球，執行使命；電火亦遵命行事，從天降下，燒毀山嶺森林；
 巴:7.62     論美麗，論能力，這些神像都不能與它們相比：
 巴:7.63     為此，人不應相信或稱呼它們為神，因為它們不能施行審判，也不能施惠於人。
 巴:7.64     因此，該知道它們並不是神，不應害怕。
 巴:7.65     [偶像不能降災賜福]  這些神像不能詛咒，也不能祝福君王；
 巴:7.66     不能給萬民顯示天上的奇蹟，也不能像太陽一般輝耀像月亮一般光明。
 巴:7.67     它們竟連走獸也不如，因為走獸還能逃到安身的地區，營救自己。
 巴:7.68     不論在任何情形下，我們都清楚看出：它們不是神，所以你們不應害怕!
 巴:7.69     [偶像無異是個死屍]  就如一個稻草人在瓜果園內，不能看守什麼；這些包金包銀和木製的神也是如此。
 巴:7.70     此外，這些包金包銀和木製的神，彷彿園中任各種飛鳥棲息的荊棘叢，又彷彿被人拋棄在暗處的死屍；
 巴:7.71     從它們身上那腐爛了的紫錦和麻衣，你們便可以知道它們並不是神；最後連它們自己也要被蟲吃盡，成為地上的恥辱。 [巴路克完篇]
 巴:6.72     故此是沒有偶像的義人好，恥辱決不到他身上。

 bar:1.       [Baruch]   6 chapters   [巴路克]  [英文版]
   
 bar:1.1    Now these are the words of the scroll which Baruch, son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, son of Zedekiah, son of Hasadiah, son of Hilkiah, wrote in Babylon,
 bar:1.2    in the fifth year (on the seventh day of the month, at the time when the Chaldeans took Jerusalem and burnt it with fire).
 bar:1.3    And Baruch read the words of this scroll for Jeconiah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to hear it, as well as all the people who came to the reading:
 bar:1.4    the nobles, the kings' sons, the elders, and the whole people, small and great alike--all who lived in Babylon by the river Sud.
 bar:1.5    They wept and fasted and prayed before the LORD,
 bar:1.6    and collected such funds as each could furnish.
 bar:1.7    These they sent to Jerusalem, to Jehoiakim, son of Hilkiah, son of Shallum, the priest, and to the priests and the whole people who were with him in Jerusalem.
 bar:1.8    (This was when he received the vessels of the house of the Lord that had been removed from the temple, to restore them to the land of Judah, on the tenth of Sivan. These silver vessels Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah, had had made
 bar:1.9    after Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, carried off Jeconiah, and the princes, and the skilled workers, and the nobles, and the people of the land from Jerusalem, as captives, and brought them to Babylon.)
 bar:1.10   Their message was: "We send you funds, with which you are to procure holocausts, sin offerings, and frankincense, and to prepare cereal offerings; offer these on the altar of the LORD our God,
 bar:1.11   and pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and that of Belshazzar, his son, that their lifetimes may equal the duration of the heavens above the earth;
 bar:1.12   and that the LORD may give us strength, and light to our eyes, that we may live under the protective shadow of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and that of Belshazzar, his son, and serve them long, finding favor in their sight.
 bar:1.13   "Pray for us also to the LORD, our God; for we have sinned against the LORD, our God, and the wrath and anger of the LORD have not yet been withdrawn from us at the present day.
 bar:1.14   And read out publicly this scroll which we send you, in the house of the LORD, on the feast day and during the days of assembly:
 bar:1.15   "Justice is with the LORD, our God; and we today are flushed with shame, we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem,
 bar:1.16   that we, with our kings and rulers and priests and prophets, and with our fathers,
 bar:1.17   have sinned in the LORD'S sight
 bar:1.18   and disobeyed him. We have neither heeded the voice of the LORD, our God, nor followed the precepts which the LORD set before us.
 bar:1.19   From the time the LORD led our fathers out of the land of Egypt until the present day, we have been disobedient to the LORD, our God, and only too ready to disregard his voice.
 bar:1.20   And the evils and the curse which the LORD enjoined upon Moses, his servant, at the time he led our fathers forth from the land of Egypt to give us the land flowing with milk and honey, cling to us even today.
 bar:1.21   For we did not heed the voice of the LORD, our God, in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us,
 bar:1.22   but each one of us went off after the devices of our own wicked hearts, served other gods, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, our God.
