III BARUCH

Date: first to third century A.D.

translation by H.E Gaylord, Jr.
Chapter one
1 Woe, now I Baruch (was) weeping in my mind and considering the people and how King Nebuchadnezzar was permitted by God to plunder his city, saying
2 “Lord, why have you set fire to your vineyard and laid it waste?” Why have you done this? And why, Lord, did you not requite us with another punishment, but rather handed us over to such heathen so that they reproach us saying, “Where is their God?”
3 And behold, while I was weeping and saying such things, I saw an angel of the Lord coming and saying to me, “Know, O man, greatly beloved man, and do not concern yourself so much over the salvation of Jerusalem. For thus says the Lord God Almighty,
4 and he sent me before you in order that I should proclaim and disclose to you all things of God
5 For your prayer has been heard before him and has entered the ears of the Lord God;
6 And when he told me these things, I became clam, and the angel said to me “Cease irritating God, and I will disclose to you other mysteries greater than these.”
7 And I Baruch said, “As the Lord lives, if you disclose a word to me and I hear it from you, I shall speak no further. May God add to me punishment on the Day of Judgment if I speak in the future.”
8 And the angel of hosts said to me, “Come and I shall disclose to you the mysteries of God.”

Chapter two
1 And taking me, he lad me to where the heaven was set fast and where there was a river which no one is able to cross, not even one of the foreign which God created.
2 And taking me, he led me up to the first heaven and showed me a very large door. And he said to me, “Let us enter through it.” And we entered as on wings about the distance of 30 days journey.
3 And he showed me a plain within the heaven. And there were men dwelling on it with faces of cattle and horns of deer and feet of goats and loins of sheep.
4 And I Baruch asked the angel, “Tell me, I pray you, what is the thickness of this heaven in which we have journeyed, and what is its width, and what is this plain, that I may report these to the sons of men.”
5 And the angel, whose name was Phamael, said to me, “This door which you see is (the door) of heaven, and (its thickness) is as great as the distance from earth to heaven, and the width of the plain which you saw is the same (distance) again.”
6 And agin the angel of hosts said to me “Come and I will show you greater mysteries.”
7 And I said, “I pray you, show me what those men are.” And he said to me “These are the ones who built the tower of the war against God, and the Lord removed them.”

Chapter three
1 And taking me, the angel of the Lord led me to a second heaven, And he showed me there a door similar to the first. And he said, “Let us enter through it.”
2 And we entered, flying about the distance of 60 days’ journey.
3 And he showed me there also a plain, and it was full of men, and their appearance was like (that) of dogs, and their feet (like those) of deer.
4 And I asked the angel, “I pray you, lord, tell me who these are.”
5 And he said, “These are the ones who plotted to build the tower. These whom you see forced many men and women to make bricks. Among them one woman was making bricks in the time of her delivery; they did not permit her to be released, but while making bricks she gave birth. And she carried her child in her cloak and continued making bricks.
6 And appearing to them , the Lord changed their languages; by that time they had built the tower 463 cubits (high).
7 And taking an auger, they attempted to pierce the heaven, saying, ‘Let us see whether the heaven is (made) of clay or copper or iron.’
8 Seeing these things, God did not permit them (to continue), but struck them with blindness and with confusion of tongues, and he made them be as you see.”

