巴錄四書（巴錄其餘事蹟） 第 7 章

And Baruch arose and went out of the tomb, and found the eagle sitting outside the tomb.

And answering with a human voice, the eagle said to him: Hail, Baruch, steward of the faith.

And Baruch said to him: You are chosen, you who speak, out of all the birds of heaven; for it is evident from the brightness of your eyes. Show me then, what are you doing here?

And the eagle said to him: I was sent here, so that whatever message you wish, you may send by me.

And Baruch said to him: Are you able to carry this message to Jeremiah in Babylon?

And the eagle said to him: For this very purpose I was sent.

And Baruch took the letter and fifteen figs from the basket of Abimelech, and tied them upon the neck of the eagle, and said to him: To you I speak, O king of the birds, depart in peace and in health, and bring me back the message.

Do not be like the raven, which Noah sent out and which did not return again to him into the ark; but be like the dove, which the third time brought a message to the righteous one.

So you also, carry this good message to Jeremiah and to those who are bound with him, that it may be well with you; carry this writing to the people and to the chosen one of God.

If all the birds of heaven encircle you and wish to fight with you, contend; the Lord will give you strength.

And do not turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but go straight like an arrow; depart in the power of God, and the glory of the Lord shall be with you in all the way that you go.

Then the eagle flew up, having the letter on its neck, and went to Babylon; and coming, it rested upon a tree outside the city, in a desert place.

And it kept silent until Jeremiah passed by; for he and certain others of the people were going out to bury a dead man outside the city.

For Jeremiah had asked of Nebuchadnezzar the king, saying: Give me a place where I may bury the dead of my people; and the king gave it to him.

And as they were going out and weeping over the dead man, they came opposite the eagle.

And the eagle cried out with a loud voice, saying: To you I speak, Jeremiah, the chosen one of God: go, gather the people, and come here, that they may hear the letter which I have brought you from Baruch and Abimelech.

And when Jeremiah heard it, he glorified God; and going away, he gathered the people together with the women and children, and came to where the eagle was.

And the eagle came down upon the dead man, and he came to life again.

Now this happened, that they might believe.

And all the people marveled at what had happened, saying: Is not this the God who appeared to our fathers in the wilderness through Moses, and now has appeared to us through this eagle?

And the eagle said: To you I speak, Jeremiah, come, loose this letter and read it to the people. So loosing the letter, he read it to the people.

And when the people heard it, they wept and put dust upon their heads, and said to Jeremiah: Save us, and tell us what we shall do, that we may enter again into our city.

And Jeremiah answered and said to them: Keep all the things that you have heard from the letter, and the Lord will bring us into our city.

And Jeremiah also wrote a letter to Baruch, saying thus: My beloved son, do not neglect in your prayers to entreat God on our behalf, that he may prosper our way until we come out from the commands of this lawless king.

For you were found righteous before God, and he did not allow you to enter here, so that you would not see the affliction which has come upon the people from the Babylonians.

For just as a father, having an only son, and this son being delivered up to punishment, those who see his father and console him cover his face, that he may not see how his own son is punished and be more consumed by grief;

so God had mercy on you and did not allow you to come to Babylon, that you might not see the affliction of the people.

For from the time we entered here, grief has not ceased from us; sixty-six years it is today.

For often, going out, I would find some of the people hanged by Nebuchadnezzar the king, weeping and saying: Have mercy on us, O God Zar.

Hearing these things, I grieved and wept a double weeping, not only because they were hanged, but because they called upon a foreign god, saying: Have mercy on us.

And I remembered the days of the feast which we used to keep in Jerusalem before we were taken captive; and remembering, I groaned, and returned to my house in anguish and weeping.

Now therefore make supplication in the place where you are, you and Abimelech, on behalf of this people, that they may hearken to my voice and to the judgments of my mouth, and we may come out from here.

For I tell you that all the time we have spent here, they have detained us, saying: Sing us a song from the songs of Zion, the song of your God.

And we say to them: How shall we sing to you, being in a foreign land?

And after these things Jeremiah tied the letter to the neck of the eagle, saying: Depart in peace, and may the Lord visit us both.

And the eagle flew up, and came to Jerusalem, and gave the letter to Baruch; and loosing it he read it, and kissed it, and wept when he heard of the sorrows and afflictions of the people.

And Jeremiah took up the figs and distributed them to the sick of the people, and remained teaching them to abstain from the pollutions of the nations of Babylon.