Jeremiah: A Drama in Nine Scenes

I have forsaken mine house,

I have cast off mine heritage;

I have given the dearly beloved of my soul

Into the hand of her enemies.

My tears run down like a river day and night,

For grievous is the affliction

Of the daughter of my people.

Zedekiah

[With a loud cry] Jeremiah! Always Jeremiah.

Joab

[Continuing to chant as if inspired]

He hath given up into the hand of the enemy

The walls of her palaces;

They have made a noise in the house of the Lord,

As in the day of a solemn feast.

He hath …

Zedekiah

Be still, be still. I will hear no more. Always Jeremiah, and again Jeremiah. Wherever I go he stands at the cross roads; his challenge rings behind all my doings; he forces his way into my dreams, and feeds my indecision. How can I outrun this terrible shadow? He cries to me even from the pit. Who will free me from him?

Joab

Lord, if he be thine enemy, say the word … [He makes a movement with his spear]

Zedekiah

[Startled out of his anger, looks at the lad wonderingly. Then, with awakening pride] Thou wouldst … Nay, I fear him not. I fear no man. Nor am I certain if he be my enemy. I was foolish, perhaps, to flee from him. Who can tell? [He paces the room] Joab!

Joab

My Lord?

Zedekiah

Go forth, taking with thee thy brother Nehemiah. Open the pit and bring hither the man ye will find there. None must know that he enters and leaves the palace.

[Joab and Nehemiah pass out. The king soliloquizes in low tones]

At every cross road, behind my back, always too late and always compelling me to listen. Why did I appeal only to God, who vouchsafes me no answer? Why did I not hearken to those who say that he declares his will through their mouths? But wherefore do they speak with conflicting voices? How could I discern the false from the true? Dread is this God who will not break silence, and whose messengers cannot be certainly known.

[Jeremiah enters accompanied by the two lads. At a sign from Zedekiah, Joab unveils the lamp. Then he and Nehemiah withdraw. Jeremiah is pale and emaciated. His dark eyes flash from a white and bony face, looking almost as if set in a skull. He regards the king with a questioning calm. After a momentary embarrassment the king speaks]

Zedekiah

I sent for thee, Jeremiah, to ask why thou dost disturb my rest. Why singest thou in the night when others sleep?

Jeremiah

He may not sleep who watches over the people. The Lord hath appointed me to watch and to give warning.

Zedekiah

Jeremiah, I have summoned thee to hold counsel with me. No man knoweth that to this end I have drawn thee from the pit where thou hast been prisoned. Wilt thou advise me truly?

Jeremiah

God helping me, I will.

Zedekiah

Know, then, what none other knows save my innermost counselors. An envoy has come from Nebuchadnezzar, seeking to end the war between our nations.

Jeremiah

[Exultantly] God be praised! Open the gates, open thy heart to humbleness.

Zedekiah

Rejoice not too soon. Hard are the terms and measureless is the arrogancy of the king of Ashur.

Jeremiah

Arrogant hast thou been towards him, therefore must thou accept arrogancy in return. Put compulsion on thy heart, so thou save Jerusalem from destruction.

Zedekiah

He asks my honor.

Jeremiah

Sacrifice thine honor for the city.

Zedekiah

Is not honor my office; is not pride my crown?

Jeremiah

If they be truly thine, cast them from thee. Peace is better than honor; suffering is better than death.

Zedekiah

He would bow my neck beneath a yoke.

Jeremiah

Blessed is he who suffers for all; who suffers that all may live. Bow thy neck, and save the city.

Zedekiah

I should bring shame on all the kings whose throne is my heritage; I should disgrace the mantle of my forefathers.

Jeremiah

Think no longer of those who have been. They are dead, and worms have eaten them. Think of the city and of those who now live therein.

Zedekiah

Not me alone will Nebuchadnezzar abase, but God also.

Jeremiah

God smiles at those who would abase him. Open the gates, open thy heart to humbleness.

Zedekiah

Nebuchadnezzar would enter the holy of holies which none may approach.

Jeremiah

God will avert it, should it be his will; thou canst not avert it. Open the gates, open thy heart to humbleness.

Zedekiah

[Angrily] Thy wisdom is stubbornness; thy counsel, insolence. With deaf ears dost thou hearken, and thine answer is hard as flint.

