Commentary on the Book of Baruch

“Interpretation of the Book of Baruch” was written by the blj. Theodoret of Cyrus in 449. He sequentially sets out all 5 chapters of this prophetic book and tries to briefly convey clear passages. Places that require more careful analysis are discussed in more detail. The interpretation examines the key themes of the Book of the Prophet Baruch - repentance, hope in God's mercy, restoration of Israel after the destruction of Jerusalem. Blzh. Theodoret emphasizes that the words of the prophet Baruch are addressed not only to his contemporaries, but also to future generations, calling everyone to loyalty to God and observance of His commandments. The hope of salvation and restoration spoken of by the prophet finds its consummation in the person of Jesus Christ. The wonderful Baruch, as we know from what was said before, moved to Egypt along with the Jews who fled there; but, after five years had passed from the capture of Jerusalem, he arrived in Babylon, because the disciples of piety made every effort to be a support for the weak and to guide them to the truth. Therefore, having come to Babylon, Baruch read the prophecy of the divine Jeremiah to all the captives, especially Jeconiah, who, after a short reign, was taken into captivity. And he was not deceived in his intention, because he brought them to a sense of their former sins; They learned the cause of the disaster, shed many tears, each made monetary contributions to send to the priests who remained in Jerusalem, so that they could buy what was needed for the sacrifice (Bar. 1:10), made sacrifices and thereby appeased the Lord of God (for with the word: “manaa,” the Jews call sacrifice). They also ask for long life for Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar his son. So the divine Apostle established the law to pray for kings who still stood up for piety, and “for all who are in power” (1 Tim. 2:2). This is the agreement of the Old Testament with the New Testament. The Jews, being forced to live in slavery, beg the Lord for themselves: “let their eyes be enlightened” (Bar. 1:12), so that they do not fall into any error; they bring to mind their own sins and confess the truthfulness of God’s determination about them. Moreover, they ask that their message be read before God on solemn holidays. To the Lord our God there is righteousness, but to us our face is ashamed, just as this day is to the man Judah and to them that dwell in Jerusalem, Var.1:16. and our prince, and our priest Var.1:17. before the Lord. That is, the definition pronounced about us by God is very truthful; and we, having all generally given ourselves over to iniquities, are worthy of shame; because together with the kings the priests also turned aside to the opposite path. Var.1:18. We did not submit to Him, and did not obey the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in the commandments of the Lord, which He gave before us. They also remember former iniquities, saying: from the time our fathers were freed from Egyptian slavery, until now, we have not ceased to violate the divine law. Var.1:19. And we will sweep away, lest we listen to His voice. It is said: “we will sweep aside” (ἐσχεδιάζομεν), that is, they invented different types of sins. Blessed Paul calls these “winners of evil” (Rom. 1:30). And we, the Prophet further said, have reaped the fruits of these sins. Var.1:20. The evil and curse that the Lord made against His servant Moses came to us. The law contains both oaths and blessings - blessings to those who keep it, and oaths to those who break it. They say about themselves that they neglected the Prophets sent to them from God, and that what they predicted came to pass. Great evil has come upon us, that it should not be done under all heaven as it was done in Jerusalem. And showing that this was predicted, the Prophet added: According to what is written in the Law of Moses, Var.2:3. Let us eat the flesh of our human son and the flesh of our human daughter. Because the siege caused famine, and hunger forced them to feed on human flesh. And we became, it is said, a laughing stock for neighboring nations. Var.2:5. And bykhom from below, and not from above, that is, slaves, not masters. Then they give the reason: for we have sinned against the Lord our God by not listening to His voice. Again attributing the truthfulness of God’s definition, they attribute “shame” to themselves, and say: God repeatedly threatened and predicted this to us through the Prophets, but in our days we did not turn to the Eternal, but became stagnant in resistance. Var.2:9. And the Lord awakened to the evils and brought this upon us. The Prophet calls punishment the awakening of God; because the Divine Scripture usually calls long-suffering a sleep. And again, remembering the punishment, the Lord is called truthful, because he punished those who broke the law and did not want to be healed. Then they