   
 bar:2.1    "And the LORD fulfilled the warning he had uttered against us: against our judges, who governed Israel, against our kings and princes, and against the men of Israel and Judah.
 bar:2.2    He brought down upon us evils so great that there has not been done anywhere under heaven what has been done in Jerusalem, as was written in the law of Moses:
 bar:2.3    that one after another of us should eat the flesh of his son or of his daughter.
 bar:2.4    He has made us subject to all the kingdoms round about us, a reproach and a horror among all the nations round about to which the LORD has scattered us.
 bar:2.5    We are brought low, not raised up, because we sinned against the LORD, our God, not heeding his voice.
 bar:2.6    "Justice is with the LORD, our God; and we, like our fathers, are flushed with shame even today.
 bar:2.7    All the evils of which the LORD had warned us have come upon us:
 bar:2.8    and we did not plead before the LORD, or turn, each from the figments of his evil heart.
 bar:2.9    And the LORD kept watch over the evils, and brought them home to us; for the LORD is just in all the works he commanded us to do,
 bar:2.10   but we did not heed his voice, or follow the precepts of the LORD which he set before us.
 bar:2.11   "And now, LORD, God of Israel, you who led your people out of the land of Egypt with your mighty hand, with signs and wonders and great might, and with your upraised arm, so that you have made for yourself a name till the present day:
 bar:2.12   we have sinned, been impious, and violated, O LORD, our God, all your statutes.
 bar:2.13   Let your anger be withdrawn from us, for we are left few in number among the nations to which you scattered us.
 bar:2.14   Hear, O LORD, our prayer of supplication, and deliver us for your own sake: grant us favor in the presence of our captors,
 bar:2.15   that the whole earth may know that you are the LORD, our God, and that Israel and his descendants bear your name.
 bar:2.16   O LORD, look down from your holy dwelling and take thought of us; turn, O LORD, your ear to hear us.
 bar:2.17   Look directly at us, and behold: it is not the dead in the nether world, whose spirits have been taken from within them, who will give glory and vindication to the LORD.
 bar:2.18   He whose soul is deeply grieved, who walks bowed and feeble, with failing eyes and famished soul, will declare your glory and justice, LORD!
 bar:2.19   "Not on the just deeds of our fathers and our kings do we base our plea for mercy in your sight, O LORD, our God.
 bar:2.20   You have brought your wrath and anger down upon us, as you had warned us through your servants the prophets:
 bar:2.21   'Thus says the LORD: Bend your shoulders to the service of the king of Babylon, that you may continue in the land I gave your fathers:
 bar:2.22   for if you do not hear the LORD'S voice so as to serve the king of Babylon,
 bar:2.23   I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem The sounds of joy and the sounds of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; And all the land shall be deserted, without inhabitants.'
 bar:2.24   But we did not heed your voice, or serve the king of Babylon, and you fulfilled the threats you had made through your servants the prophets, to have the bones of our kings and the bones of our fathers brought out from their burial places.
 bar:2.25   And indeed, they lie exposed to the heat of day and the frost of night. They died in dire anguish, by hunger and the sword and plague.
 bar:2.26   And you reduced the house which bears your name to what it is today, for the wickedness of the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Judah.
 bar:2.27   "But with us, O Lord, our God, you have dealt in all your clemency and in all your great mercy.
 bar:2.28   This was your warning through your servant Moses, the day you ordered him to write down your law in the presence of the Israelites:
 bar:2.29   If you do not heed my voice, surely this great and numerous throng will dwindle away among the nations to which I will scatter them.
 bar:2.30   For I know they will not heed me, because they are a stiff-necked people. But in the land of their captivity they shall have a change of heart;
 bar:2.31   they shall know that I, the LORD, am their God. I will give them hearts, and heedful ears;
 bar:2.32   and they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and shall invoke my name.
 bar:2.33   Then they shall turn back from their stiff-necked stubbornness, and from their evil deeds, because they shall remember the fate of their fathers who sinned against the LORD.
 bar:2.34   And I will bring them back to the land which with my oath I promised to their fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and they shall rule it. I will make them increase; they shall not then diminish.
 bar:2.35   And I will establish for them, as an eternal covenant, that I will be their God, and they shall be my people; and I will not again remove my people Israel from the land I gave them.
