The Crowd
[Shouting fiercely] Traitor.—He is cursing us.—He prays for our death. Stone him.—Stone him!
Jeremiah
[More frenzied than ever, as he daunts the menacing and turbulent mob with the fire of his enthusiasm]
The Crowd
[Cutting him short] Traitor.—Stone him.—He blesses our foes.—He prays for our enemies.—Stone the blasphemer, stone him.
The Strident Voice
[Dominating the rest] Crucify him! Crucify him!
[Echoing the cry and rushing up the steps] Crucify him! Nail the blasphemer to the cross.—Stone the traitor.—Crucify him!
Jeremiah
[In ecstasy, stretching out his arms as if on the cross]
[The crowd surges round him. Some grasp his limbs, while others strive on his behalf and endeavor to free him]
Voices
Crucify him!—Stone him!—He blasphemes.—A curse upon Jeremiah!—Crucify him.
Other Voices
Let be.—The spirit of God is upon him.—He is beside himself.—Harm him not.
[Amid the tumult he continues to stretch out his arms as if on the cross]
[With wild cries they seize him, and begin to carry him away, buffeting him as they go]
Voices
Crucify him!—Let him taste the death he yearns for.—He is our enemy.—Crucify him.—Stone him!
[At this moment a number of fugitives rush into the marketplace in wild disorder, throwing away their weapons as they run]
The walls are down.—The enemy is in the city. The Chaldeans have gained the day.—Israel is lost.
More Fugitives
Abimelech is slain.—All is lost.—Jerusalem is fallen.
Yet More Fugitives
[In full flight] They are hard on our heels.—To the temple.—All is lost.—Israel! Israel.—Alas for Jerusalem.
[The crowd joins the fugitives, uttering shrieks of terror. Jeremiah is forgotten. The whole city seems to ring with cries of despair and the noise of vain attempts at flight]
My desire is that Job may be tried unto the end. Job XXXIV, 36.
A vast crypt with shutters and doors closed so that the damp underground space is but dimly lighted. Fugitives, wan and careworn, are crouching and lying on the stone flooring. Some of them have gathered round an elder who is reading from the scriptures. In the background lies a wounded man, tended by a woman. Remote from the rest, sitting on a piece of masonry, and as motionless as if he were himself carved out of the rock, is Jeremiah, his face buried in his hands. He plays no part in what is going on, so that his silence is as it were a rock fixed in the current of plaints and disputes. It is evening, on the day after the taking of Jerusalem. As the elder reads, he sways his body rhythmically in time to the words, which are low and monotonous, except when he raises his voice to express despair or hope. From time to time, the others take up the responses.
The Elder
The Others
[Murmuring in unison] Shine forth! Stir up thy strength!
The Others
The Elder
The Others
Shine forth! Stir up thy strength!
Other Voices
[Joining in fervently] Cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.
[Who has hitherto been moaning, now bursts into a loud cry] Oh, oh, I am burning. Water! Water!
The Woman
[Trying to soothe him] Be quiet, there’s a good man. For God’s sake, be quiet, or they will hear us.
The Elder
Be silent! Control yourself, or you will destroy us all.
Another
They will slay us if they find us.
The Wounded Man
Let them kill me. I cannot bear it. My wound is on fire. Water! Water!
A Man
We must silence him. His cries will betray our hiding place.
The Woman
Touch him not. He is my brother. I bore him hither from the walls. [She kneels beside him] Dear, I implore you to stifle your cries. I will fetch you some water. Take my kerchief and muffle your mouth in it.
[The wounded man does so. His cries fall to a whisper. The others, most of whom have stood up in their excitement, settle down again]
A Voice
Go on reading, Pinchas. God’s word consoles us.
Another Voice
Go on reading about the promise.
Other Voices
Yes, read us about the Messiah; about the rod that shall come forth out of the stem of Jesse.—Read about the saviour.—Our hearts are thirsting after the dew of the word.
[The Elder takes up the roll once more, and is about to resume his reading, when there comes a knocking. All start]
A Woman
[Alarmed] Someone knocks!
The Others
They are there!—They have tracked us.
A Man
It is not on the outer door, but from the secret entrance, which is known to our own folk alone. Open!
No! No, there are traitors among us. Let be!
The Elder
Silence! [He cautiously approaches a door hidden among buttresses] Who is there?
Voice
[From without] Zephaniah!
The Elder
It is Zephaniah, my son-in-law, whom we sent forth for news.
[He draws back the bolt, and a man enters, helmeted and garbed like a Chaldean. All rush towards him, Jeremiah alone remaining motionless]
Voices
What has happened?—Have you seen Neter, my son? Tebiah, my wife?—Have they burned down my house?—Where is the king?—What has happened to the temple? Do you know anything about my husband, Ishmael?—What is happening outside?