humbly beg and remember the ancient freedom that their fathers received when they got rid of the bitter Egyptian slavery; They also remember past miracles, confess their own sins, and cry out: Var.2:12. We have sinned, we have been dishonest, we have been untruthful, O Lord our God, in all Your justifications. That is, we have transgressed every commandment of Yours, trampled upon the entire law. Var.2:13. May Thy wrath turn away from us, for out of many of us there remain few among the nations, even though Thou hast scattered us. We acknowledge the truth of the punishment; but we beg you to stop it; because we, who of old were likened to sand in multitude, have become few in number. Var.2:14. Hear, O Lord, our prayer and our petition, and deliver us for Your sake. We are unworthy, but You are philanthropic; We are called Your people; and therefore may we be worthy of mercy. And give us grace in the face of those who have displaced us, so that they don’t hate us, but leave us alone. Var.2:15. Let the whole earth know that You are the Lord our God, and that Your name has been called upon Israel and upon its descendants. A change for the better in our disastrous condition will become a reason for piety for others; for they will know the strength of our God. Var.2:16. Lord, look down from Thy holy house, and attend to us. The Temple of Jerusalem is called a holy house; for God showed His presence in him. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear. Var.2:17. Open your eyes and see. The indignant usually close their eyes as soon as they see those who have offended them, and turn away their eyes when those who have transgressed beg them. Therefore, the captives say this in a human form; because the Divinity is not complex, but simple and indescribable. To this they added: They can sing praises to You, but this is characteristic of the living. Var.2:18. The soul mourning for greatness walks, the spirit is slushy and sick, and the eyes that are failing, and the soul that is hungry, will give You glory and righteousness, Lord. Those who have been subjected to the greatest calamities and have despaired of a change for the better, and then have been granted such a change, will sincerely praise Your love for mankind. After this the prisoners say: Var.2:18. our father does not make excuses, or our own, hopefully, we beg you to have some mercy on us. For we are worthy of the disasters that You threatened us through the Prophets. They advised us to understand Thy righteous judgment and serve the king of Babylon; but we continued to persist. And You, O Lord, fulfilled what You had predicted through them. Not only we, the survivors, are put into slavery, but also the coffins of our fathers, even our kings, are taken out of the ground, and their bones are thrown into the open air, and rot from the air changes that are destructive to them. Var.2:25. And wracked with evil diseases, famine and sword, and imprisonment. He not only gave us over to famine, murder and slavery (captivity is called imprisonment), but Your holy church, which was glorious and famous by Your name, was brought into desolation. However, You did not do this according to the measure of our wickedness, but in this you also mixed justice with love for mankind. For they continue: Var.2:27. Thou hast created in us, O Lord our God, according to all Thy calmness, and according to all Thy great mercies. They also remember the threats written in the law; because Moses predicted the disasters that would befall them, especially in the song: “I will send the teeth of beasts into you.” And making it known that he was calling his enemies beasts, he added: “from without the sword will make them sick, and from their churches fear”; and again: “I will scatter them” (Deut. 32:24–26). These then remember the threats, and also remember the promised blessings; for they say: You said that you would extend mercy to those who repent, free them from captivity, and restore them to their former freedom. Var.3:1. Lord Almighty God of Israel, the distressed soul and the oppressed spirit cry out to You. I see, says the Prophet, the excessiveness of the disasters and the great loss of spirit. Var.3:2. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy, for You are a merciful God, and have mercy, for those who have sinned before You. You have a sea of ​​philanthropy, You have an abyss of mercy; show mercy to us who need it; because mercy is due to those who have sinned and repented. Var.3:3. For You endure forever, but we are perishing forever. You are eternal, and we are temporary; You are endless and indestructible, and our lives are measured in small measure. This is what the Prophet expressed with the words: “abide forever.” Var.3:4. Lord Almighty God of Israel, hear the prayer of the dead of Israel. The prophetic word clearly shows the immortality of the soul. And the sons of those who have sinned before You. You yourself said: “those who eat sour will have their teeth set to stone” (Jer. 31:30); Therefore, turn your attention to the young who are not involved in sin, and do not remember your father’s sins. Var.3:5. But remember Your hand and Your name at this time. Perform a miracle as usual for You; and just as he brought you out of Egypt, so you freed him from Babylon. Var.3:6. For You are the Lord our God, because You are the same and have not changed: You have the same power, the same love for mankind. Var.3:7. for this is why You have given Thy fear in our hearts, so that we may call upon Thy name. The Prophet showed the benefits of punishment; for, he says, having been punished, we turned. And let us praise Thee in our exile, for we have turned away from our hearts all the unrighteousness of our father who sinned against Thee. That is, we do not follow in the footsteps of our fathers, we do not walk in their paths, but we will follow Your laws. Therefore, look at our shame and grave slavery, which we endure both for our wickedness and for our father’s iniquity. Having put this prayer of the people in writing, the wonderful Baruch also encloses the Divine answer. Var.3:9. Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life, instill understanding and understanding. Var.3:10. What does Israel have? What are you in the land of the enemy? You have promised to foreign lands, You have defiled yourself with the dead, Var.3:11. You are counted as beings in hell, I mean, what news! what an extraordinary thing! the people who were called My people, a famous and notorious people, from free people became slaves, they live together with foreigners and wicked men, and due to the excessiveness of their misfortunes they are likened to the dead! Then he lets you see the reasons for this. Var.3:12. You left the Source of wisdom. Var.3:13. If only you had walked the path of God, you would have lived in peace forever. That is, you yourself became the author of real disasters, you should have used the guidance of the law, which was given to you by the Source of wisdom; and you followed vain thoughts. Var.3:14. Learn, where is intelligence, where is strength, where is wisdom? Do you really understand where there is longevity and life, where there is light of eyes and peace? If you couldn’t before, then at least now seek and know who is the giver of these blessings. Var.3:15. Who will find her place? and whoever enters her treasures, Var.3:16. Where are the princes of paganism, and those who own the wild beasts of the earth, and those who play with the birds of the air? Var.3:17. and keeping gold and silver, in which men trusted, and there is no end to their acquisition? Var.3:18. Those who make money and bake, and do not invent their works. He makes a comparison of piety, wealth and dominion, and advises bringing to mind the lawless kings who did not know satiety in wealth. It was they, says the Prophet, who, with the help of the art of hunting, captured animals and birds; but he also makes it possible to see their end. Var.3:19. They perished and went to hell, and in their place they rose. Var.3:20. The youngest saw the light, and was deprived of the earth, but did not know the ways of cunning, Var.3:21. I don’t understand her path, nor do I understand her. And they themselves were given over to decay, and those who descended from them, although they were numbered among the living and partook of the dawn of sensual light, nevertheless did not receive the rays of reason and knowledge of God. The Prophet lists those who thought highly of their wisdom, the Canaanites, the Edomites and the Ishmaelites, for Teman is Idumea, and Hagar is the mother of Ishmael. And he calls them “fabulists”; because they usually spoke in parables. However, they also “did not lead the way of wisdom” (Bar.3:23), because they did not cease to serve wickedness. Var.3:24. O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast is the place where he dwells! Var.3:25. Great and endless, high and immeasurable. Do not think, says the Prophet, that this church of God is the one that Solomon built; because this church of God is very large, immeasurable, and, moreover, indestructible: it does not “have an end.” Then, mentioning the giants who became famous for their size, he added: Var.3:27. God has not chosen these, nor has he given them a cunning way, Var.3:28. and died for his lack of advice. This is touched upon with the intention of showing that God preferred the Jews to all nations, He gave them alone the written law, He placed Prophets over them, He vouchsafed them with all care for them, and He finally came to them incarnate. For giving this to be understood, in the following words he teaches: Var.3:29. Who ascends into heaven, and takes it, and carries it away, Var.3:30. Who will cross over to the land of the sea, and find it, and exchange it for the chosen gold? Wisdom is not for sale, and is not offered simply to those