Intro
Baruch is essentially an extension or sequel to the Book of Jeremiah, and to a lesser extent Lamentations. Sometimes all three books have been combined, but Baruch is mostly known from Greek.
Conversely, the Epistle of Jeremiah or Letter of Jeremy etc is the sixth chapter and sometimes taken out and listed as a separate book. In the Orthodox canon, the Epistle is sometimes included in the Book of Odes.
Just to be even more confusing, there are several other books known as "Baruch" such as the Apocalypse of Baruch (sometimes called 2 Baruch). This post deals with the book found in the western apocrypha not the Pseudepigraphical works.
The LDS Bible dictionary tells us:
SummarySo called because it purports to contain a work written by Baruch, the prophet, in Babylon, in the fifth year after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. Most scholars feel that it was probably composed at a later date.
Attached to the Book of Baruch is the so-called Epistle of Jeremy, purporting to be a letter written by the prophet Jeremiah to the Jews who were being carried away captive to Babylon.
The letter is a declamation of idol worship based on Jeremiah 10.11
https://www.abibleaday.com/bible-books/baruch/Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.
Baruch is a disciple, follower, and trusted friend of Jeremiah. He is also the scribe who wrote down Jeremiah’s words as dictated to him (Jeremiah 36:4).
Baruch is the author of the book of Baruch (or at least the first part of it), which serves as a follow-up to the book of Jeremiah since it was written after the people are exiled.
After the introduction, Baruch contains a confession of the nation of Israel‘s guilt and prayer for deliverance (similar to a prayer by Daniel in Daniel 9). This is followed by a section of poetry.
In Baruch 6, the book concludes with a letter, which is comparable to, but different then Jeremiah’s letter recorded in Jeremiah 29. Also, Jeremiah 10:2-15 contains some similar language to Baruch 6.
Some versions of the Bible pull out Baruch 6 and include it as a separate one-chapter book, called the Letter of Jeremiah or the Epistle of Jeremiah.
Wikipedia basic outline of the book of Baruch:
1:1–14 Introduction: "And these are the words...which Baruch...wrote in Babylonia.... And when they heard it they wept, and fasted, and prayed before the Lord."
1:15–2:10 Confession of sins: "[T]he Lord hath watched over us for evil, and hath brought it upon us: for the Lord is just in all his works.... And we have not hearkened to his voice"....
2:11–3:8 Prayer for mercy: "[F]or the dead that are in hell, whose spirit is taken away from their bowels, shall not give glory and justice to the Lord..." (cf. Psalms 6:6/5)
3:9–4:14 A paean for Wisdom: "Where are the princes of the nations,... that hoard up silver and gold, wherein men trust? ... They are cut off, and are gone down to hell,..."
4:5–5:9 Baruch's Poem of Consolation: messages for those in captivity, for the "neighbours of Zion", and for Jerusalem: "You have been sold to the Gentiles, not for your destruction: but because you provoked God to wrath.... [F]or the sins of my children, he [the Eternal] hath brought a nation upon them from afar...who have neither reverenced the ancient, nor pitied children..." "Let no one gloat over me [Jerusalem], a widow, bereft of many, for the sins of my children I am left desolate, for they turned from the law of God". "Look toward the east, O Jerusalem, and see the joy that is coming to you from God".
Chapter 6: Letter of Jeremiah
Baruch audiobook (KJV), 23 minutes.
This is part of my ongoing series on Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical works:
1 Esdras inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?p=1343974
2 Esdras (the most relevant book in the Apocrypha?) inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?p=1344302
1 Maccabees
viewtopic.php?t=69454
2 Maccabees
viewtopic.php?p=1347024
3 Maccabees
viewtopic.php?t=69496
4 Maccabees
viewtopic.php?p=1348046
Book of Tobit inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?p=1341501
Apocryphal additions to Esther inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?p=1343414
Bel and the Dragon (quoted in full, KJV; inc audiobook link)
viewtopic.php?t=69261
Prayer of Azarias and Hymn of the Three Children (quoted in full KJV, inc. audiobook link)
viewtopic.php?p=1341611
Book of Judith and the Book of Mormon, inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?t=69402
Book of Susanna inc. audiobook link
viewtopic.php?t=69386
Wisdom of Solomon
viewtopic.php?t=69469
Book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus
viewtopic.php?t=69412
Prayer of Mannases (aka Mannaseh; quoted in full KJV, inc. audiobook link)
viewtopic.php?t=69263
Psalm 151 (quoted in full, NRSV)
viewtopic.php?t=63875
Epistle to the Laodiceans (NT, quoted in full Wycliffe's translation, )
viewtopic.php?t=64025
The Book of Odes - this is an Eastern Orthodox work of limited interest, but included for the sake of completeness.
viewtopic.php?t=69470
Outside the Western and Eastern Orthodox Canon...
The Ethiopian canon. This includes brief info on the books of Sinodos, Ethiopian Clement, Ethiopian Covenant, and Didascalia as well as a list of other works in the canon.
viewtopic.php?t=69540
The Book of Jubilees aka Leptogenesis or Little Genesis
viewtopic.php?p=1348962