   
 bar:3.1    "LORD Almighty, God of Israel, afflicted souls and dismayed spirits call to you.
 bar:3.2    Hear, O LORD, for you are a God of mercy; and have mercy on us, who have sinned against you:
 bar:3.3    for you are enthroned forever, while we are perishing forever.
 bar:3.4    LORD Almighty, God of Israel, hear the prayer of Israel's few, the sons of those who sinned against you; they did not heed the voice of the LORD, their God, and the evils cling to us.
 bar:3.5    Remember at this time not the misdeeds of our fathers, but your own hand and name:
 bar:3.6    for you are the LORD our God; and you, O LORD, we will praise!
 bar:3.7    For this, you put into our hearts the fear of you: that we may call upon your name, and praise you in our captivity, when we have removed from our hearts all the wickedness of our fathers who sinned against you.
 bar:3.8    Behold us today in our captivity, where you scattered us, a reproach, a curse, and a requital for all the misdeeds of our fathers, who withdrew from the LORD, our God."
 bar:3.9    Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life: listen, and know prudence!
 bar:3.10   How is it, Israel, that you are in the land of your foes, grown old in a foreign land, Defiled with the dead,
 bar:3.11   accounted with those destined for the nether world?
 bar:3.12   You have forsaken the fountain of wisdom!
 bar:3.13   Had you walked in the way of God, you would have dwelt in enduring peace.
 bar:3.14   Learn where prudence is, where strength, where understanding; That you may know also where are length of days, and life, where light of the eyes, and peace.
 bar:3.15   Who has found the place of wisdom, who has entered into her treasuries?
 bar:3.16   Where are the rulers of the nations, they who lorded it over the wild beasts of the earth,
 bar:3.17   and made sport of the birds of the heavens: They who heaped up the silver and the gold in which men trust; of whose possessions there was no end?
 bar:3.18   They schemed anxiously for money, but there is no trace of their work:
 bar:3.19   They have vanished down into the nether world, and others have risen up in their stead.
 bar:3.20   Later generations have seen the light, have dwelt in the land, But the way to understanding they have not known,
 bar:3.21   they have not perceived her paths, or reached her; their offspring were far from the way to her.
 bar:3.22   She has not been heard of in Canaan, nor seen in Teman.
 bar:3.23   The sons of Hagar who seek knowledge on earth, the merchants of Midian and Teman, the phrasemakers seeking knowledge, These have not known the way to wisdom, nor have they her paths in mind.
 bar:3.24   O Israel, how vast is the house of God, how broad the scope of his dominion:
 bar:3.25   Vast and endless, high and immeasurable!
 bar:3.26   In it were born the giants, renowned at the first, stalwarts, skilled in war.
 bar:3.27   Not these did God choose, nor did he give them the way of understanding;
 bar:3.28   They perished for lack of prudence, perished through their folly.
 bar:3.29   Who has gone up to the heavens and taken her, or brought her down from the clouds?
 bar:3.30   Who has crossed the sea and found her, bearing her away rather than choice gold?
 bar:3.31   None knows the way to her, nor has any understood her paths.
 bar:3.32   Yet he who knows all things knows her; he has probed her by his knowledge-- He who established the earth for all time, and filled it with four-footed beasts;
 bar:3.33   He who dismisses the light, and it departs, calls it, and it obeys him trembling;
 bar:3.34   Before whom the stars at their posts shine and rejoice;
 bar:3.35   When he calls them, they answer, "Here we are!" shining with joy for their Maker.
 bar:3.36   Such is our God; no other is to be compared to him:
 bar:3.37   He has traced out all the way of understanding, and has given her to Jacob, his servant, to Israel, his beloved son.
 bar:3.38   Since then she has appeared on earth, and moved among men.