Jeremiah

Am I to laud thy blindness, to approve whate’er thou sayest? Feigning to ask counsel, thou wouldst have naught but flattery. May my tongue consume away in my mouth, my bones fall apart, ere I praise thy folly and cease from crying against thy blindness.

Zedekiah

Why railest thou thus, when thou hast not yet heard my purpose?

Jeremiah

I know thy purpose. With words dost thou fawn on me, whilst thy will is set up against me. Wouldst mock me, and play with God’s word? Thou hast not summoned me to help thee decide. Long ere this has the message been signed and sealed within thy soul. Thou mayst deceive thyself, King of Israel, but me thou canst not deceive.

Zedekiah

Jeremiah!

Jeremiah

Yea, verily, I, Jeremiah, say unto thee, the king: Thou dealest falsely with me, and thy words are a blind. No longer is thy will free, nor dost thou truly desire me to influence thy decision.

Zedekiah

[Unsteadily] How canst thou know this?

Jeremiah

Thy lips betray thee. Thou quailest before my wrath like a guilty man. Fain wouldst thou tempt me to approve thy decision, to lift the guilt from thy shoulders. Woe unto him who tempts men, for he tempts the god that is in men.

Zedekiah

[Hesitates, greatly moved. Then he speaks in low tones] Much, indeed, is it given thee to know, Jeremiah. Too true are thy words. My will is no longer free, I have delivered my message to the envoy.

Jeremiah

Recall it! Save the city.

Zedekiah

He is on his way to Nebuchadnezzar.

Jeremiah

Send for him! Bring him back!

Zedekiah

Too late. The advice comes too late.

Jeremiah

Hasten after him. Pursue him with runners and riders.

Zedekiah

It is too late. By now my message must have reached the king of Ashur.

Jeremiah

[Hides his face, lamenting] Woe, woe unto Jerusalem, woe unto Jerusalem!

Zedekiah

[Drawing near him in alarm] What ails thee Jeremiah?

[Jeremiah does not heed the king. Sobs shake his frame. Soon, however, he draws himself up once more. Now his gaze is fixed on the distance. He speaks as in a dream, raising his hands, like one inspired]

Jeremiah

How art thou fallen from heaven,

Jerusalem, sun of the morning!

Thou hast said in thine heart,

I will ascend into heaven,

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.

Alas, thou art fallen from glory,

Art sunken in darkness and night.

Zedekiah

[Calls to him loudly, hoping to awaken him from the trance] Jeremiah!

Jeremiah

What star was brighter than thine,

Thou city of Jacob,

Thou fortress of David,

Thou tabernacle of Solomon,

God’s treasure and his holy house?

Who could herald thy ways, who could signal thy praise?

All happy the psalteries, the cymbals grew light,

With sounding thy triumphs from morning till night.

Zedekiah

Thou ravest, Jeremiah; awake, awake!

Jeremiah

[Unheeding] How still art thou now, my beloved.

Thy brightness, say, where hath it gone?

The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride

No longer are heard among thy houses.

The market hath become desolate.

Quenched are the voice of joy,

The voice of gladness,

The sound of flute playing,

And the song of the maidens.

A slayer hath fallen upon thee,

An avenger from the north.

Waste places are thy streets,

Nettles grow in thy pleasant places,

Thorns and brambles in the palace of thy kings.

Alas, thy walls are laid low,

All thy towers are broken down;

Shamefully overthrown

Is the everlasting heart of thy sanctuary.

Zedekiah

Accursèd one, thou liest! High and hale stand the walls of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah

[With growing frenzy] Every head hath been shorn,

Every beard hath been clipt.

The mothers, wearing sackcloth,

Tear the flesh from their cheeks,

Wailing:

“Where are my sons, where are my daughters?”

Woe is me!

The dead bodies of the sons

Lie like dung in the streets

Where they have perished by the sword;

The daughters have been strangled with their own hair,

And the women with child have been ripped up.

The jackals of the wilderness are gorged,

The ravens weary with feasting.

Zedekiah

Be silent, be silent! Thou liest!

Jeremiah

What availeth it to seek safety in thorny thickets,

To flee from death into the burning fissures of the rock?

