Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks
Through His Servants the Prophets

Volume II: Restoration & Redemption

Lesson 9 A Dislocated People Turn to the LORD
the Book of Baruch 1:1–13
the Book of Baruch 2:6–15
the Book of Baruch 2:27–35
the Book of Baruch 3:8–14
the Book of Baruch 3:29–36
the Book of Baruch 4:1–4
the Book of Baruch 4:6–9a
the Book of Baruch 4:21–23

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for Thus Says the LORD—Volume II
cross references in Thus Says the LORD—Volume II
next lesson: The Return Gets Underway; the LORD Wants the Temple Rebuilt

This online supplemental material coordinates with the lesson on pages 65–70 of Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption.

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“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
—the Book of Isaiah 55:10–11 (RSVCE)**

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welcome to Volume II of our in-depth study of the biblical prophets
We invite you to check out the sample first lesson and video from Volume II of this Turning to God’s Word two-part Catholic Bible study. Our online pages link to the free related lesson videos, a glossary, and cross references in the biblical text, and include maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption contains 23 lessons and has been granted an imprimatur. It may be purchased from our website shop. The companion 28-lesson Volume I: A Kingdom Divided also is available for purchase. If you have a Bible-study question or comment, click on the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” button on any study page.

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open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion study group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit
to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

let’s review—the Book of Isaiah 42:1–9, the Book of Isaiah 49:1–6, the Book of Isaiah 50:4–11, and the Book of Isaiah 52:13—53:12
Lesson 8 God’s Suffering Servant looks at the four songs of the Suffering Servant included in the part of the Book of Isaiah most scholars believe to have been written by the prophet known as Deutero- (Second) Isaiah. This includes the fourth and most familiar description of the Suffering Servant found in the Book of Isaiah 52:13—53:12. The uncanny similarities between the Suffering Servant and the Passion of Jesus have led to the inclusion of this passage in the Church’s emotional Good Friday liturgy. In his description of the Suffering Servant, the prophet not only anticipates Jesus’ Passion, he uses it to describe and explain the salvific or redeeming mission of Jesus Christ.

map notes—a timeless message about worship of idols
The sixth chapter of the deuterocanonical Book of Baruch purports to discourage the captives from worshiping the idols so prevalent in Babylon. The book claims to have been written early during the Babylonian Exile, and based on that, it’s placed chronologically in our study. Most scholars, however, believe this work was written much later. The content seems to indicate that the author’s intent was to encourage God’s people who’d returned to Jerusalem after the Exile to steer clear of the religious practices of the succession of foreigners who eventually would come to rule the former southern kingdom. The connection between the Book of Baruch and Old Testament wisdom literature strongly suggests that the author was expressing concern about the promotion of Greek culture by the Seleucids and the Romans. Click on the map (right) to enlarge it. The original map is on page 69 of Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption. 

examining wisdom in the Book of Baruch (01:05:28)
In the video overview for Lesson 9, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses the encounter in the deuterocanonical Book of Baruch between the foreign value of wisdom, a cultural influence from the Greeks, and traditional Hebrew values. The result of this intersection creates a distinct identity for Judaism and intellectually paves the way for the place of philosophy in Christianity. The word philosophy comes from the Greek words philo (love) and sophos (wisdom). In our overview, the Book of Baruch is treated as though it were written later than it claims—the later date is assumed correct by most scholars—in order to develop the theme of a clash between Hebrew and Greek culture leading to an eventual merger. This cultural merger was successful enough that there’s a category of Old Testament books known as wisdom literature, and one of these books is even called The Wisdom of Solomon. (This deuterocanonical book is thought to have been written in Greek a short time before the birth of Jesus, and is part of the Septuagint—a Greek translation of the Old Testament that’s not included in the Hebrew Scriptures. It’s questionable whether it has anything to do with Solomon; most biblical scholars refer to it as the book of Wisdom. ) For the Greeks, the highest possible virtue was wisdom, which the Oxford English Dictionary defines as “the capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct; soundness of judgment in the choice of means and ends; sometimes, less strictly, sound sense, especially in practical affairs.” Consider what you think might be the highest possible virtue for Christians.

