Baruch
Baruch has 6 chapters. Read Baruch in the Douay-Rheims 1899, chapter by chapter, free and without an account.
Baruch brings together confession of sin, a prayer for mercy, praise of wisdom, and hope for the return of exiles. Jerusalem speaks as a grieving mother who looks toward restoration. This overview follows the six-chapter Catholic form, which closes with the Letter of Jeremiah against idolatry; the Orthodox edition on this site presents that letter separately.
In Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, Baruch is among the Prophetic Books of the Old Testament, one of the deuterocanonical books. Protestant Bibles place it in the Apocrypha or leave it out, and it is not part of the Jewish Tanakh. See it on the shelf.
Baruch 1 depicts exiles hearing Baruch, mourning Jerusalem, supporting worship, requesting prayer, and confessing long disobedience.
Baruch 2 joins confession in exile with appeals to mercy and promises of receptive hearts, renewed covenant, and return to the land.
Baruch 3 portrays exiles seeking mercy and wisdom that power and wealth cannot find, but the Creator knows and gives to Israel.
Baruch 4 presents God's law as life and portrays mourning Jerusalem encouraging her exiled children toward repentance, hope, and joyful return.
Baruch 5 portrays radiant Jerusalem welcoming her scattered children as God prepares a safe, shaded road of mercy and joyful return.
