Lost Books of the Bible (172 page)

14 Those who do not love your law perish justly. The torment of judgment awaits those who have not submitted themselves to Your power.

15 For though Adam first sinned and untimely brought death upon all, yet each of those who were born from him has prepared his own soul for the torment to come, and each one of them has chosen for himself glories to come.

16 It is certain that he who believes will receive reward.

17 But now, you wicked are bond for destruction because you will quickly be visited because you have rejected the understanding of the Most High.

18 His works have not taught you, and you have not been convinced by the skill of His creation which argued with you continually.

19 Adam is therefore not the cause, except for only his own soul, but each of us has been the Adam (man) of his own soul.

20 But You, O Lord, explain (open) to me those things which You have revealed to me, and inform me regarding that which I besought You.

21 For at the creation and until the end of the world, vengeance will be taken upon those who have done wickedness according to the wickedness in them, and You will glorify the faithful according to their faithfulness.

22 For those who are among Your own You rule, and those who sin You blot out from among Your own.

Chapter 55

1 Then, when I had finished speaking the words of this prayer I sat there under a tree that I might rest in the shade of the branches.

2 And I wondered and was amazed as I pondered the multitude of goodness which sinners who are upon the earth have rejected, and the tremendous torment they have hated, though they knew that they would be tormented because of the sin they had committed.

3 And when I was thought about these things the angel Ramiel, who presides over visions of truth, was sent to me, and he said to me:

4 Why does your heart trouble you, Baruch, and why do you have disturbing thoughts?

5 If the report you have only heard regarding judgment moved you so much what will you do when you see it manifest before yours eyes?

6 And if you expect the day of the Mighty One and you are so overcome just by the expectation, what will you do when you come to its actual occurrence?

7 If at the mention of the announcement of the torment of those who have done foolishly, you are so completely upset, how much more will you be when the event reveals astonishing things? And if you have heard announcements of the good and evil things which are coming and are grieved, what will you do when you behold the majesty that will be revealed, which will convict some and cause others to rejoice.

Chapter 56

1 Nevertheless, because you have asked the Most High to reveal to you the interpretation of the vision you have seen, I have been sent to tell you.

2 And the Mighty One has certainly made known to you the arrangement of the times which have passed, and are destined to pass in His world regarding those of deceit and of those of truth from the beginning of its creation to its end.

3 As you saw, a tremendous cloud ascended from the sea, and covered the earth. This is the duration of the world which the Mighty One made when he thought to make the world.

4 And when the world came into being and had left His presence (area of the throne), the time of the world was short, and was established according to the vast intelligence of Him who sent it.

5 And as you saw before on the summit of the cloud, black waters descended previously on the earth. This is the transgression that Adam the first man committed.

6 For since the time he transgressed, (early) untimely death came. Grief was named and anguish was prepared, pain was created, and trouble was born,  disease took hold, and Sheol kept demanding to be renewed in blood The birth of children was brought about, and the passion of parents was its fruit, and the greatness of humanity was humiliated, and goodness died.

7 What can be blacker or darker than these things?

8 This is the beginning of the black waters which you have seen.

9 From these black waters, black was derived, and from the darkness, darkness was produced.

10 For he became a danger to his own soul and even to the angels.

11 At the time when he was created, they (the angels) enjoyed liberty.

12 But some of them descended, and mingled with the women.

13 And those who did so were tormented in chains.

14 But the rest of the multitude of the angels, of which there is no number, restrained themselves.

15 Those who lived on the earth perished together with them (the fallen angels) through the waters of the flood.

16 These are the first black waters.

Chapter 57

1 And after these waters you saw bright waters. This is the spring of Abraham and his generations and the birth of his son and his son’s son and of those like them.

2 Because at that time the unwritten law was named among them. The words of the commandments were then fulfilled. Belief in the coming judgment was then born and hope of the world that was to be renewed was then created. The promise of life to come was began.

3 These are the bright waters, which you have seen.

Chapter 58

1 The third black waters you have seen are the mingling of all sins, which the nations committed after the death of those righteous men in the wickedness of the land of Egypt where they did unrighteousness. And they made their sons serve unrighteousness.

2 However, these also perished in the end.

Chapter 59

1 And the fourth bright waters you have seen are the birth of Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and Joshua the sons of Nun and Caleb and of all those like them.