who want to buy it. Var.3:31. There is no one who leads her way, no one who thinks her path. It exceeds human thought. Var.3:32. But knowing the whole message, I will invent it with My own meaning. The Prophet used the word “invent” in a human form; for he called God the source of wisdom (Bar.3:14), and at the beginning of this prophecy he called Him the source of life (Jer.17:13). The following words show the omnipotence of God’s creative power. Having created the earth in eternal time (ἐις τον ἀιῶνα χρονόν), I will fill it with four-legged cattle. The Prophet calls the present life of man “an age,” but the future life is called “the age of the century.” Var.3:33. Send the light, and it comes: call upon it, and listen to Him with trembling. Var.3:34. The stars shone in their repositories and rejoiced. Var.3:35. I called and said: when I came to rest, I arose with joy to the Creator. Everything is submissive to the Creator, says the Prophet. Each creature has its own limits. He calls times “repositories of stars”; because every star rises at a certain time. Their ruler and manager is the Creator of everything. The prophetic word does not make a comparison between the Son and the Father, but rejects the so-called gods. Var.3:37. Invent every way of cunning. Again it is stated: “you will invent”, according to the human image of expression; for He is the source of good things. And He gave it to Jacob his servant and to his beloved Israel. That is, he gave the teaching of God and the law given through Moses. Var.3:38. Therefore, appear on earth and live with people. The prophetic word clearly showed us the incarnation of the Only Begotten, and that He is the Creator of everything and the source of wisdom. And therefore He is both its Creator and its Lord; it is said about Him in Proverbs: “The Lord made Me the beginning of His ways for His works” (Proverbs 8:22). For it is not God the Word who says this, but the wisdom of God the Word created by Him. Var.4:1. This is the book of God's commandments, that is, given with the incarnation of the Only Begotten Son of God. because the old covenant has come to an end. All who hold her in the stomach: if they leave her, they will die. The Prophet showed the end of both. Then he offers advice to a people called Jacob. Var.4:2. Turn to Jacob, and follow her, go straight to the radiance of her light. Follow the shining of the ray; it illuminates you and guides you to life. Var.4:3. Do not give your glory to others, nor to a foreign tongue that benefits you. But Israel did not listen; That is why they have become far from blessings, while the pagans enjoy God-given blessings. Var.4:4. Blessed are we to Israel, for the essence of what is pleasing to God is reasonable. We cannot excuse ourselves by ignorance, says the Prophet; because it has been declared to us what pleases Him. Then he encourages and teaches that this time they have been handed over into slavery by the God of all, who has not completely turned away from them, but intends to punish them with this good deed; because they, having left the Benefactor, preferred serving the demons, and became the culprits of the desolation of the city that raised them. He also uses personification, and imagines that the city is crying and saying to the cities under its control: Var.4:9. May the Lord bring me great lamentation. For I saw that some of the inhabitants were killed, and others were given into heavy slavery. Var.4:12. Let no one rejoice over me, a widow left behind by people. Jerusalem calls herself a widow; because he lost God’s providence for him. I am desolate for the sins of my children. He counts the sins themselves, describes the cruelty of his enemies, and says: Var.4:16. The elder was not put to shame, nor did he have mercy on you; “One,” as I think, he calls himself, because in it alone was God’s church, and perhaps because there was only one left, while the other cities were devastated by the Assyrians. Then he says that although he cannot help himself, he nevertheless promises himself God’s help. Meanwhile, he mourns the present desolation, and says: Var.4:19. Because I remained empty, Var.4:20. I took off my garments of peace. It shows the change that happened to those who remained. And I put on the sackcloth of my prayer: I will cry... It was not the walls that did and said this, but the inhabitants. Then he advises them to place their trust in God’s love for mankind and ask for mercy; because I, says Jerusalem, am waiting for your return. Var.4:23. Having let you go with sobbing and weeping, God will give you back to me with joy and gladness. This is similar to what was said by blessed David: “they who walk and weep, throwing away their seeds, but those who come will come with joy, taking hold of their hands” (Ps. 125:6). He speaks of the joy of the neighboring peoples during the captivity and of the sorrow upon the return of the Jews. He advises the latter to