The Scripture ranges for the videos that accompany this Catholic Bible study match the ranges for the sets of questions in Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption. You can follow along as Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses Lesson 9, “A Dislocated People Turn to the LORD,” on pages 65–70 in the study book.

clues about when the Book of Baruch might have been written
Because the Book of Baruch originally was written in Greek, this likely dates it much later than possible if it were written by the prophet Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch. While the descendants of Jacob were in exile in Babylon, they adopted Aramaic as their vernacular (everyday language) and began using Aramaic script to write Hebrew words. They also adopted Babylonian names of the months for their own calendar. The Greek language doesn’t come into common use until the time of Alexander the Great, the son of Philip of Macedon. During the 4th century B.C., Alexander promoted Greek as the primary language of trade and culture throughout his far-ranging empire, and it remained the dominant world language through the time of Jesus.

Q&A—does this mean the Book of Baruch is false?
We anticipate that treating the Book of Baruch as though it were written later than it claims to be seems to fly in the face of what many people believe about Scripture—that it is unerringly and literally true historically as well as spiritually.

Q:  What gives? Are you taking the position that the author of the Book of Baruch is lying about when this work was written?

A:  Contrary to what many Catholics believe they’ve been taught, Scripture isn’t infallible. Sooner or later, everyone involved in serious Bible study has to come to terms with the fact that while the Bible is guaranteed to be true about God, it isn’t guaranteed to be true about history. Confusion arises because most of us have been taught that the Bible is true, but we rarely have been taught to make a subtle distinction concerning what exactly it’s true about. It’s not unusual for an author to write something and set it in a different time and place than the time in which he’s doing the actual writing. The author knows his story isn’t being written during the time it describes, but he’s chosen to orient his work then anyway. For the author of the Book of Baruch to claim to be writing at the time of the Babylonian Exile doesn’t make what he’s writing about God false. As an aside, Lesson 17 Greek Influences Threaten Judaism in this second volume of our overview of the biblical prophets looks closely at another deuterocanonical work, the First Book of the Maccabees, which scholars believe was written during the period it describes. It contains much accurate historical material that’s critical for our understanding of when and how Greek and Roman influence came into the region inhabited by the descendants of Jacob.

where was this river called Sud?
The deuterocanonical Book of Baruch 1:3–4 records that the prophet Baruch read his writings to exiles in Babylon shortly after Jerusalem fell. Most scholars believe that the Book of Baruch was written much later and not by Jeremiah’s scribe, who’s thought possibly to have accompanied Jeremiah to Egypt around the time of the Babylonian Exile. The passage raises another question, which concerns the location of the river Sud. Although Scripture tells us that it was in Babylon, scholars remain mystified about where the exact location might have been. Our online online glossary lists every proper noun in the main biblical texts in Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption. This includes the names of geographic locations as well as of people, and most entries also include the meaning of the proper name. Sud, for example, seems to mean either “waterway” or “secret”—two pretty disparate things.

apocrypha—you could look it up in our archives
The Book of Baruch is included in a small number of works in the Bible that Catholics refer to as deuterocanonical—a word that means “second canon.” This group consists of seven Old Testament books and parts of two others. Protestants call these same works the “Apocrypha”—a word that means “hidden.” To learn more, check out Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps’ archived Lost in Translation column in which he examines the linguistics and history underlying this difference. A feature of the Turning to God’s Word website, Lost in Translation examines ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.

