3 Baruch

3 Baruch 9

And they having retired, the night also fell, and at the same time came the chariot of the moon, along with the stars. And I Baruch said, Lord, show me it also, I beseech of thee, how 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 angels in like manner. And I said, Lord, what are the oxen and the lambs? And he said to me, They also are angels. And again I asked, Why is it that it at one time increases, but at another time decreases? And ⟨he said to me⟩, Listen, O 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 to Sammael when he took the serpent as a garment. And it did not hide itself but increased, and God was 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.