Read & explore together
The afflicted ask God to hear and deliver them
In this prayer, the speakers ask God to hear them and rescue them. They remember God’s past power, confess their sin, and plead for mercy so that God’s name will be known.
Understanding the passage
The setting of this message
Baruch 2:11–18 is a prayer in the Catholic additional books. In these verses, the speakers address the Lord as the God of Israel, recall that he brought his people out of Egypt, confess sin, ask for wrath to turn away, and ask God to hear, look, and deliver. The passage stays in the form of prayer and teaching.
Baruch 2:11–18Main takeaway
This passage teaches that the afflicted come to God by confessing sin, appealing to his name, and asking him to hear and deliver them.
Explore the message
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01God is addressed by his past saving powerThe prayer begins by naming the Lord as the God of Israel and recalling that he brought his people out of Egypt.
Explanation
The prayer begins by naming the Lord as the God of Israel and recalling that he brought his people out of Egypt. The language is full of strength: mighty hand, signs, wonders, great power, and a high arm. This opening looks back to what God has done and to the name he has made for himself.
02The speakers plainly confess their sinAfter remembering God’s power, the prayer turns to confession. The speakers do not defend themselves.
Explanation
After remembering God’s power, the prayer turns to confession. The speakers do not defend themselves. They say, “we have sinned”, “we have been ungodly”, and “we have done wrong in all your ordinances”. The wording is direct and serious, showing that their request for help is joined with honest admission of guilt.
03They ask for wrath to turn and for deliveranceThe prayer asks God to turn away his wrath because only a few are left among the nations where they have been scattered.
Explanation
The prayer asks God to turn away his wrath because only a few are left among the nations where they have been scattered. Then it asks God to hear their prayer, deliver them for his own sake, and give them favour before those who led them away captive. Their appeal is tied to God’s own name and purpose.
04They ask God to look, hear, and notice the living afflictedThe prayer becomes especially urgent with repeated requests: “look down”, “consider us”, “incline your ear”, and “hear”.
Explanation
The prayer becomes especially urgent with repeated requests: “look down”, “consider us”, “incline your ear”, and “hear”. It contrasts the dead in Hades, who will give neither glory nor righteousness to the Lord, with the deeply troubled, stooping, feeble, hungry person who will declare God’s glory and righteousness. The plea is for God to notice and act toward the suffering who are still able to praise him.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01Why does the prayer begin by speaking about God bringing his people out of Egypt?
Notice how Baruch 2:11 recalls God’s mighty acts before the speakers ask him to act again.
02What words in this passage show that the speakers take their sin seriously?
Look carefully at the repeated confessions in Baruch 2:12 and the request for wrath to turn away in Baruch 2:13.
03How does the prayer describe the difference between the dead and the afflicted who are still living?
Compare the dead in Hades in Baruch 2:17 with the vexed, feeble, hungry soul in Baruch 2:18.
Read the Bible passage
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Baruch 2:11–18
11And now, O Lord, you God of Israel who have brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, with signs, with wonders, with great power, and with a high arm, and have gotten yourself a name, as at this day:
12O Lord our God, we have sinned. We have been ungodly. We have done wrong in all your ordinances.
13Let your wrath turn from us, for we are but a few left among the heathen where you have scattered us.
14Hear our prayer, O Lord, and our petition, and deliver us for your own sake. Give us favor in the sight of those who have led us away captive,
15that all the earth may know that you are the Lord our God, because Israel and his posterity is called by your name.
16O Lord, look down from your holy house and consider us. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear.
17Open your eyes, and see; for the dead that are in Hades, whose breath is taken from their bodies, will give to the Lord neither glory nor righteousness;
18but the soul who is greatly vexed, who goes stooping and feeble, and the eyes that fail, and the hungry soul, will declare your glory and righteousness, O Lord.