1 And they having retired, the night also fell, and at the same time came the chariot of the moon, along with the stars.
2 And I Baruch said, Lord, show me it also, I beseech of thee, how
3 it goes forth, where it departs, and in what form it moves along. And the angel said, Wait' and thou shalt see it also shortly. And on the morrow I also saw it in the form of a woman, and sitting on a wheeled chariot. And there were before it oxen and lambs in the chariot, and a multitude of
4 angels in like manner. And I said, Lord, what are the oxen and the lambs And he said to me,
5 They also are angels. And again I asked, Why is it that it at one time increases, but at another
6 time decreases And (he said to me), Listen, O Baruch: This which thou seest had been written
7 by God beautiful as no other. And at the transgression of the first Adam, it was near to Sammael when he took the serpent as a garment. And it did not hide itself but increased, and God was
8 angry with it, and afflicted it, and shortened its days. And I said, And how does it not also shine always, but only in the night And the angel said, Listen: as in the presence of a king, the courtiers 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 screened by the sun, and the moon, although it is uninjured, is consumed by the heat of the sun.