problems with historical facts in the Book of Baruch
Confusion arises because this work—like a large number of ancient documents not included in the canon of Scripture—takes its name from an Old Testament figure, Jeremiah’s loyal scribe, something that scholars think is more related to Jeremiah’s popularity after his lifetime than to actual fact. In addition, the Book of Baruch contains some fuzzy details that more than a few that scholars consider to be flat wrong. In the Book of Baruch 1:1–2, the author (whoever he may be—it’s a fair bet that the books of the Old Testament are almost surely all written by men) mentions that the work is set in Babylon in “the fifth year” but neglects to specify the fifth year of what. The only mention of a high priest named Jehoiakim occurs in the Book of Baruch 1:5–7, and scholars are unable to find any evidence that such a person existed. That doesn’t necessarily mean he didn’t, but it’s unusual that there’d be no other reference to him elsewhere in Scripture or in any other ancient documents.

ex libris—important archeological evidence
Although most scholarly works about the prophets all but overlook the Book of Baruch, the author of Introduction to the Prophets: Their Stories, Sayings, and Scrolls, Thomas L. Leclerc, M.S. (Missionaries of La Salette), a priest and professor at Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts, mentions a key archeological finding in connection with his commentary about the prophet Jeremiah. Archeologists have discovered a clay seal bearing the impression: “Belonging to Berechiah, son of Neriah, the scribe.” The Book of Jeremiah 32:16 identifies Jeremiah’s scribe as Baruch the son of Neriah. As Leclerc explains, Baruch is the shortened form of Berechiah, a name that means “blessed.” To learn more about the meaning of proper nouns in the biblical text for Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption, visit our online glossary. You can read excerpts and learn more about Introduction to the Prophets: Their Stories, Sayings, and Scrolls and other works related to Bible study at ex libris—main bookshelf.

scholars insist that Nebuchadnezzar had no son named Belshazzar
The most blatant historical discrepancy occurs in the Book of Baruch 1:11, which identifies Belshazzar as the son of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. Historians are unanimous in agreeing that Belshazzar’s father was Nabonidus, a man of uncertain lineage who overthrew Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson to begin ruling Babylon in 556 B.C. This same issue will pop up again in Lesson 18 Daniel: A Model Jew when the Book of Daniel 5:2 also identifies Belshazzar as Nebuchadnezzar’s son.

some religious acts remain tied to Jerusalem
Opposite of what we might expect, the first chapter in the Book of Baruch describes the exiles in Babylon sending money and liturgical vessels back to Jerusalem. In the past, Jerusalem was the center of both religious authority and the house on earth for the LORD’s name. Dertain worship practices are tied to the physical location of Jerusalem. In Exile, the focus moves from liturgical acts performed by a priest. Following God’s law begins to emerge as increasingly important for the descendants of Jacob held captive in Babylon. Scribes (scholars of the law) begin to function with religious authority, while the role of priests is limited because without a Temple they’re unable to offer sacrifice. This sets the stage for the later spread of Judaism, which will manifest in partisan differences at the time of Jesus between the Sadducees (rooted in the priesthood) and the Pharisees (rooted in the law). The author of the Book of Baruch is being pitched as both a priest and a scribe, and although the work probably wasn’t actually written by Jeremiah’s scribe, the Book of Baruch nevertheless is significant to Jewish religious tradition. The Book of Baruch is intended to be viewed through the three-fold lens of priest, scribe, and prophet.

ex libris—all about the city that’s spiritual home to three world religions
The title Jerusalem: The Biography says it all. Simon Sebag Montefiore has written a prize-winning work of non-fiction that looks at the Holy City’s 3,000 years of frequently unholy history through the viewpoint of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. A seriously ambitious work, this book treats the city of David as the primary character in a gripping narrative of the location often referred to as the “center of the world.” Jerusalem: The Biography is of particular relevance to a Bible study of any of the Old Testament. The book opens by recounting the Roman attack on the city in 70 A.D., followed by an intensive look at Jewish control of Jerusalem beginning with David’s conquest of the citadel of Zion. At that time, the well-fortified Jebusite stronghold already was considered ancient. Sections on the Christian and Muslim influences on the Holy City follow. Present-day political leaders see Jerusalem as key to peace in the Middle East. Visit ex libris—main bookshelf, to read an excerpt from this book and others related to in-depth Scripture study.

