44:1-8; 45—46. Baruch tells the Elders of his impending Death, but encourages them to expect the Consolation of Zion



44 1 And I, Baruch, went from thence, and came to my people, and I called my first-born son and [the Gedaliahs] my friends, and seven of the elders of the people, and I said unto them:



Behold, I go unto my fathers
According to the way of all the earth.
3 But withdraw you not from the way of the law,
But guard and admonish the people which remain,
Lest they withdraw from the commandments of the Mighty One.
4 For you see that He whom we serve is just,
And our Creator is no respecter of persons.
5 And see you what hath befallen Zion,
And what hath happened to Jerusalem.
6 For the judgment of the Mighty One shall (thereby) be made known,
And His ways, which, though past finding out, are right.
7 For if you endure and persevere in His fear,
And do not forget His law,
The times shall change over you for good.
And you shall see the consolation of Zion.

13 For the shepherds of Israel have perished,
And the lamps which gave light are extinguished,
And the fountains have withheld their stream whence we used to drink.
14 And we are left in the darkness,
And amid the trees of the forest,
And the thirst of the wilderness.'
15 And I answered and said unto them
'Shepherds and lamps and fountains come from the law:
And though we depart, yet the law abides.
16 If therefore you have respect to the law,
And are intent upon wisdom,
A lamp will not be wanting,
And a shepherd will not fail,
And a fountain will not dry up.

2 Esdras 9:31
31 For, behold, I sow my law in you, and it shall bring fruit in you, and ye shall be honoured in it for ever.