patiently endure the punishment imposed on them, and promises a change in events and says: Var.4:25. Your enemy has persecuted you, and you will soon see his destruction and step on his neck. He calls the Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites, and Philistines enemies. Var.4:26. My children walk cruelly on their journey, in admiration, like a flock stolen by an enemy. He calls those living in abundance and wealth young, as those who have not had the opportunity to experience anything sorrowful. Then he advises them to acquire salvation through repentance. The Prophet, having said this as if on behalf of Jerusalem, finally offers him a word of comfort. Var.4:30. Be of good courage in Jerusalem, the one who will give you comfort will comfort you. He who gave you the name, that is, your Creator, who preferred you to any other city, has already decided to change your condition for the better and put an end to your misfortune. Var.4:31. Damned ones who embittered you and rejoiced at your fall. Var.4:32. Damn you, your children have worked for them. The Babylonians received punishment worthy of their iniquities. Then the Prophet announces that Babylon will already mourn its own disasters, and says: Var.4:34. And I will cut off from her the joy of the multitude, and her glory will be mourning. Var.4:35. Fire will come upon us from the Eternal for many days, and will be inhabited by demons for a very long time. Babylon accepted this punishment through the Persians. The prophetic word showed that, according to the prophecy, Babylon would remain uninhabited not forever, but for a long time; because there are now several Jews living there. Var.4:36. Look to the east, Jerusalem, and see your joy coming to you from God. Heralds the return of prisoners. Var.4:37. Behold, your sons are coming, whom you sent away: the congregation is coming from the east even to the west with the word of the Holy One, rejoicing in the glory of God. For it was not by our own strength that we overcame our enemies, but God, who betrayed our enemies, restored them to freedom. The Prophet commands Jerusalem to lay aside the deplorable robe and put on priestly vestments. For he says: Var.5:2. Put on the robe of righteousness, which from God put a crown on your head of the glory of the Eternal. For on this crown, or wither, was placed a golden shield, on which was inscribed the name of God. Var.5:3. God will show your lordship to all the heavens. Var.5:4. For from God your name will be called forever: peace of righteousness and glory of godliness. Now Jerusalem has these names; That’s why everyone flocks to it; for the saving suffering made him glorious and famous. The Prophet again commands him to watch how the captives return from the east and west, and informs him that the “pedestrians” (Bar.5:6) were taken away, surrounded by shackles, and they will return awarded all honor. You should know that when the Jews returned from Babylon, those who fled during the war and settled in the countries of the south and west also returned; because peace was given to their people. That is why the Prophet also mentioned those returning from the west. Var.5:7. For God conspired to humble himself to every high mountain and everlasting hill, and to fill the valleys with the equal of the earth, so that Israel may go, established in the glory of God. That is, he destroyed all difficulty; crushed the Babylonians, who were like high mountains, and caused those under their control, who were like deep ravines, to lift up their heads. And the freedom to return to our fatherland opened up for us everywhere. Var.5:8. The fall of the oak groves, and every tree, is a fragrance to Israel, by the commandment of God. This is similar to what David said: “the mountains leaped like rams, and the hills like lambs of sheep” (Ps. 113:4). Therefore, oak forests allegorically refers to the peoples living on the way who did not bring God the fruit of piety, but they provided all sorts of services to the returning Israelites. He tells the reason for the good: Var.5:9. For the God of Israel will come with joy, the light of His glory, with mercy and righteousness from Him. Under the leadership of God, everything is easy and convenient. God shows mercy to his people, and righteousness to the Babylonians; because the former, having sinned, turned the punishment to their advantage, and the victory made the latter more frantic and wicked. Therefore, we will beg the God of all to become our leader and guide, and we, according to David’s song, walking “in the light of His countenance” (Ps. 89:16), do not deviate either to the right or to the left, but walk the royal path, leading us into life, which may we be worthy of by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. With Him glory to the Father and with the All-Holy Spirit, now, and always, and unto ages of ages! Amen. According to other lists, instead of: παιδἐιαν here: κορἐιαν