2 For at that time the lamp of the eternal law shone on all those who sat in darkness, which announced to them that believe the promise of their reward, and to them that deny, the torment of fire which is reserved for them.

3 But also the heavens at that time were shaken from their place, and those who were under the throne of the Mighty One were disturbed, when He was taking Moses to Himself For He showed him many reproofs along with the principles of the law and the completion of the times, as He also showed to you. He also showed the pattern of Zion and its size, in the pattern of which the sanctuary of the present time was to be made.

4 But then also He showed him the size of the fire, the depths of the abyss, the weight of the winds, the number of the drops of rain,

5 How much of (His) anger (He) holds back, and the amount of long-suffering (He has), and the truth of (His) judgment,

6 And the origin of wisdom, the wealth of understanding, the wellspring of knowledge,

7 The height of the air, and the greatness of Paradise, the end of the ages, and the beginning of the day of judgment,

8 The amount of the offerings, the earths which are yet to come,

9 The mouth of Gehenna (hell), the place of vengeance, the place of faith, and the place of hope,

10 The visions of future torment, the multitude of  angelic hosts, the flaming hosts, the splendor of the lightning and the voice of the thunders, the orders of the captains of the angels, the treasuries of light, and the changing of times, and the searching of the law.

11 These are the bright fourth waters which you have seen.

Chapter 60

1 The fifth black waters you have seen raining are the deeds the Amorites committed, and the spells of their incantations which they performed, and the unrighteousness contained in their mysteries, and the pollutions they mixed.

2 Even Israel was polluted by sins in the days of the judges, though they saw many slip from Him who made them.

Chapter 61

1 And the sixth bright waters you saw is the time in which David and Solomon were born.

2 That was the time of the building of Zion, the dedication of the sanctuary, the shedding of much blood of the nations that sinned, and many offerings which were given in the dedication of the sanctuary.

3 Peace and tranquility existed at that time, And wisdom was heard in the congregation.

4 The wealth of understanding was magnified in the congregations, and the holy feasts and ceremonies were carried out in blessings and great joy.

5 The judgment of the rulers was without guile and it was witnessed as such. The righteous law of the Mighty One was accomplished with truth.

6 And the land was then loved by the Lord because its inhabitants sinned not and it was glorified beyond all lands. At that time the city Zion ruled over all lands and regions.

7 These are the bright waters which you have seen.

Chapter 62

1 And the seventh black waters which you have seen is the perversion brought about by the counsel of Jeroboam, who decided to make two calves of gold:

2 And all the iniquities which kings who were after him sinfully worked,

3 And the curse of Jezebel and the worship of idols which Israel practiced at that time.

4 The withholding of rain, and the famines which occurred until women ate the fruit of their wombs,

5 And the time of their captivity which came upon the nine tribes and a half tribe because they were in many sins.

6 Then, Salmanasar, King of Assyria, came and led  them away captive.

7 But regarding the Gentiles, how they always  were sinful and wicked, and always unrighteousness would be wearisome to tell

8 These are the seventh black waters which you have seen.

Chapter 63

1 And the eighth bright waters you have seen is the correction and uprightness of Hezekiah King of Judah and the grace of God which came upon him.

2  When Sennacherib was aggressing in order to kill Hezekiah the deadly rage of Sennacherib troubled Hezekiah because a great population of the nations were with him .

3 When Hezekiah the king heard those things which the king of Assyria was devising and how he planned to come and seize him and destroy his people, the two and a half tribes which remained and how he wished to overthrow Zion Hezekiah trusted in his works, and had hope in his righteousness, and spoke with the Mighty One and said:

4 "Look! Sennacherib is prepared to destroy us, and he will boast and strut when he has destroyed Zion."

5 And the Mighty One heard him because Hezekiah was wise and so He listened to his prayer because he was righteous.

6 Then the Mighty One commanded Ramiel, His angel, who speaks with you.

7 And I went out and destroyed their population, whose count of their chiefs alone was a hundred and eighty-five thousand, and each one of them had an equal number that he commanded.

8 And at that time I burned their bodies from the inside out, but their clothing and weapons I preserved outwardly so that more wonderful deeds of the Mighty One might be seen, and that because of this His name might be spoken of throughout the whole earth.