The Elder
Be silent all. Let Zephaniah speak, for he has seen the daylight and the city.
Better to sit in darkness than to see what I have seen; better still to weep oneself blind; even better were it to sleep among the roots of the trees and in the bowels of the earth. David’s city has become a city of the dead; the citadel of Solomon is utterly destroyed.
All
Alas, alas, for Jerusalem.
Zephaniah
The corpses of our brothers lie like dung in the streets. The Chaldeans are stripping the bodies of the slain; they have rifled the tombs of the kings of Judah; and for the purple vesture of Solomon they have cast lots; they have seized the bread from the holy table; and they have stolen the golden candlesticks from the walls.
The Elder
[Rending his garments] I can live no longer! Could I but tear my bowels as I tear my raiment.
Voices
Where is the power of God?—The covenant.—The promise.—Where are our leaders?—Jerusalem is lost.—My husband?—Whom have you seen?—What has become of Nahum?—What has become of …
Zephaniah
For many do you ask, and I can give but one answer for them all. Of the nobles of Judah, not one now looketh on the light of day.
Voices
All slain? All?—Impossible!—Abodassar?—Jehoiachin?—Hedassar?—Imre?—Nahum?
Zephaniah
Ask me no more. Their troubles are over, and they are with God.
Voices
Nahum too?—The king’s sons?—My brother-in-law Absalom?
Zephaniah
None are left alive. Those who fell not at the wall were slain afterwards by Nebuchadnezzar’s officers. Zedekiah alone remains.
Voices
Zedekiah still alive?—Why spare him more than another?—He has betrayed us.—Why show him mercy when all the rest have been butchered?—Why spare him?
Zephaniah
Honor the king! Reverence his sufferings.
Voices
What has happened to him?—Is he a prisoner?
Zedekiah forced his way through, with sixty of the bravest who hoped to renew the struggle against Ashur in the hills. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued him and overtook him in the plains, and carried him to King Nebuchadnezzar.
Voices
And then?
Zephaniah
My path crossed his. I saw him in the square bound with fetters of brass. Before his eyes, one by one, his sons were put to the sword. Then came it to pass that the anointed of the Lord was blinded …
Jeremiah
[Suddenly roused from his impassivity and speaking in horror-stricken tones] Blinded, you say? Blinded?
Zephaniah
Who is this?
Voices
Do not speak to him.—Do not look at him.—He is the most infamous of men.—A curse lies on him.—Utter not his name.—Utter not his name.
Zephaniah
Who is it that spake, saying “Blinded?” I am sure I know the voice.
Ask not his name.—He is one accurst.—He is rejected of God.
A Woman
He is the curse of God, sent for our burning torment. He is the scourge of God.—Jeremiah, Jeremiah!
Zephaniah
[With a wild outcry, stretching forth his hands as if to thrust away something horrible] Jeremiah!
Jeremiah
Why do you shrink from me? What are you afraid of? There is no longer any reason for fear. My words were but wind; my force is spent. Spew me out, and go on your way.
Zephaniah
I tremble before you, man of doom.—He foresaw everything. He alone. That other called on his name.
The Elder
Who called on his name?
Zephaniah
[Utterly crushed] Zedekiah, the king. They brought him in chains, held him fast lest he should turn away his head, forced him to watch the slaughter of his sons. Fain would he have made no complaint. He bit his lip and was silent as the first fell. But when they seized the second, he moved as if to speak. As the third was struck down, a word escaped from his mouth. Not a plea for mercy. He cried, “Jeremiah, Jeremiah.”
[All shudder]
Thus in his anguish he called upon Jeremiah. When the fiery steel pierced his eyes, again did he call on the name of Jeremiah, saying: “Jeremiah, Jeremiah, where art thou, revealer? Where art thou, Jeremiah, my brother?” Zedekiah called upon his name, the name of him who had foreseen.
[They shrink away from Jeremiah, as from a dangerous beast]
Jeremiah
[Struggling with emotion] It is false. Not by my will did this happen. Let him not dare to accuse me. The word came to me; what I said was struck from me as we strike fire from flint. I wished him no ill. God made me a liar, resist his power as I would. Not mine the will that moved me.
Zephaniah
What is he talking about?
A Woman
Madness hath seized him.
Another Woman
He raves.
Nay, he foretold these happenings. A sage is he, and a prophet.
Jeremiah
Why should the king accuse me? A greater power than mine constrained my utterance. I was the tool of the pitiless one, his breath, the slave of his malice. He commanded, and I had to obey, for his strength is greater than mine. He breathed curses into my breath. His was the gall in my speech, his the bitterness in my spittle. Woe upon the hands of God; whom he seizes, shall not again be loosed. Ah, would he but set me free from his curse, that no longer I might have to speak his words. [A pause] No longer will I speak his words. I will hold my peace. [A pause] God! No longer will I obey thy behests. I curse thy curses. Lift thy hand from me, take the fire from my mouth. No more can I bear.