the law becomes primary
The rules of covenant govern life and death. The terms of the Old Covenant are simple: If you sin, you die. The terms of the New Covenant are basically the same, but—thanks to the Passion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus—they now focus on the positive side: If you don’t sin, you don’t die. That also is true under the Old Covenant, but until Jesus no one’s able to live up to the terms of not sinning. After the Babylonian Exile, the law becomes primary as the descendants of Jacob recognize the importance of avoiding sin. They’re unable to abandon liturgical animal sacrifice because they’re unable to completely stop sinning. If you don’t sin, not only do you not die—you don’t need to make atonement. Christians don’t practice animal sacrifice—not because we don’t need to atone, but because our pathway to atonement is through the sacrifice made by Jesus, who was sinless. The Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study The Letter to the Hebrews: An Explanation of the Mechanism of Our Salvation takes an in-depth look at how Jesus’ death is able to bring about the possibility of salvation for humanity.

what’s going on with these offerings on behalf of a foreign king?
The first chapter in the Book of Baruch describes resources being sent to Jerusalem to make offerings for the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, which represents an ideological shift. This probably wasn’t something the descendants of Jacob would have wanted to do in the early stages of the Exile. It’s entirely possible, however, that they would have been far more comfortable with this idea later after they’d gotten used to existing and thriving under a variety of foreign rulers. The author of the Book of Baruch is suggesting that Exile in Babylon isn’t so bad. There’s money to send back to Jerusalem, and the people clearly have been allowed to practice their religion and to accumulate property.

WHAT DO YOU THINK about separation of Church & state?
Under foreign rule, the descendants of Jacob discover that they don’t have to worry about their neighbors getting out of line. If that does happen, the foreign ruler will come in and fix things. This allows the people to quit focusing on the idea of the LORD as a warrior God, marking beginning steps away from the idea of a wrathful God and toward a God of mercy. 

?  Consider why the Church celebrates the solemnity of Christ the King.
?  What are some of the specific ways in which God’s kingdom differs from human ideas of a kingdom?
?  What might interest God more than politics?
?  What are some ways in which politics might be incompatible with worship of God?
?  What are some present-day political situations of which God might approve?
?  How do these political situations represent God’s love and mercy?

wisdom & God’s law are viewed in the same light
In the third chapter in the Book of Baruch, the author introduces the Greek idea of wisdom as a virtue on par with traditional Hebrew emphasis on God’s law, evidence of the intermingling of Greek culture and thought with the newly elevated Hebrew idea of the importance of following the law. While this new emphasis on wisdom is a positive step, it’s nevertheless coming from outside ancient Hebrew tradition. By equating wisdom with observation of the law, the author of the Book of Baruch creates a unified view of the developing religion of Judaism that encompasses the highest ideals of Greek culture.

biblical vocabulary—Hades
The Book of Baruch 3:10–12 links an absence of wisdom among the descendants of Jacob with the idea of Hades, the Greek abode of the dead. This concept will become more important in the final two lessons of Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption, which examine prophetic influences in the New Testament book of Revelation. That the Greek concept of Hades even is mentioned in the Book of Baruch underscores the author’s emphasis on the intermingling of culture—an intermingling that probably wouldn’t have begun until after Alexander the Great’s conquest of the ancient world in the 4th century B.C. In Lost in Translation, an online column that can help readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps looks at this Greek idea of the underworld.

read the Catechism—wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit
According to Church teaching, the moral life of Christians is sustained by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, of which wisdom is one. All seven are listed in paragraph 1831in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. To learn how fruits of the Holy Spirit differ from gifts of the Holy Spirit, read paragraph 1832 in the Catechism.

1831     The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.

Let your good spirit lead me on a level path.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.

