Baruch Reads to the Exiles

Baruch son of Nerias wrote this book in Babylon. He wrote it in the fifth year, on the seventh day of the month, at the time when the Chaldeans had taken Jerusalem and burned it with fire.

Baruch read the words of the book aloud. Jechonias son of Joakim, king of Judah, heard it. So did the people who came to listen, including mighty men, the king’s sons, the elders, and everyone living in Babylon by the river Sud, from least to greatest.

The reading deeply moved them. They wept, fasted, and prayed before the Lord. Hearing the book did not leave them unchanged. Together, they answered with sorrow and with worship.

They also gathered money, with each person giving according to his ability. Then they sent it to Jerusalem, to Joakim the high priest son of Helkias son of Salom, and to the priests and people who were with him there.

The account adds that this happened at a time connected with the return of vessels from the house of the Lord into the land of Judah. It also remembers how Jechonias, the princes, the captives, the mighty men, and other people had been carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon. What can a community do after hearing God’s words together?