Voices
He is in a frenzy.—Look how convulsions rack him.—He is twisted with pain like a woman in labour.—Heed not his words.—God has punished him.
[Jeremiah sinks to the ground broken]
Look, look, the hand of the Lord hath fallen upon him.—Go not near him whom God hath banned.
[They draw farther away from Jeremiah and huddle together. Jeremiah lies like a felled tree. For a few moments there is a hush of despair. This silence is broken by the sound of a distant trumpet]
Alas, they draw near, the heralds of disaster.
The Crowd
[To Zephaniah] What is it?—What has happened?—What meaneth this summons?
Zephaniah
’Tis Nebuchadnezzar’s message to the remnant of the people.
Voices
Must we go forth to hear the message?—Dare we leave our shelter?—What shall we do, Zephaniah?
Zephaniah
No need for haste. Evil tidings ever come too soon.
Voices
What is to happen?—What is our doom?
Zephaniah
It is the will of Nebuchadnezzar that our city be utterly destroyed.
[There is a wail of horror. The trumpet is heard once more, nearer]
Those who survive must go as slaves to Babylon.
We are to leave Zion?
The Elder
I will not go. Here will I remain.
Zephaniah
Who refuses to go, shall perish by the sword. All are to make ready for the journey and are to assemble in the marketplace. Thrice at dawning will the trumpet sound. Thereafter, anyone who lingers in the city, is to be slain.
The Elder
Let death come! I will not go. There is no life for me away from Jerusalem. The grave is better than slavery in a far country.
A Woman
My brother, my nephew, and my husband have all been slain. Tombs are my heritage, and this heritage will I keep.
A Man
I shall stay! I shall stay! Here have I struck my roots, and from this soil alone can I draw strength. Palsied would be my arm should I try to plough the furrow in another land, and my eyes would not serve me in a strange world.
[In the enthusiasm of despair] Let us stay.—Let us choose death.—Better death than slavery.—Never will we go into exile.—Better to die.
The Wounded Man
[Half rising] No, no.—Not death for me. Life is what I crave. Exile is better than death. I cannot walk, and if ye stay who will carry me? Do not forsake me. Life, life!
His Sister
Be calm. I will carry you.
The Wounded Man
[Deliriously] Yes … Let us go. Let us leave these mad folk, who want to die. Why should we seek death?
The Elder
His body is parched with fever. He knows not what he says.
The Wounded Man
[Fiercely] I know, I know. I have been near to death, and would rather live than die. Better to burn, better to suffer, than to feel nothing at all. While there is life there is hope.
A Young Woman
True, true! I too want to live. My life lies before me. As yet I have seen nothing, felt nothing. Young and vigorous are my limbs. Death is cold, life is warm. I will not stay. I will go with you, anywhere, anywhere.
Another Woman
Shameless one, are you willing to be the concubine of an enemy?
The Young Woman
Anything, if I can but live.
The Wounded Man
Life, at any cost of suffering.
A Man
[Wildly] No life without God! No life without Jerusalem!
Voices
Death were better.—Death were better.—Let us not accept slavery.—Death is a fearful thing.
[Again the trumpet sounds, now close at hand]
A Voice
Let them call, I will not hearken. I hear the voice of death, loud and clear like the voice of God. We must not heed the lure. Better to perish with Jerusalem.
The Elder
I hold thee fast, city of Zion. Weak though my hands, still do I cling to thee. My life hast thou been, be also my death. How could I breathe without thee, how open my eyes in the morning without being able to look upon Solomon’s house and God’s dwelling. Rather would I be buried in thy earth than walk at large in another land; rather would I lie dead with my fathers than live to be the slave of the heathen. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, take me to thy bosom. As I have been with thee in life, let me be with thee in death.
Zephaniah
In this you and I must part company. Death has no charms for me. I have seen too many dead lying in the streets, and I tell you that life is better.
The Wounded Man
[Raising himself] Yea, let me live, to feel but a grain of sand between my fingers. To look again upon the almond blossoms, to see them open as night falls. To watch the moon waxing and waning in its passage across the starry heavens. Even if life were to deny all its joys, even if I were to be crippled and deaf, yet still might I look upon the glorious things in the world, still draw the breath of life. Let me feel my heart beating, the warm blood coursing through my veins. Give me life, I ask nothing more!
The Elder
Shame upon you, weaklings! Would you live without God?
Voices
God will be with us wherever we go.—God speaks to us wherever we may be.—Even from exile our voices will rise towards him.—There too shall we be faithful. The light of his countenance shines upon all roads.
The Elder
Nay, nay, who leaveth Jerusalem, leaveth God behind. Here and here only is the dwelling of Jehovah. Sacrifice at any other altar than this can be naught but idolatry.