Chapter four
1 And I Baruch said, “Behold, lord, you have shown me great and wondrous things. Now show me all, for the Lord’s sake.”
2 And the angel said to me, “Come, let us go through”....with the angel from that place, a journey of about 185 days.
3 And he showed me a plain and a serpent who appeared to be stone. And he showed me Hades, and its appearance was gloomy and unclean.
4 And I said, “What is this dragon and this monster around it?”
5 And the angel said. “This dragon is the one which eats the bodies of those who pass through their lives badly, and he is nourished by them.
6 And this is Hades which is like him, in that also he drinks about one cubit from the sea, and nothing is diminished from it (the sea).”
7 Baruch said, “And how is that?” And the angel said, “Listen, the Lord God made 360 rivers, the primary ones of them being the Alphias, the Aburos, and the Gerikos, and because of these the sea is not diminished.”
8 And I said, “I pray you, show me which is the tree which caused Adam to stray.” And the angel said, “It is the vine which the angel Samail planted by which the Lord God became angered, and he cursed him and his planting. For this reason he did not permit Adam to touch it. And because of this the devil became envious and tricked him by means of his vine.”
9 And I Baruch said, “And since the vine became the cause of such evil and was cursed by God and (was) the destruction of the first formed, how is it now of such great use?”
10 And the angel said, “Rightly you ask; when God caused the Flood over the earth and destroyed all flesh and 409,000 giants, and the water rose over the heights 15 cubits, the water entered Paradise and killed every flower, but it removed the sprig of the vine completely and brought it outside.”
11 And when the earth appeared from the water and Noah left the ark, he started to plant (some) of the discovered plants.
12 He also found the sprig, and taking it, he considered in his mind what it was. And I came and told him about it.
13 And he said, ‘Should I plant it, or what (should I do with it)? Since Adam was destroyed by means of it, will I also encounter the anger of God through this? And while saying these things, he prayed for God to reveal to him what he should do with this.
14 And in 40 days he completed his prayer and entreating much and crying, he said, ‘Lord, I implore you to reveal to me what I should do with this plant.’
15 And God sent the angel Sarasel, and he said to him, ‘Rise, Noah, plant the sprig, for the Lord says this: “Its bitterness will be changed into sweetness, and its curse will become a blessing, and its fruit will become the blood of God, and just as the race of men have been condemned through it, so through Jesus Christ Emmanuel in it (they) will receive a calling and entrance into Paradise.”
16 Then know, Baruch, that just as Adam through this tree was condemned and was stripped of the glory of God, thus men now who insatiably drink the wine deriving from it transgress worse than Adam, and become distant from the glory of God, and will secure for themselves eternal fire.
17 For (no) good derives from it. For those who drink excessively do these things: Brother does not have mercy on brother, nor father on son, nor children on parents, but by means of the fall through wine come forth all (these): murder, adultery, fornication, perjury, theft, and similar things. And nothing good is accomplished through it.”

Chapter five
1 And I Baruch said to the angel, “May I ask you one question, lord?
2 Since you told me that the serpent drinks one cubit from the sea, tell me how large its belly is.”
3 And the angel said, “Its belly is Hades. As far as 300 men can throw a weight, so great is his belly. Come now and I will show you works greater than these.”

Chapter six
1 And taking me, he led me where the sun goes forth.
2And he showed me a chariot drawn by four horses and fire underneath it. And upon the chariot sat a man wearing a fiery crown. The chariot was drawn by forty angels. And behold, a bird runs along before the sun, as large as nine mountains.
3 And I said to the angel, “What is this bird?” And he said to me, “This is the guardian of the world.”
4 And I said, “Lord how is the guardian of the world? Teach me.”
5 And the angel said to me, “This bird accompanies the sun and spreading its wings absorbs its fire-shaped rays.
6 For if it did not absorb them none of the race of men would survive, nor anything else that lives, so God appointed this bird.”
7 And he unfolded his wings, and I saw on his right wing very large letters like the place of a threshing floor, having the space of 4000 media, and the letters were gold.
8 And the angel said to me, “Read them.” And I read, and they said thus: “Neither earth nor heaven bear me, but the wings of fire bear me.”
9 And I said, “Lord, what is this bird, and what is its name?”
10 And the angel told me, “His name is Phoenix.”
11 “And what does he eat?” And he told me, “The manna of heaven and the dew of the earth.
12 And I said, “Does the bird excrete?” And he said to me, “He excretes a worm, and from the excretion, the worm, cinnamon comes into existence, which kings and princes use. But wait and you will see the glory of God.”
13 And while he was speaking, there was a thunderclap and the place where we stood was shaken. And I asked the angel, “My lord, what is this sound?” And the angel said to me, “The angel are opening the 365 gates of heaven now, and light is separating itself from darkness.”
14 And a voice came saying, “Light giver, give splendor to the world!”
15 And hearing the sound of the bird, I said, “Lord, what is this sound?”
16 And he said, “This is what wakens the cocks on earth, for just as articulate beings do, thus also the cock informs those on the earth according to its own tongue. For the sun is being prepared by the angels and the cock is crowing.”

