Humanitext Reader

Septuagint · Baruch §2.19-2.35

Repentance in Exile and the Promise of an Eternal Covenant

Passage 3 of 6 · Greek

Summary

The prayer recalls the warnings fulfilled through the prophets, God's promise of repentance in exile, and the assurance of an everlasting covenant and return to the promised land.

§2.19ὅτι οὐκ ἐπὶ τὰ δικαιώματα τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν καὶ τῶν βασιλέων ἡμῶν ἡμεῖς καταβάλλομεν τὸν ἔλεον κατὰ πρόσωπόν σου, Κύριε ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν,
For we do not present our supplication before thee, O Lord our God, for the righteous deeds of our fathers and of our kings.
§2.20ὅτι ἐνῆκας τὸν θυμόν σου καὶ τὴν ὀργήν σου εἰς ἡμᾶς, καθάπερ ἐλάλησας ἐν χειρὶ τῶν παίδων σου τῶν προφητῶν §2.21Οὕτως εἶπεν Κύριος Κλίνατε τὸν ὥμον ὑμῶν καὶ ἐργάσασθε τῷ βασιλεῖ Βαβυλῶνος, καὶ καθίσατε ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἣν δέδωκα τοῖς πατράσιν ὑμῶν·
For thou hast sent thy wrath and thy indignation upon us, as thou hast spoken by thy servants the prophets, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Bow down your shoulders to serve the king of Babylon, and remain in the land that I gave unto your fathers.
§2.22καὶ ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσητε τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου ἐργάσασθαι τῷ βασιλεῖ Βαβυλῶνος, §2.23ἐκλείψειν ποιήσω ἐκ πόλεων Ἰούδα καὶ ἔξωθεν Ἰερουσαλὴμ φωνὴν εὐφροσύνης καὶ φωνὴν χαρμοσύνης, φωνὴν νυμφίου καὶ φωνὴν νύμφης, καὶ ἔσται πᾶσα ἡ γῆ εἰς ἄβατον ἀπὸ ἐνοικούντων.
But if ye will not hear the voice of the Lord, to serve the king of Babylon, I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from without Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; and the whole land shall be desolate of inhabitants.
§2.24καὶ οὐκ ὴκούσαμεν τῆς φωνῆς σου ἐργάσασθαι τῷ βασιλεῖ Βαβυλῶνος, καὶ ἔστησας τοὺς λόγους σου οὓ ς ἐλάλησας ἐν χερσὶν τῶν παίδων σου τῶν προφητῶν τοῦ ἐξενεχθῆναι τὰ ὀστᾶ βασιλέων ἡμῶν καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτῶν.
But we would not hear thy voice, to serve the king of Babylon; therefore hast thou made good thy words that thou spakest by thy servants the prophets, namely, that the bones of our kings, and the bones of our fathers, should be taken out of their places.
§2.25καὶ ἰδού, ἔστιν ἐξεριμμένα τῷ καύματι τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ τῷ παγετῷ τῆς νυκτός· καὶ ἀπεθάνοσαν ἐν πόνοις πονηροῖς, ἐν λιμῷ καὶ ἐν όομφαίᾳ καὶ ἐν ἀποστολῇ.
And, lo, 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.
§2.26καὶ ἔθηκας τὸν οἶκον οὗ ἐπεκλήθη τὸ ὄνομά σου ἐπʼ αὐτῷ ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη, διὰ πονηρίαν οἴκου Ἰσραὴλ καὶ οἴκου Ἰούδα.
And the house whereon thy name is called hast thou made as it is this day, for the wickedness of the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
§2.27Καὶ ἐποίησας εἰς ἡμᾶς, Κύριε ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν, κατὰ πᾶσαν ἐπιεικίαν σου καὶ κατὰ πάντα οἰκτειρμόν σου τὸν μέγαν, §2.28καθὰ ἐλάλησας ἐν χειρὶ παιδός σου Μωυσῆ, ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἐντειλαμένου σου αὐτῷ γράψαι τὸν νόμον σου ἐναντίον υἱῶν Ἰσραὴλ λέγων §2.29Ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσητε τῆς φωνῆς μου. εί μὴν ἡ βόμβησις ἡ μεγάλη ἡ πολλὴ αὕτη ἀποστρέψει εἰς μικρὰν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν οὗ διασπερῶ αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ.
O Lord our God, thou hast dealt with us after all thy goodness, and according to all that great mercy of thine, as thou spakest by thy servant Moses in the day when thou didst command him to write thy law before the children of Israel, saying, If ye will not hear my voice, surely this very great bustling multitude shall be turned into a small number among the nations where I will disperse them.
§2.30ὅτι ἔγνων ὅτι οὐ μὴ ἀκούσωσίν μου, ὅτι λαὸς σκληροτράχηλός ἐστιν· καὶ ἐπιστρέψουσιν ἐπὶ καρδίαν αὐτῶν ἐν γῇ ἀποικισμοῦ αὐτῶν, §2.31καὶ γνώσονται ὅτι ἐγὼ Κύριος ὁ θεὸς αὐτῶν. καὶ δώσω αὐτοῖς καρδίαν καὶ ὥτα ἀκούοντα, §2.32καὶ αἰνέσουσίν με ἐν γῇ ἀποικισμοῦ αὐτῶν, καὶ μνησθήσονται τοῦ ἀνόματός μου· §2.33καὶ ἀποστρέψουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ νώτου αὐτῶν τοῦ σκληροῦ καὶ ἀπὸ πονηρῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν, ὅτι μνησθήσονται τῆς ὁδοῦ πατέρων αὐτῶν τῶν ἁμαρτόντων ἔναντι Κυρίου.
For I knew that they would not hear me, because it is a stiffnecked people; but in the land of their captivity they shall lay it to their heart, and shall know that I am the Lord their God; and I will give them a heart, and ears to hear; and they shall praise me in the land of their captivity, and think upon my name, and return from their stiff back, and from their wicked deeds; for they shall remember the way of their fathers, who sinned before the Lord.
§2.34καὶ ἀποστρέψαω αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν γῆν ἣν μοσα τοῖς πατράσιν αὐτῶν, τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ τῷ Ἰακώβ, καὶ κυριεύσουσιν αὐτῆς· καὶ πλῆθύνω αὐτούς, καὶ οὐ μὴ σμικρυνθῶσιν·
And I will bring them again into the land which I promised by oath unto their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they shall be lords of it; and I will increase them, and they shall not be diminished.
§2.35καὶ στήσω αὐτοῖς διαθήκην αἰώνιον τοῦ εἶναί με αὐτοῖς εἰς θεόν, καὶ αὐτοὶ ἔσονταί μοι εἰς λαόν· καὶ οὐ κινήσω ἔτι τὸν λαόν μου Ἰσραήλ ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἧς ἔδωκα αὐτοῖς.
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.

