Bar 2
1
Therefore the Lord has 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,
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;
3
That a man should eat the flesh of his own son, and the flesh of his own daughter.
4
Moreover he has 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 has scattered them.
5
Thus we were cast down, and not exalted, because we have sinned against the Lord our
God, and have not been obedient to his voice.
6
To the Lord our God appertains righteousness: but to us and to our fathers open shame,
as appears this day.
7
For all these plagues are come upon us, which the Lord has pronounced against us
8
Yet have we not prayed before the Lord, that we might turn every one from the imaginations
of his wicked heart.
9
Wherefore the Lord watched over us for evil, and the Lord has brought it upon us:
for the Lord is righteous in all his works which he has commanded us.
10
Yet we have not hearkened to his voice, to walk in the commandments of the Lord, that
he has set before us.
11
And now, O Lord God of Israel, that have brought your 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 have gotten yourself a name, as appears this day:
12
O Lord our God, we have sinned, we have done ungodly, we have dealt unrighteously
in all your ordinances.
13
Let your anger turn from us: for we are but a few left among the heathen, where you
have scattered us.
14
Hear our prayers, O Lord, and our petitions, and deliver us for your own sake, and
give us favour in the sight of them which have led us away:
15
That all the earth may know that you are the Lord our God, because Israel and his
posterity is called by your name.
16
O Lord, look down from your holy house, and consider us: bow down your ear, O Lord,
to hear us.
17
Open your eyes, and behold; for the dead that are in the graves, whose souls are taken
from their bodies, will give to the Lord neither praise nor righteousness:
18
But the soul that is greatly vexed, which goes stooping and feeble, and the eyes that
fail, and the hungry soul, will give you praise and righteousness, O Lord.
19
Therefore we do not make our humble supplication before you, O Lord our God, for the
righteousness of our fathers, and of our kings.
20
For you have sent out your anger and indignation upon us, as you have spoken by your
servants the prophets, saying,
21
Thus says the Lord, Bow down your shoulders to serve the king of Babylon: so shall
you remain in the land that I gave to your fathers.
22
But if you will not hear the voice of the Lord, to serve the king of Babylon,
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.
24
But we would not hearken to your voice, to serve the king of Babylon: therefore have
you made good the words that you spoke by your servants the prophets, namely, that
the bones of our kings, and the bones of our fathers, should be taken out of their
place.
25
And, behold, 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.
26
And the house which is called by your name have you laid waste, as it is to be seen
this day, for the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Juda.
27
O Lord our God, you have dealt with us after all your goodness, and according to all
that great mercy of yours,
28
As you spoke by your servant Moses in the day when you did command him to write the
law before the children of Israel, saying,
29
If you 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.
30
For I knew that they would not hear me, because it is a stiff-necked people: but in
the land of their captivities they shall remember themselves.
31
And shall know that I am the Lord their God: for I will give them an heart, and ears
to hear:
32
And they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and think upon my name,
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.
34
And I will bring them again into the land which I promised with an oath to their fathers,
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they shall be lords of it: and I will increase them,
and they shall not be diminished.
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.