During the time of the Old Testament, God’s people had the law but not Jesus. Understanding the law was considered the highest religious attainment. After the New Testament, Christians have Jesus. You can learn more about how this changes reality by watching Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps’ video overview for this lesson.

the Book of Baruch contains an important Christian insight
Although no Old Testament author could have had any direct understanding of Jesus as the Incarnate Son of God, previous lessons have shown powerful Old Testament prophecies pointing to Jesus. Deutero- or (Second) Isaiah’s songs of the Suffering Servant are especially noteworthy. The Book of Baruch 3:29–36, in describing where to find wisdom, anticipates Jesus going up to heaven and bringing wisdom down to humanity. What this Old Testament writer has recorded can be interpreted from a Christian viewpoint as referring to Jesus. While wisdom is critically important, only God has direct access to it. Men and women can have it if God brings it to us, which is exactly what Jesus does.

The following questions are for participants interested in reading and praying with the Psalms. Although the Psalms have been classified in a variety of different ways and scholars frequently disagree about how to label a particular Psalm, those most often considered to be Wisdom Psalms include: Psalm 1, 37, 49, 73, 112, 127, 128, and all 22 segments of Psalm 119. The Abbey Psalms and Canticles identifies each segment of Psalm 119 individually, beginning with Psalm 119:1–8. You can learn more about the Psalms in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. Part two of that study, Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, will be published in 2025.

?  Read all of the above Psalms and to try to determine what has led to each one being classified as a Wisdom Psalm.
?  Identify any in this group that perhaps should be classified some other way. How might they be classified instead, and why?
?  Which one of the listed Wisdom Psalms appears most representative of Christian wisdom, and why?
?  What might most people consider to be the most important benefit of having wisdom?
?  How might an increase of wisdom improve an individual’s relationship with God?
?  What can a person do to gain more wisdom?

how is this relevant?
The Book of Baruch reflects an idea that may have been easier to put into the heads of the descendants of Jacob after the fact than during the Babylonian Exile. That idea is that until God’s people repent, they deserve to be in Exile. This is a valid concept for Christians to consider as well. Each lesson in the study book Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption contains commentaries designed to make it easier to reflect on ways that God’s Word applies to present-day Christians.

?  How might God’s law be defined for Christians in the present day?
?  Cite a passage or passages from the Gospels that show how Jesus defines God’s law for his followers.
?  What are some difficulties that some Christians might encounter in trying to observe God’s law?
?  How does the liturgy of the Mass address God’s law?
?  In addition to the sacraments, what other help is available to Christians who wish to devote themselves to observing God’s law?
?  Consider what circumstances that are beyond human control might right now be interfering with faith in God. What can be done to increase faith and trust in God?

Q&A—Did people in the Old Testament prioritize one of the Ten Commandments over the others?
A participant in one of our study groups wonders if the original readers of the Book of Baruch might have considered all of the Ten Commandments to be of equal weight and importance.

Q:  Did the descendants at the time of Baruch understand the Ten Commandments to be more or less equal, or is the idea of the first one being the most important a development that came out of the New Testament after Jesus identifies the first commandment as the greatest?

A:  The commentary “God Is the LORD; There Is No Other” on page 56 of Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption addresses that question:

“The works of Deutero- (Second) Isaiah disclose an important development in the ancient Hebrew understanding of monotheism. The Book of Isaiah 45:5–6 offers God’s clear statement: ‘I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I clothe you, though you do not know me, that men may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.’

“This statement significantly expands on the first of the Ten Commandments recorded in the book of Exodus 20:2–4: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.” Considered the most vital of all the commandments, failure to observe it was recognized by earlier prophets as the reason the people of Israel eventually lost their inherited homeland. The original commandment suggests that while the LORD must be worshiped above all other gods, such other gods exist; the restatement in the Book of Isaiah flatly and decisively denies that there are any other gods.”

All of the Old Testament prophets can be credited with emphasizing the importance of placing God first. The consistent warning not to worship idols or false gods underlies the message that all prophets deliver, a message that certainly can be viewed as a reiteration of “You shall have no other gods before me.” None of the prophets in our studies so far, however, have come out with a flat statement that the first commandment is the most crucial and the one that really matters. Because all of the prophets keep issuing warnings not to worship false gods, this can be seen as evidence that’s what matters most—and since they’re speaking for God, it’s fair to assume that it’s what matters most to God.