   
 bar:4.1    She is the book of the precepts of God, the law that endures forever; All who cling to her will live, but those will die who forsake her.
 bar:4.2    Turn, O Jacob, and receive her: walk by her light toward splendor.
 bar:4.3    Give not your glory to another, your privileges to an alien race.
 bar:4.4    Blessed are we, O Israel; for what pleases God is known to us!
 bar:4.5    Fear not, my people! Remember, Israel,
 bar:4.6    You were sold to the nations not for your destruction; It was because you angered God that you were handed over to your foes.
 bar:4.7    For you provoked your Maker with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods;
 bar:4.8    You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you, and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you.
 bar:4.9    She indeed saw coming upon you the anger of God; and she said: "Hear, you neighbors of Zion! God has brought great mourning upon me,
 bar:4.10   For I have seen the captivity that the Eternal God has brought upon my sons and daughters.
 bar:4.11   With joy I fostered them; but with mourning and lament I let them go.
 bar:4.12   Let no one gloat over me, a widow, bereft of many: For the sins of my children I am left desolate, because they turned from the law of God,
 bar:4.13   and did not acknowledge his statutes; In the ways of God's commandments they did not walk, nor did they tread the disciplined paths of his justice.
 bar:4.14   "Let Zion's neighbors come, to take note of the captivity of my sons and daughters, brought upon them by the Eternal God.
 bar:4.15   He has brought against them a nation from afar, a nation ruthless and of alien speech, That has neither reverence for age nor tenderness for childhood;
 bar:4.16   They have led away this widow's cherished sons, have left me solitary, without daughters.
 bar:4.17   What can I do to help you?
 bar:4.18   He who has brought this evil upon you must himself deliver you from your enemies' hands.
 bar:4.19   Farewell, my children, farewell: I am left desolate.
 bar:4.20   I have taken off the garment of peace, have put on sackcloth for my prayer of supplication, and while I live I will cry out to the Eternal God.
 bar:4.21   "Fear not, my children; call upon God, who will deliver you from oppression at enemy hands.
 bar:4.22   I have trusted in the Eternal God for your welfare, and joy has come to me from the Holy One Because of the mercy that will swiftly reach you from your eternal savior.
 bar:4.23   With mourning and lament I sent you forth, but God will give you back to me with enduring gladness and joy.
 bar:4.24   As Zion's neighbors lately saw you taken captive, so shall they soon see God's salvation come to you, with great glory and the splendor of the Eternal God.
 bar:4.25   "My children, bear patiently the anger that has come from God upon you; Your enemies have persecuted you, and you will soon see their destruction and trample upon their necks.
 bar:4.26   My pampered children have trodden rough roads, carried off by their enemies like sheep in a raid.
 bar:4.27   Fear not, my children; call out to God! He who brought this upon you will remember you.
 bar:4.28   As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times the more to seek him;
 bar:4.29   For he who has brought disaster upon you will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy."
 bar:4.30   Fear not, Jerusalem! He who gave you your name is your encouragement.
 bar:4.31   Fearful are those who harmed you, who rejoiced at your downfall;
 bar:4.32   Fearful are the cities where your children were enslaved, fearful the city that took your sons.
 bar:4.33   As that city rejoiced at your collapse, and made merry at your downfall, so shall she grieve over her own desolation.
 bar:4.34   I will take from her the joyous throngs, and her exultation shall be turned to mourning:
 bar:4.35   For fire shall come upon her from the Eternal God, for a long time, and demons shall dwell in her from that time on.
 bar:4.36   Look to the east, Jerusalem! behold the joy that comes to you from God.
 bar:4.37   Here come your sons whom you once let go, gathered in from the east and from the west By the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God.
   
 bar:5.1    Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever:
 bar:5.2    Wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the mitre that displays the glory of the eternal name.
 bar:5.3    For God will show all the earth your splendor:
 bar:5.4    you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God's worship.
 bar:5.5    Up, Jerusalem! stand upon the heights; look to the east and see your children Gathered from the east and the west at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that they are remembered by God.
 bar:5.6    Led away on foot by their enemies they left you: but God will bring them back to you borne aloft in glory as on royal thrones.
 bar:5.7    For God has commanded that every lofty mountain be made low, And that the age-old depths and gorges be filled to level ground, that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.
 bar:5.8    The forests and every fragrant kind of tree have overshadowed Israel at God's command;
 bar:5.9    For God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company.