Chapter seven
1 And I said, “And where does the sun begin to work after the cock crows?”
2 And the angel said to me, “Listen, Baruch, everything I have shown you is in the first and second heaven; and in the third heaven the sun passes through and gives splendor to the world, But wait and you will see the glory of God.”
3 And while I was speaking to him, I saw the bird, and he appeared ahead and grew little by little, and became full sized.
4 And after him (I saw) the sun gleaming and with him angels carrying (him) and a crown on his head; we were not able to look directly into this sight and see..
5 And at the same time as the sun shone out, the phoenix spread out its wings. Seeing such glory, I became overcome with a great fear and fled and hid in the wings of the angel.
6 And the angel said to me; “Do not fear, Baruch, but wait and you will see them setting.”

Chapter eight
1 And taking me, he led me to the west. And when the time of the setting (of the sun) came, I saw again the bird coming in front and the sun coming with the angels. When he came, I saw the angels, and they removed the crown from his head.
2 And the bird was overcome and let his wings droop.
3 And when I saw these things, I said, “Why do they remove the crown from his head and why is the bird so overcome?”
4 And the angel said to me, “When the day is completed, 4 angels take the crown of the sun and carry it to heaven and renew it because it and its rays are defiled upon earth. And every day it is renewed.”
5 And I Baruch said, “Lord, by what are its rays defiled upon earth?” And the angel said to me, “By the sight of the lawlessness and unrighteousness of men committing fornication, adultery, theft, robbery, idol-worship, drunkenness, murder, discord, jealousy, slander, murmuring, gossip, divination, and other things which are unacceptable to God. By means of these it is defiled, and because of this it is renewed.
6 And now, concerning how the bird becomes overcome; It is overcome because it checks the rays of the sun and the fire and burning the whole day.
7 For if its wings did not draw around the rays of the sun as earlier said, no living being would survive.”

Chapter nine
1 And when they had withdrawn, night arrived, and with it the moon and the stars.
2 And I Baruch said, “Lord, explain this also to me, please. How does it depart and where is it going, and in what pattern does it travel?”
3 And the angel said, “Wait and you will see this shortly.” And on the morrow I saw this also in the form of a woman, seated in a wheeled chariot. And in front of it were oxen and lambs near the chariot, and also many angels.
4 And I said, “Lord, what are the oxen and lambs?” And he said to me, “These are angels also.”
5 And again I asked, “Why does it sometimes grow larger and sometimes grow smaller?”
6 “Listen, O Baruch: This which you see was designed by God to be beautiful with out peer.
7 And during the transgression of the first Adam, she gave light to Samael when he took the serpent as a garment, and did not hide, but on the contrary, waxed. And God was angered with her, and diminished her and shortened her days.”
8 And I said, “And why does she not shine all the time, but only at night?” And the angel said. “Listen: Just as servants are unable to speak freely before kings, so also before the sun, the moon and stars are unable to shine. For the stars are permanently suspended, but they are dispersed by the sun; and the moon, while being safe, is exhausted by the heat of the sun.”

Chapter ten
1 And when I had been taught all these things by the archangel, he took me to a third heaven.
2 And I saw an unbroken plain and in the middle of it was a lake of water.
3 And in it were many birds of every species but unlike those here. But I saw a crane, like large oxen. And all were great, excelling those on earth.
4 And I asked the angel, “What is the plain and what is the lake and what are the multitude of birds around it?”
5 And the angel said, “Listen, Baruch: This plain which surrounds the lake, and in which are other mysteries, is the place where the souls of the righteous come when they assemble, living together choir by choir.
6 And the water is that which the clouds receive to send as rain upon the earth, and (then) fruit grows.”
7 And again I said to the angel of the Lord, “What are the birds?” And he said to me, “These are the ones who continuously praise the Lord.”
8 And I Baruch said,”Lord, why do men say that the water which rains is from the sea?”
9 And the angel said, “There is rain from the sea and from water on earth; but that which produces the fruits is from here. Know from now on that what is called the dew of heaven comes from here.”