As to whether the people who read the Book of Baruch around the time that it was written understood love of God as the greatest commandment, that’s up for grabs. The argument surely can be made that not many of them had that understanding; if they had, then God wouldn’t have needed to send them into exile in Babylon.

Q&A—LORD versus Lord
A sharp-eyed participant in one of the groups studying Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption has noticed a difference in how Turning to God’s Word materials treat the word “Lord” when it refers to God in this lesson.

Q:  In the previous lessons in this study, the word “Lord” appears in small capital letters with the first letter in regular capital letters in the printed book. On the online pages it shows up in all capital letters. In this lesson, “Lord” is in regular type in both places. What gives?

A:  You have a sharp eye for editing details. The switch from LORD to Lord in this lesson matches a switch in the biblical text and probably reflects that the Book of Baruch originally was written in Greek instead of Hebrew. Turning to God’s Word materials attempt to remain true to the original biblical texts as much as possible. The way the word “Lord” is treated typographically is determined by what word it represents in the oldest available manuscripts. LORD (all caps on the website and small caps in the study book) indicates that this is a translation of the word Yahweh. Lord (upper and lowercase letters on the website and in the study book) indicates a translation of the word Adonai. God in place of LORD or Lord indicates a translation of the word Elohim. All three refer to God. You can learn more about the finer shades of meaning of these three slightly different ways of referring to God in the archived Lost in Translation entry Lord & God.

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by Scripture passages in Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this Catholic Bible study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however, including the following passages from this lesson: the Book of Baruch 1:1–13, the Book of Baruch 2:6–15, the Book of Baruch 2:27–35, the Book of Baruch 3:8–14, the Book of Baruch 3:29–36, the Book of Baruch 4:1–4, the Book of Baruch 4:6–9a, and the Book of Baruch 4:21–23.

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out persons and places mentioned in the biblical text under multiple names or spellings. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun that appears in the primary biblical text for Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption.

to learn more, read more Scripture
It can help to check out the cross references listed in Scripture, but looking them up is time-consuming. To make that part easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. That list can be found at the top of every online study page accompanying this study, and it includes links to each of the cross references in the primary biblical text for Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book or sample lesson. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
Link to magisterial documents referred to in our Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This listing includes significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
All of the primary biblical text for this lesson is taken from the deuterocanonical Book of Baruch, which isn’t included among the readings from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

close with Bible-based prayer related to this lesson
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers you can follow our four easy steps, or you can use the following  prayer based on this lesson’s biblical texts.

Lord God of Israel, you know the ways of wisdom,
and for you stars shine joyfully and cheerfully.
Give us strength and understanding to keep your commands
and to turn with joy and gladness back to you
from our stubbornness and wicked deeds.
We ask this in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ,
through whom your mercy comes to us,
in union with the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lesson 10 The Return Gets Underway; the LORD Wants the Temple Rebuilt—the Book of Ezra 1:1–7, the Book of Ezra 6:1–5, and the Book of Haggai 1:1—2:23
Lesson 8 God’s Suffering Servant—the Book of Isaiah 42:1–9, the Book of Isaiah 49:1–6, the Book of Isaiah 50:4–11, and the Book of Isaiah 52:13—53:12

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you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

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start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption. You can find information on this website about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer your questions and address any of your concerns. Contact us if you’d like to start one of our studies or have your schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

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*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus—but the same books aren’t found in existing Hebrew manuscripts, which aren’t as old as the oldest version of the Septuagint. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online study pages of Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume II: Restoration & Redemption are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces those with more accessible English. A handful of more significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSVCE and RSV2CE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book and the online sample.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.

**The Book of Isaiah 55:10-11 (RSV2CE) reads: “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I intend, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”