   
 bar:6.1    A copy of the letter which Jeremiah sent to those who were being led captive to Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to convey to them what God had commanded him: For the sins you committed before God, you are being led captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians.
 bar:6.2    When you reach Babylon you will be there many years, a period seven generations long; after which I will bring you back from there in peace.
 bar:6.3    And now in Babylon you will see borne upon men's shoulders gods of silver and gold and wood, which cast fear upon the pagans.
 bar:6.4    Take care that you yourselves do not imitate their alien example and stand in fear of them,
 bar:6.5    when you see the crowd before them and behind worshiping them. Rather, say in your hearts, "You, O LORD, are to be worshiped!";
 bar:6.6    for my angel is with you, and he is the custodian of your lives.
 bar:6.7    Their tongues are smoothed by woodworkers; they are covered with gold and silver-but they are a fraud, and cannot speak.
 bar:6.8    People bring gold, as to a maiden in love with ornament,
 bar:6.9    and furnish crowns for the heads of their gods. Then sometimes the priests take the silver and gold from their gods and spend it on themselves,
 bar:6.10   or give part of it to the harlots on the terrace. They trick them out in garments like men, these gods of silver and gold and wood;
 bar:6.11   but though they are wrapped in purple clothing, they are not safe from corrosion or insects.
 bar:6.12   They wipe their faces clean of the house dust which is thick upon them.
 bar:6.13   Each has a scepter, like the human ruler of a district; but none does away with those that offend against it.
 bar:6.14   Each has in its right hand an axe or dagger, but it cannot save itself from war or pillage. Thus it is known they are not gods; do not fear them.
 bar:6.15   As useless as one's broken tools
 bar:6.16   are their gods, set up in their houses; their eyes are full of dust from the feet of those who enter.
 bar:6.17   Their courtyards are walled in like those of a man brought to execution for a crime against the king; the priests reinforce their houses with gates and bars and bolts, lest they be carried off by robbers.
 bar:6.18   They light more lamps for them than for themselves, yet not one of these can they see.
 bar:6.19   They are like any beam in the house; it is said their hearts are eaten away. Though the insects out of the ground consume them and their garments, they do not feel it.
 bar:6.20   Their faces are blackened by the smoke of the house.
 bar:6.21   Bats and swallows alight on their bodies and on their heads; and cats as well as birds.
 bar:6.22   Know, therefore, that they are not gods, and do not fear them.
 bar:6.23   Despite the gold that covers them for adornment, unless someone wipes away the corrosion, they do not shine; nor did they feel anything when they were molded.
 bar:6.24   They are bought at any price, and there is no spirit in them.
 bar:6.25   Having no feet, they are carried on men's shoulders, displaying their shame to all; and those who worship them are put to confusion
 bar:6.26   because, if they fall to the ground, the worshipers must raise them up. They neither move of themselves if one sets them upright, nor come upright if they fall; but one puts gifts beside them as beside the dead.
 bar:6.27   Their priests resell their sacrifices for their own advantage. Even their wives cure parts of the meat, but do not share it with the poor and the weak;
 bar:6.28   the menstruous and women in childbed handle their sacrifices. Knowing from this that they are not gods, do not fear them.
 bar:6.29   How can they be called gods? For women bring the offerings to these gods of silver and gold and wood;
 bar:6.30   and in their temples the priests squat with torn tunic and with shaven hair and beard, and with their heads uncovered.
 bar:6.31   They shout and wail before their gods as others do at a funeral banquet.
 bar:6.32   The priests take some of their clothing and put it on their wives and children.
 bar:6.33   Whether they are treated well or ill by anyone, they cannot requite it; they can neither set up a king nor remove him.
 bar:6.34   Similarly, they cannot give anyone riches or coppers; if one fails to fulfill a vow to them, they cannot exact it of him.