They hunt thee with horses, with companies of spearmen,

Track thee down, and with sticks beat the coverts for their game,

Drive thee forth from the crannies with firebrands and smoke,

Pursue thee, and seize thee, and slay.

They ravish the women, they slaughter the elders,

Just men are made slaves of their lowliest bondsmen,

Made servants of servants the daughters of kings.

Zedekiah

Hold thy peace, liar, lest my wrath smite thee!

Jeremiah

[Lamenting] Jerusalem, virgin and daughter of Judah,

The heathen make mock of thy pitiful plight.

Woe is me that I must look on thine affliction.

All thine enemies have opened their mouths against thee,

Laughing, and hissing, and gnashing their teeth,

Saying:

“We have swallowed her up!

“Is this the city that men call

“The perfection of beauty,

“The joy of the whole earth?

“Verily we have laid her low.

“Certainly this is the day we looked for,

“We have found it,

“We have seen it.”

Zedekiah

[Beside himself with rage, clenching his fists] Be silent, liar, I will listen no longer.

Jeremiah

Jerusalem, holy city of the Lord,

Cradle of the nations, treasure of the world!

Who will extol thee, who now will search thee out?

A legend of the ages hast thou become,

A fable and a proverb among the peoples.

Ah, I see …

Zedekiah

Raving madman, naught more shalt thou see.

Jeremiah

I see thy suffering, I witness thy death,

I see …

Zedekiah

[Grappling with him, bursts out in a fury] Naught more shalt thou see! I will have thee blinded.

Jeremiah

[Stares around, as if suddenly and dreadfully awakened. Then laughing loudly, he chants with renewed frenzy]

Me?

Blind me? Nay, ruthless one,

Not such is the purpose of God.

Know well that one shall be blinded

Ere these days draw to a close.

’Tis one with eyes that see not,

With ears that will not hear.

Yet hearken now, King Zedekiah!

[Zedekiah releases Jeremiah, and regards him with amazement and terror. Jeremiah raises his hands in denunciation, and continues]

Thee

Shall they seize,

The servants of Ashur,

Seize thee in God’s temple which thou hast destroyed.

They tear thee away from the horns of the altar,

To which thy hands cleave in the vain hope of help.

Naught availeth thy sword, for they break it in sunder,

Then bind thine arms straitly with fetters of brass,

Haling thee forth and the stairway adown;

Like a beast for the sacrifice scourging thee on;

To him will they bring thee whose hand thou rejectedst;

To him will they bring thee whose yoke thou hast broken,

To him who thy fiery doom will have spoken.

[Zedekiah has retreated several steps, and makes gestures as if to avert the threatened fate]

To thy knees as they force thee with curses and blows,

In the air-blast the furnace roars fiercely and glows.

Now the iron is heated, gleaming red, flashing white.

In thine eyeballs they plunge it, the scorching steel.

Thy flesh smokes and hisses, thy senses reel.

God’s daylight has vanished in infinite night.

[Zedekiah screams, and claps his hands to his eyes as if blinded]

But ere thy sight, in a fiery mist

Of blood and tears, is forever gone,

Thy sons, by the sharp sword fiercely kissed,

Shall be slain in thy presence, one by one,

As the headsman’s blade flashes through flesh and through bone.

Bootless thy struggles; the slaves hold thee fast!

The first falls, the second, the third and last!

They are sped, and thy weeping and wailing are vain.

Their blood drenches the ground, while thou, in thy pain,

Ere the burning steel seareth the sight from thine eyes,

Seest how Israel’s race and kingship dies.

Zedekiah

[Groping his way across the room like a blind man, staggers to the couch. Now he puts up his hands beseechingly] Mercy! Have mercy!

Jeremiah

By thy cries all in vain will the darkness be riven,

As thou liftest thy hands to the unseen heaven,

God’s mercy imploring! God no mercy will show

To the king whose false pride Zion’s temple laid low.

He casteth thee down among worms which are blind,

Which crawl on their bellies, each after his kind.

With despised and rejected, the sick, the forsworn,

Shalt thou walk, Zedekiah, debased and forlorn,

Consorting with lepers, with halt and with lame,

Among outcasts the poorest. Thus thy pride God shall tame.

