The Book of Baruch is named after the secretary of the prophet Jeremiah. Internal evidence in the book suggest that it was written several centuries after Baruch’s time so it seems the author wanted to channel the message of Baruch for a new generation. The book as we have it is written in Greek (although, at least part of the book looks like a translatiion into Greek from Hebrew) and as such in not included in the Hebrew Bible (which served as the basis for the Bible used by the Protestants.) Is was part of the Septuagint which was the Bible of the early church. St. Jerome included it in the Latin translation of the Bible we call the Vulgate. Thus, Baruch is considered “deuterocanonical,” that is the second canon or list of the books of the Bible. The message purports to be how the Jewish people should respond to exile which the author takes as applicable to every difficulty that the people face. “Justice is with the Lord, our God.” Don’t blame God for the troubles you are facing but look to the ways you have messed up and understand that what you are enduring is a consequence of your actions.