 bar:6.35   They neither save a man from death, nor deliver the weak from the strong.
 bar:6.36   To no blind man do they restore his sight, nor do they save any man in an emergency.
 bar:6.37   They neither pity the widow nor benefit the orphan.
 bar:6.38   These gilded and silvered wooden statues are like stones from the mountains; and their worshipers will be put to shame.
 bar:6.39   How then can it be thought or claimed that they are gods?
 bar:6.40   Even the Chaldeans themselves have no respect for them; for when they see a deaf mute, incapable of speech, they bring forward Bel and ask the god to make noise, as though the man could understand;
 bar:6.41   and they are themselves unable to reflect and abandon these gods, for they have no sense.
 bar:6.42   And their women, girt with cords, sit by the roads, burning chaff for incense;
 bar:6.43   and whenever one of them is drawn aside by some passer-by who lies with her, she mocks her neighbor who has not been dignified as she has, and has not had her cord broken.
 bar:6.44   All that takes place around these gods is a fraud: how then can it be thought or claimed that they are gods?
 bar:6.45   They are produced by woodworkers and goldsmiths, and they are nothing else than what these craftsmen wish them to be.
 bar:6.46   Even those who produce them are not long-lived;
 bar:6.47   how then can what they have produced be gods? They have left frauds and opprobrium to their successors.
 bar:6.48   For when war or disaster comes upon them, the priests deliberate among themselves where they can hide with them.
 bar:6.49   How then can one not know that these are no-gods, which do not save themselves either from war or from disaster?
 bar:6.50   They are wooden, gilded and silvered; they will later be known for frauds. To all peoples and kings it will be clear that they are not gods, but human handiwork; and that God's work is not in them.
 bar:6.51   Who does not know that they are not gods?
 bar:6.52   They set no king over the land, nor do they give men rain.
 bar:6.53   They neither vindicate their own rights, nor do they recover what is unjustly taken, for they are unable;
 bar:6.54   they are like crows between heaven and earth. For when fire breaks out in the temple of these wooden or gilded or silvered gods, though the priests flee and are safe, they themselves are burnt up in the fire like beams.
 bar:6.55   They cannot resist a king, or enemy forces.
 bar:6.56   How then can it be admitted or thought that they are gods? are safe from neither thieves nor bandits, these wooden and silvered and gilded gods;
 bar:6.57   those who seize them strip off the gold and the silver, and go away with the clothing that was on them, and they cannot help themselves.
 bar:6.58   How much better to be a king displaying his valor, or a handy tool in a house, the joy of its owner, than these false gods; or the door of a house, that keeps safe those who are within, rather than these false gods; or a wooden post in a palace, rather than these false gods!
 bar:6.59   The sun and moon and stars are bright, and obedient in the service for which they are sent.
 bar:6.60   Likewise the lightning, when it flashes, is a goodly sight; and the same wind blows over all the land.
 bar:6.61   The clouds, too, when commanded by God to proceed across the whole world, fulfill the order;
 bar:6.62   and fire, sent from on high to burn up the mountains and the forests, does what has been commanded. But these false gods are not their equal, whether in beauty or in power;
 bar:6.63   so that it is unthinkable, and cannot be claimed, that they are gods. They can neither execute judgment, nor benefit man.
 bar:6.64   Know, therefore, that they are not gods, and do not fear them.
 bar:6.65   Kings they neither curse nor bless.
 bar:6.66   They show the nations no signs in the heavens, nor are they brilliant like the sun, nor shining like the moon.
 bar:6.67   The beasts which can help themselves by fleeing to shelter are better than they are.
 bar:6.68   Thus in no way is it clear to us that they are gods; so do not fear them.
 bar:6.69   For like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, that is no protection, are their wooden, gilded, silvered gods.
 bar:6.70   Just like a thornbush in a garden on which perches every kind of bird, or like a corpse hurled into darkness, are their silvered and gilded wooden gods.
 bar:6.71   From the rotting of the purple and the linen upon them, it can be known that they are not gods; they themselves will in the end be comsumed, and be a disgrace in the land.
 bar:6.72   The better for the just man who has no idols: he shall be far from disgrace! [end of Baruch]