With beggars shall harbor; a beggar thyself,

Wearing sackcloth and ashes, shalt pass through the land.

Those who know thee—once splendent in power and in pelf,

King erstwhile in Zion—uplifting the hand,

Shall curse thee, Zedekiah.

Zedekiah

[Utterly crushed by the adjuration, has collapsed, groaning, on to the couch. Now he slowly rises, and contemplates Jeremiah blankly] What a power is entrusted to thee, Jeremiah. Thou hast broken the strength of my limbs. The very marrow is frozen in my bones. Terrible are thy words, Jeremiah.

Jeremiah

[He has awakened from his trance, and the fire in his eyes is quenched] Poor are my words, Zedekiah. Weakness is all my strength. I know, but cannot act!

Zedekiah

Why didst thou not come to me sooner?

Jeremiah

I was ever at hand, but thou couldst not find me.

Zedekiah

Thou hast filled my heart with dread, yet I bear thee no grudge. There must be no quarrel betwixt us twain who stand in the shadow of death. Get thee back whence thou hast come. Thou shalt not lack food, for I will share my last crust with thee. Let none know of our converse, save God. [Jeremiah turns to go] Stay, Jeremiah. Must the fate be, which thou hast foretold? Jerusalem, my Jerusalem. Canst thou not avert it?

Jeremiah

[Gloomily] Naught can I do to avert it. I can only prophesy. Woe upon the impotent.

Zedekiah

[After a pause] Jeremiah, I did not want war. I was forced to declare war, but I loved peace. And I love thee because of thy love for peace. Not with a light heart did I take up arms, but before I lived there was war under God’s heaven, and there will be war after I am dead. I have suffered greatly, as thou canst testify when the time comes. Be thou near me when thy words are fulfilled.

Jeremiah

I will be near thee, Zedekiah, my brother. [Slowly he averts his face from the king and moves towards the doorway]

Zedekiah

Jeremiah! [Jeremiah turns] Thou hast cursed me, Jeremiah. Bless me now, ere we part.

Jeremiah

[After a moment’s hesitation, strides back and holds his hands over the king] The Lord bless thee, and keep thee in all thy ways. May the light of his countenance shine upon thee, and may he give thee peace.

Zedekiah

[As in a dream] May he give us peace.

THE SUPREME AFFLICTION

SCENE SEVEN

I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that pluck off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. Isaiah L, 6.

SCENE SEVEN

The following morning; the great square before the temple. A large crowd, consisting chiefly of women and children, is swarming up the steps leading to the palace, shouting and screaming. The leaders of the mob have reached the palace door, and are hammering on it with their fists.

The Doorkeeper

[Appearing through a wicket which he closes behind him] Are you still there? I have told you already that no more bread will be given out to-day.

A Woman

But I am hungry.

A Second Woman

You gave me one tiny loaf for my three children, a loaf no larger than my fist. Look at my little girl here; see how skinny her fingers are. [She lifts the child to show him]

A Third Woman

Look at mine too. [She also shows her child]

Confused and Angry Voices

I am hungry.—Give me bread.—We are hungry.—Bread.—Bread.

Another Voice

Let us have the keys.

Voices

Yes.—Give us the keys.—Open the storehouses.

The Doorkeeper

[Pushing back the foremost among the mob] Away with you! The king’s orders are that everyone shall have a loaf at daybreak. Then the storehouses are to be closed.

A Voice

I got no loaf.

Other Voices

Nor I, nor I.

A Woman

You could hardly see mine; and I have a child at the breast. Justice!

A Second

Mine was full of sand and gravel.

A Third

They are not the same loaves we used to get. We are being cheated. Justice!

The Doorkeeper

Nahum treats you all alike. He is perfectly fair.

A Voice

Where is he?

Other Voices

Where is he? We want to see him.—Let him show himself.—We will talk to him.—He is a thief.—Where is he?

Another Voice

[Shouting stridently] He sits at home and fattens up his own household. They bake cake for themselves.

A Second Voice

Yes, the rich have hoarded all they need.

Voices

While we go hungry.—Bread for the poor.—Bread, bread.

The Strident Voice

The king has golden dishes filled with dainties. In the palace they would rather throw their leavings to the dogs than feed our children.

