¹And they having withdrawn, the night also fell, and at the same time came the chariot of the moon, along with the stars.

²And I Baruch said, Lord, shew me it also, I beseech thee, how it goeth forth, where it departeth, and in what form it moveth along. And the angel said, Wait, and thou shalt behold it also shortly. And on the morrow I also beheld it in the form of a woman, and sitting upon a wheeled chariot. And there were before it oxen and lambs in the chariot, and a multitude of angels in like manner. And I said, Lord, what are the oxen and the lambs? And he said unto me,

³They also are angels. And again I asked, Wherefore is it that it at one time increaseth, but at another time decreaseth? And he said unto me, Hearken,

⁴O Baruch: This which thou seest had been written by God beautiful as no other. And at the transgression of the first Adam, it was near unto Sammael when he took the serpent as a garment. And it did not hide itself but increased, and God was wroth with it, and afflicted it, and shortened its days. And I said, And how doth it not also shine always, but only in the night? And the angel said, Hearken: as in the presence of a king, the servants cannot speak freely, so the moon and the stars cannot shine in the presence of the sun; for the stars are always suspended, but they are veiled by the sun; and the moon, although it is unharmed, is consumed by the heat of the sun.