Baruch

 The People Face a Long Captivity

“Because of your sins against God, Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians, will take you captive to Babylon.

After you arrive there, you will stay for many years—seven generations—but then I will bring you back home in peace.

 In Babylon, you will see gods made of silver, gold, and wood, carried on men’s shoulders and filling the people with fear.

 Take care not to imitate what foreigners do, and do not let yourselves be frightened by them.

 When you see crowds pressing in front and behind to worship them.

 Say instead, say to yourselves: ‘Master, it is you we are to worship.’ My angel is with you to protect your lives.

 A craftsman has polished their tongues, and even if they are of gold and silver, they are false and cannot speak.

The Helplessness of Idols 

As for a maiden aware of her looks, these pagans craft golden crowns for their gods.

 Yet at times, priests steal gold and silver from their gods for their own use and for the prostitutes in their temples.

 They give clothes to these gods as if they were people, but they are just objects made of gold, silver, and wood that cannot protect themselves from rust or woodworm.

  So, after dressing them in purple, they wipe their faces because of the thick dust from the temple that covers them.

 The god has a scepter like a governor of a province, but he cannot destroy the person who has wronged him.

 He carries a sword and an ax in his right hand, but he is helpless both in battle and against thieves.

 This clearly proves they are not gods; have no fear of them.

A broken pot is useless to anyone. So are those gods enshrined in their temples.

 Their eyes are filled with dust kicked up by those who enter.

 Just as doors are carefully closed on a man who has offended the king or a convict sentenced to death, in the same way, the priests lock and bolt the doors of the temple for fear of thieves.

 They light lamps, far more numerous than they need for themselves, and yet the god sees no one.

 He is no more than any of the beams of the temple, and some whisper that termites gnaw the inner part; worms from the ground devour both the god and his clothes, but he feels nothing.

 Their faces have turned black because of the smoke of the temple.

 Owls perch on their heads and shoulders, swallows and other birds sit on them, and cats prowl around.

This shows they are not gods, so there is no need to fear them.

 If the rust on the gold decorations is not cleaned off, they cannot shine. But what does it matter? Even when they were made, they felt nothing.

 They may be bought at a high price, but they lack life.

 Since they have no feet, people carry them on their shoulders, revealing their shame. How embarrassing for their followers if the god falls! They have to lift him up.

 Once he is upright, he doesn’t move. If tilted, he can’t straighten himself. So you offer sacrifices to these gods as if they were the dead.

 The priests take what is offered for sacrifices and sell it, while the wives salt some of it but give nothing to the poor and helpless. Do you think these are real offerings? Even women giving birth or who are ritually unclean touch them.

 Make sure these are not gods and do not fear them.

 How can they be called gods? Women carry offerings to objects made of silver, wood, and gold.

 The priests remain seated in the temple, their garments torn, heads and beards shaved, and no covering on their heads.

 They roar and cry in the presence of their gods, just as some people do during funeral meals.

 With the garments taken from the gods, the priests clothe their wives and children.

 Whether they are treated well or poorly, the gods can make no response, nor can they create or destroy a king.

 They are incapable of giving riches or money. If someone fails to keep a vow, he is not held accountable.

They cannot save anyone from death or rescue a helpless person from the powerful.

 They cannot restore sight to the blind or deliver someone in distress.

 They show no compassion to widows, nor do they help orphans.

 These pieces of wood plated with gold and silver are no more valuable than rocks carved out of a mountain, and their worshipers will be humiliated.

 How then can anyone believe they are gods? How can they be called gods?

The Foolishness of Worshiping Idols

The Chaldeans have embarrassed themselves. When they see someone who is mute and cannot speak, they bring him before Bel, begging him to make him speak, as if the god could really hear them!

 And yet, these supposedly wise people can’t abandon gods that make no sense at all.

 Women with a cord around their waists sit in the street burning bran.

 When one of them is picked up by a passerby and has slept with him, she mocks her fellow for not being as highly valued as herself and for not having her cord broken.

 All that happens near these gods is false. How can they be considered or called gods?

 Craftsmen and goldsmiths have shaped them; they are only what the artisans decided they should be.

 Those who made them do not have long to live, so how could their creations be gods?

 What they leave to their descendants is nothing but illusion and shame.

When war or other disasters strike, they discuss among themselves where they and their gods will hide.

 How could anyone fail to see that what cannot save from war and disaster is not a god?

 Later, these pieces of wood plated with silver and gold will be revealed as false.

It will be obvious to all kings and nations that they are not gods, but simply the work of human hands, and God does not act through them. Is there anyone who remains unconvinced that these are not gods?

 They are unable to establish a king in a country or to bring rain to the people.

 They cannot discern what is just or rescue someone who has been wronged. They are as helpless as crows caught between the sky and the ground.

 When fire breaks out in the temple of these wooden gods plated with silver and gold, the priests flee to safety, but their gods are burned along with the beams in the flames.

 They cannot resist a king or an attacking army.

 How can it be believed or accepted that they are gods?

 These gods cannot even escape from thieves or bandits. These robbers are more powerful and plunder their gold, silver, and robes.

Such gods are unable to defend themselves. It is better to be a king with a show of power, or even a household pot that serves its owner, than to be a false god; it is better still to be the door of a house that guards what is inside, or a wooden pillar in a royal palace than to be a false god.

 The sun, moon, and stars that shine and serve us are obedient to God; likewise,

the lightning that is beautiful to see, and the wind that blows over the country,

and the clouds passing over the earth at God’s command, fire sent from on high to consume mountain and forest—all do what is commanded.

But these wooden objects can in no way compare with them.

That is why it must not be either believed or said that these are gods since they are powerless to administer justice or benefit anyone in any way.

Since you know they are not gods, have no fear of them.

 They cannot curse

 nor bless kings, nor produce signs in the heavens for the nations to see. They cannot shine like the sun nor give light like the moon.

Animals are more valuable since, by taking cover, they can care for themselves.

Therefore, it is not clear to us that these are gods; for that reason, we need not fear them.

 Like a scarecrow in a field of melons, these gods plated with silver and gold protect nothing.

 Again, these wooden gods may be compared to a thorn bush in a garden where any bird can perch, or to a corpse thrown into a dark place.

 You know by the purple and scarlet robes rotting on them that they are not gods. They end up being eaten away and become a disgrace to the country.

 Better than a just man who has no idols, he will not be dishonored.