A Voice

I don’t believe that.

Other Voices

Yes.—Yes.—I have seen them do it.—My sister says they do.—Where is Nahum?—Give us bread.

[Gradually the voices fuse into a single shout for bread. The mob thronging the steps grows more threatening. Some of those in the front ranks are about to seize the doorkeeper, while others continue to beat on the closed door. The doorkeeper blows a trumpet]

Abimelech

[Hastening from the palace, attended by a number of soldiers] Away with you. Push them back. Down the steps. Clear the entrance to the palace.

[The soldiers use the hafts of their spears freely, and the mob yields ground, panicstricken]

Voices

He struck me.—They are killing us.—Where is my child?—Help.—Help!

[The crowd forms again at the foot of the steps, and faces Abimelech angrily]

Abimelech

Are you all mad? The enemy is attacking us. Since dawn I have been on the ramparts to marshal the defence, and you meanwhile are raising a tumult at our backs. What would ye, rabble?

Voices

Bread.—We are hungry.—Bread.—Our children have nothing to eat.

Abimelech

Everyone has had his loaf.

Voices

Not I.—They left me out.—Not enough.

Abimelech

The town is besieged. You must make the most of what you have. We are at war.

Voices

There is not enough bread.—We are hungry.

Abimelech

Well, be hungry! We are shedding our blood for you. The city must be our first care. [Trying to hearten them up he exclaims] Jerusalem for ever!

A Voice

[Half-heartedly] Jerusalem for ever!

The Strident Voice

Who or what is Jerusalem? Has Jerusalem a stomach? Has Jerusalem blood? The stones and the walls are not Jerusalem. We are Jerusalem.

Voices

Yes, we are Jerusalem.—Give us life.—Give us food.—Feed our children.—What is Jerusalem to me? I want bread.

Abimelech

[Stamping fiercely] Be silent, all. Back to your homes. Why do you loiter in the marketplace? Do you not know that we are at war?

A Woman

Why are we at war?

Voices

Yes, why?—Why are we at war?—Let us make peace.—Peace.—Peace.—Bread.

The Strident Voice

Was it not well with us under Nebuchadnezzar? Was not his yoke light? Were not our days pleasant?

Voices

Yea, yea.—Peace with Nebuchadnezzar.—End the war.—Down with the war.—A curse on him who began the war.

A Woman

It was Zedekiah’s doing. He wanted war to help his friends the Egyptians.

Voices

Yes, he has betrayed us.—While we suffer, he lies at ease among his wives.

Abimelech

Who dares to slander the Lord’s anointed? He is ever in the forefront of the battle.

The Strident Voice

It is false.

Abimelech

Who says it is false? Let him stand forth and face my sword. Who says it? [The crowd is silent] Beware of slanderers! Now then, off home with you. Let those who can fight, man the walls.

Voices

[From the back] Nahum, Nahum! Here he comes. [The crowd surges round Nahum] Nahum, good Nahum.—Give us bread.—Bread.—Bread.—You will treat us fairly.—Help us.—Good Nahum.

Nahum

[Elbowing his way through the press] Let me pass!

The Crowd

[Follows him up the steps] Nahum! Nahum!

Abimelech

Back! Stand back.

[The soldiers raise their spears, and the crowd shrinks away to the foot of the steps]

Nahum

What would ye?

A Voice

Open the storehouses.

Nahum

The storehouses are empty. Each of you has a loaf every day. That must suffice.

Voices

I have had no loaf.—Nor I.—Open the storehouses.

Nahum

I tell you they are empty.

The Strident Voice

Let us see for ourselves.

Voices

Yes, let us see for ourselves.—I don’t believe it.—Open the storehouses.—Let us see for ourselves.

Nahum

I swear to you …

The Strident Voice

When we see we will believe. We have been cheated too long.

Voices

They are all cheats, the priests, the king, all.—Give up the keys.—How they lied when they prophesied victory. [The voices become more menacing] Where are the Egyptians?—Zedekiah promised that the Egyptians would help us.—Where are the signs and wonders?—Bread, bread, bread.—Give up the keys.

[The mob surges up the steps once more, surrounding Nahum and endeavoring to snatch the keys]

Nahum

Help, help!

