Baruch

Baruch, book of the Old Testament in those versions of the Bible following the Septuagint (generally Roman Catholic and Orthodox). Baruch is included with the Apocrypha in the King James Version; it does not appear in the Hebrew Bible. The book is attributed to Baruch, trusted friend and secretary of the prophet Jeremiah. Addressed to the Jews exiled in Babylon, the work was written partly in prose and partly in poetry. The prose section (1-3:8) comprises an admission of sin, a promise of deliverance after repentance, and a prayer asking mercy and praising God. The poetry section (3:9-5:9) consists of verses in praise of wisdom and of God's commandments and of verses urging the exiles to be courageous and comforted. Chapter 6, which claims to be a letter of Jeremiah addressed to the exiles in Babylon, is a warning against idolatry. The three parts of the book were probably written at different times. Baruch may have been compiled as late as the 1st or 2nd century ad by an Alexandrian editor using original Hebrew manuscripts; it has been preserved in a Greek version.