Chapter eleven
1 And taking me from this, the angel led me to the fifth heaven.
2 And the gate was closed. And I said, “Lord, will the gate be opened so that we can enter?” And the angel said to me, “We are not able to enter until Michael the holder of the keys of the kingdom of heaven comes. But wait and you will see the glory of God.”
3 And there was a great noise like thunder, and I said, “Lord, what is this noise?”
4 And he said to me, “The commander-in-chief Michael is descending to receive the prayers of men.”
5 And behold a voice came: “Let the gate be opened!” And they opened, and there was a shriek as from thunder.
6 And Michael came, and the angel with me went to meet him and made obeisance to him and said, “Hail, commander-in-chief of all our regiment.”
7 And Michael said, “Hail thou also, our brother, interpreter of revelations to those who pass through life rightly.”
8 And after they greeted each other, they stood still. And I saw the commander-in-chief Michael take hold of a very large bowl, its depth being so great as from heaven to earth, and its width so great as from north to south. And I said, “Lord, what is it that Michael the archangel is holding?”
9 And he said to me, “This is where the virtues of the righteous and the good works which they do are carried, which are brought by him before the heavenly God..”

Chapter twelve
1 And while I was speaking with them, behold angels came carrying baskets filled with flowers, and they gave them to Michael.
2 And I asked the angel, “Lord, who are these and what is it that they are carrying?”
3 And he said to me, “These are the angels over the principalities.”
4 And taking the baskets, the archangel emptied them into his bowl.
5 And the angel said to me, “These above-mentioned flowers are the virtues of the righteous.”
6 And I saw other angels carrying baskets which were less than full. And they came distressed, and did not dare to approach, for they did not achieve the full prizes.
7 And Michael cried out, saying, “Come also , you angels, bring what you have brought.”
8 And Michael was greatly distressed and so was the angel with me, because they had not filled the bowl.

Chapter thirteen
1 And then similarly came other angels crying and lamenting and saying with fear, “See how we are, blackened, Lord, for we are handed over to evil men, and we want to be withdrawn from them.”
2 And Michael said, “So that the enemy will not dominate at the end, you must not withdraw from them. But tell me what you desire.”
3 And they said, “We beg you, Michael our commander-in-chief, transfer us from them, for we are unable to remain with evil and foolish men. For there is no goodness in them, but only every unrighteousness and greediness.
4 Indeed we have seen them enter into no church, nor (go) to the spiritual fathers, nor to anything good. But wherever there is murder, they are in the midst of it, and wherever there is fornication, adultery, theft, slander, perjury, envy, drunkenness, strife, jealousy, grumbling, gossip, idol worship, divination, and things similar to these, There are (with these men) works of such nature and worse; therefore we ask to be released from them.”
5 And Michael said to the angels, “Wait until I learn from the Lord what is to happen.”

Chapter fourteen
1 And at that time Michael departed and the doors closed. And a noise like thunder came.
2 And I asked the angel, “What is the noise?” And he said to me, “Now Michael is bringing the virtues of men to God.”

Chapter fifteen
1 And at that time Michael came down, and the gate opened, and he brought oil.
2 And for the angels who had brought the full baskets, he filled (the baskets) with oil saying, “Take, give a hundredfold reward to our friends, and to those who have laboriously done good works. For those who have sown well, harvest well.”
3 And he said to those who had brought the half-full baskets, “Come you also, receive the reward according to what you brought, and give it to the sons of men.
4 Then he said to those who brought the full (baskets) and those (who brought) the half-full (baskets), “Go, bless our friends and tell them that thus says the Lord: You have been faithful over a little, he will set you over much; enter into the delight of our Lord.”

Chapter sixteen
1 And turning, he said to those who had brought nothing, “Be not sad, and cry not, but do not let the sons of men alone.
2 But since they have provoked me to anger by their deeds, go and provoke them to jealousy, and provoke them to anger, and embitter them against those who are no nation, against a people without understanding
3 Moreover, send forth caterpillars and locusts, rust and grasshoppers, hail with lightning and fury. Punish them with the sword and death, and their children with demons.
4 For they did not listen to my voice, nor observe my commands, nor carry them our, but they despised my commands and my churches, and insulted the priests proclaiming my words to them.”
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Chapter seventeen
1 And while he was speaking, the door closed and we withdrew
2 And taking me, the angel returned me to where I was at the beginning.
3 And when I came to myself, I praised God, who had deemed me worthy os such honors.
4 And you, brethren, who happen upon these revelations, glorify God also so that he will glorify us now and forever to all eternity! AMEN.

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