Abimelech

[Beating them back, aided by his men] Down, down!

A Voice

Oh, I am wounded. See, I bleed!

Abimelech

For the last time. To your homes! Clear the marketplace, or I shall use my sword.

The Strident Voice

The marketplace and the city belong to us.

[A messenger appears at the back of the crowd]

Messenger

Abimelech! Where is Abimelech?

Abimelech

Here.

The Crowd

There he is, the wretch, the murderer!

Messenger

Help, Abimelech. They have broken in at Moria Gate.

[Cries of terror arise from the crowd]

Abimelech

[Cutting a path through them with his sword] Make way, make way.

[He strides off. Doorkeeper, Nahum, and the soldiers withdraw through the wicket]

[The crowd becomes chaotic. Previously it had been animated by a definite will. Now its units form a confused medley of horror-stricken persons, giving vent to hardly intelligible cries of terror and distress]

Voices

They have broken in at Moria Gate.—All is lost.—My wife.—My children.—God help us.—To the temple.—Elijah, Elijah!—Where shall we hide?—What will become of us?

A Voice

To the walls! Man the walls!

A Man

[Rushing in] We are betrayed! The king has fled! We are lost!

Voices

We are betrayed.—We are lost.—Where is the king?—Where are the priests?—Where is Hananiah?—Revenge, revenge.—Death is upon us.—The Chaldeans.

The Strident Voice

Curses upon the king!

Voices

[Fiercely] Curses upon the king!

The Strident Voice

A curse on the priests! A curse on the prophets! They lied to us one and all.

Voices

Yes, curse them every one!

The Strident Voice

They persecuted those who warned us, those who counseled peace.

A Voice

They persecuted Jeremiah.

A Second Voice

Yes, Jeremiah told us what would happen.

Voices

He warned us.—He wanted peace.—In this very place he shouted for peace.—I heard him.—He is the true prophet.—Everything has happened as he foretold. Where is Jeremiah?—Fetch Jeremiah. He will help us.—Where is he?—Where is he?

A Voice

They have prisoned him in the pit, here in the palace.

[Cries of fury arise from the crowd]

Voices

Set him free.—He will save us.—Force the doors.—Jeremiah, Jeremiah! God has sent him to help us.—Jeremiah, man of God, come to our aid.—Down with the false prophets.—God spoke through Jeremiah.—Bring an axe to force the door.—Jeremiah shall be king.—Where is our saviour?

[For a time nothing can be heard but the cry, Jeremiah, Jeremiah, and the noise made by the beating of axes and staves upon the door. Suddenly the door is opened and the doorkeeper appears]

Doorkeeper

What would ye?

The Crowd

Let us pass.—Jeremiah, Jeremiah!

[The Doorkeeper is thrust aside]

Doorkeeper

Help, help!

[Part of the mob disappears through the doorway, and from within is heard the noise of doors being broken down with axes. Those who remain on the steps are tense with excitement and impatience]

Voices

[From within] The dogs have lowered him into the pit.—They were afraid of him.

Voices

[From the steps] He is a holy man.—He is the chosen of the Lord.—Jeremiah will save us all.

A Woman

[Frenzied with excitement] He stretched forth his hand and cried, Peace. God’s fire breathed from his lips. His brow shone like that of an angel. He will save us.

Another Woman

Could I but look upon his blessed face once more. It will shed light over Jerusalem.

[Cries come from within]

Voices

They have found him.—He is saved.—We are saved.—God will help us.—Jeremiah! Jeremiah!

[Reappearing from within, the rest of the crowd brings Jeremiah triumphantly to the top of the steps. He stands with his hand shielding his eyes from the light]

Voices

[Ecstatically] Holy One!—Master!—Samuel.—Elijah.—Prophet.—Save us, Jeremiah.—King.—Anointed of the Lord.—Israel hear his words.—Jeremiah.

The Frenzied Woman

[Throwing herself at his feet] Why do you hide your face? Your glance brings healing. Look on this child of mine that it may grow hale. Look upon us all that we may arise from death.

Jeremiah

[Slowly withdraws his hand from his eyes. His gaze is serious and even gloomy, as he contemplates the agitated and expectant throng] The light is strange to my eyes, and burns them. Strange, too, is this love you show me, and it burns my soul. What would ye?