Notes

  1. §2.19καταβάλλομεν τὸν ἔλεον — Literally 'we cast down our mercy (pity)', which translates a Hebrew idiom meaning 'to present a supplication/petition' before God. It functions as an expression of humble prayer and pleading.
  2. §2.23ἐκλείψειν ποιήσω — A causative construction with the verb ποιέω followed by the infinitive (the future infinitive ἐκλείψειν, or present ἐκλείπειν in some manuscripts), meaning 'I will cause to fail/cease'.
  3. §2.25ἀποστολῇ — In classical Greek, this word means 'sending away' or 'expedition', but in the Septuagint (especially in Jeremiah), it is used to translate the Hebrew word for 'pestilence' or 'plague', viewed as something 'sent' by God.
  4. §2.29εἰ μήν — A particle combination (often related to ἢ μήν) used to introduce a strong, solemn assertion or oath, meaning 'surely', 'most certainly'.
  5. §2.32ἀνόματός μου — A scribal error for ὀνόματός μου ('my name'), resulting from a phonetic or orthographic confusion (with ἀνόματος). The context clearly requires 'my name'.
  6. §2.34μοσα — A scribal corruption of ὤμοσα (first-person singular aorist indicative active of ὀμνύω, 'I swore'). It functions as the verb of the relative clause 'which I swore' (ἣν ὤμοσα) modifying 'the land'.

Cite this passage

Septuagint, Baruch §2.19-2.35. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0527.tlg050.humanitext-grc1:2.19-2.35

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.