The Crowd

Save us, Jeremiah, anointed of the Lord.—Save the city.—Be our king.—Show a miracle.

Jeremiah

Your words are dark to me. What is your will?

The Crowd

[All speaking at once] Moria.—The fortress of Zion.—Save Jerusalem.—A miracle.—We are lost.—You are our shepherd.—Save us.—Save Jerusalem.

Jeremiah

Speak one at a time.

The Woman

[Again throwing herself at his feet] Holy One, anointed of the Lord, star of our hope! Stretch forth your hand and save Jerusalem. What you foretold hath been fulfilled. The Chaldeans are upon us.

A Voice

They have broken down Moria Gate.

A Second Voice

Our men have been defeated.

A Third Voice

[Despairingly] Save Jerusalem, or we perish.

The Crowd

[Taking up the cry] Save Jerusalem, or we perish.

[Jeremiah stands motionless, hiding his face in his hands]

The Woman

We would take vengeance on your enemies; we would tear the faces of those who have reviled you. Have pity on us, you who are our saviour and our hope.

A Voice

Who shall save us unless it be you?

The Strident Voice

The priests have betrayed us. The king has sold us to the enemy.

Jeremiah

[Indignantly] It is false! Why slander ye the king?

Voices

Zedekiah has forsaken us.—Where is he?—Why does he not come to our help?—He has fled.

Jeremiah

[Vehemently] It is not true.

Voices

It is true.—They led us into this war.—They have sacrificed us.—We wanted peace.—Let us have peace.

Jeremiah

Tardily comes your longing for peace. Why do ye put your transgressions on the king’s shoulders? Ye clamored for war.

The Crowd

No, not I.—No, not I.—It was the king.—Not I.—Not one of us.

Jeremiah

Ye all wanted war, all, all! Your hearts are fickle, and ye sway in the wind like reeds. The very ones who now shout for peace, I have heard howling for war. Those who raise their voices against the king, hounded him on to the fray. Woe unto you, O people! Ye speak with two voices, and drive before every breeze. Ye have fornicated with war, and shall now bear the fruit of war. Ye have played with the sword, and shall now taste its edge.

Voices

Alas, he spurns us.—Jeremiah, be merciful to us in our distress.—Aid us in our wretchedness.

Jeremiah

No man can help you. Help cometh from God alone.

The Strident Voice

God has forsaken us.

The Crowd

Yea, God has forsaken us.—Where is he?—Where is the covenant?

Fugitives

[Rush past shouting] The enemy is within the gates. Abimelech is slain.

The Crowd

[Shrieks with terror, and then appeals once more to Jeremiah] Hearken, hearken!—We are lost!—Show a miracle, a miracle.

Jeremiah

[Despairingly] What would ye that I should do? Am I to stretch forth my bare hands against the enemy?

The Crowd

[Ecstatically] Yea, yea; that do, and save us.

Jeremiah

Think ye then that I can drive back those whom God sendeth against you?

The Crowd

Yea, yea.—You can.—You must.—You can do what you will.

Jeremiah

Naught can I do. Naught against the will of God.

The Crowd

You can save Jerusalem.—Show a miracle.

Jeremiah

[Fiercely] Were it in my power to work against God’s will, verily I would not do so. Tempt me not. I am on God’s side, not on yours. Whatever he decrees, I bow myself before him.

Voices

Alas, he spurns us.—He forsakes us.

Jeremiah

[In growing excitement] To him, whose purposes are fixed, do I cling, spurning you, fickle ones. Not your will be done, but his. Whatever thy will, Lord, I submit. Let Jerusalem perish, so it be thy will, I submit. [Cries of horror from the crowd] Let thy temple fall, so it be thy will, I submit. [The crowd bursts into furious exclamations] Let the towers crash, let thy people be scattered like dust and its very name vanish from the earth, let my body be given over to shame and my soul to torment, so it be thy will, I submit, Lord, I submit.

The Crowd

He raves.—Strike him down.—He is mad.—He rains curses on us.—Silence the traitor!

Jeremiah

Jeremiah: A Drama in Nine Scenes

About This Book

THE SUPREME AFFLICTION