Voices
[In conflict] No.—Yes.—God is everywhere.—He is here only.—He will reveal himself to us anywhere.—God abides nowhere but in his own temple.—Anywhere, everywhere.—Nowhere but in Jerusalem can we look upon his face.
Jeremiah
[Suddenly springing to his feet, with an awesome outburst] God is nowhere! Nowhere at all! Who among the living hath seen him, who hath heard the sound of his voice? Those who seek him, seek him in vain; those who created him, lied before the faces of men. God is nowhere! Neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor in the souls of men.
The Elder
[His jaw has dropped in amazement and horror. At length he raises his hands tremblingly towards heaven, with the invocation] Blasphemy! Blasphemy! Strike him down with thy lightnings.
[More fiercely] Who hath blasphemed him, if it be not God himself? He hath broken his covenant, thrown down his walls, and burned his own temple. He denies himself; he himself blasphemes God; he and none other!
The Elder
Heed him not! A backslider is he, and an outcast. Heed him not, ye servants of the Almighty.
Jeremiah
[Still more fiercely] Who has served him in Israel as I have served him? Who within Jerusalem’s walls has been more faithful than I? For his sake I left my home; for his sake I refused to comfort my mother in death. I have sacrificed friendship to him, and for his jealousy have I forfeited the love of women. I have submitted to his will as a wife submits to her husband. The words that I spake were those which he put into my mouth; his was the blood in my body; my thoughts were the children of his will; his were the dreams that visited my sleep. I gave my back to the smiters; I hid not my face from shame and spitting. I served him, I served him, for I believed that through me he would avert the evil to come. I cursed, thinking he would turn my curses into blessings. I prophesied, thinking he would prove me a liar, would save Jerusalem. But my prophecies have been fulfilled, and God is proved a liar. Woe is me that I served the faithless one so faithfully! He sent me that my brothers should laugh me to scorn while I spat upon their joys. Now, when misery has befallen them, he wishes that I in turn should mock their distress. But I do not laugh, God! I will not laugh at my brothers’ torment. Not like thee can I rejoice at another’s sorrow. The odor of the slaughter-house delights not my nostrils. Too harsh for me is thy harshness, too heavy thy hand! No longer will I be the instrument of thy vengeance; no longer will I serve thee. I tear asunder the bond between thee and me. I tear it asunder!
Voices
He raves.—He blasphemes.—Away with him.—He is beside himself.
Jeremiah
[In an ecstasy, speaks over their heads into the void]
Voices
He is seized with the frenzy of fever.—He raves.—To whom is he speaking?—He is out of his wits.
Jeremiah
The Elder
He hath cursed God. Strike him down.
Voices
He raves.—He is mad.—He dreams.—’Tis dangerous to listen to him.—Silence the madman!
[Suddenly kneels and apostrophizes the others]
[All draw away from him in horror. He moves after them, without rising from his knees]
The Elder
Death to the man who touches him! God hath judged him.
Voices
Accursed of God, away.—Forth from among us.—Poison us no longer with thy presence.—Away liar, away!
Jeremiah
[When they thrust him from them, cries plaintively] Driven out like a leper! [He falls prone]
[There is a peremptory knocking, at the door]
Voices
The heralds!—The Chaldeans!—They knock like masters.—It is not one of our own people. [The knocking becomes more imperative] What impatience!—We must not anger him.—Do not unbar the door, for they are all robbers, the Chaldeans.—We must open to him, or he will grow angry.
The Elder
I will open the door. In the midst of life we are in death.
[He cautiously begins to open the great door, but as soon as the bar is down one of the leaves is violently pushed open and Baruch rushes in. The Elder rebars the door]
Baruch
[His face working with anxiety] Brothers, is Jeremiah here?
The Elder
Name him not! Speak not to him.
Baruch
[Looking around] Jeremiah, Jeremiah!
Jeremiah
[Slowly rising, stares at Baruch as if he were a stranger] Who still seeks me? Who now would tempt me?
Baruch
Master mine, do you not know me? Do you not recognize my voice?
Jeremiah
I will look no more and listen no more. Away, you who still breathe the breath of life! Let me lie and rot!
Baruch
Jeremiah, beloved master, I implore you to collect yourself. The enemy is hunting for you.
Who still seeks me in this world?
Baruch
You have been betrayed; they know your hiding-place. Nebuchadnezzar has sent officers in search of you.
Jeremiah
Let them come! Blessed be the slayers! Blessed be death!
Baruch
Jeremiah, if you love me, seek refuge in flight. I cannot bear that your life should be forfeited.
Jeremiah
No more love have I for anyone.
Baruch
[Embracing him] Nay, master, my blood rather than yours. I will die with you.
[Violent blows are struck on the door]
The Crowd
[Scattering into the darkest corners] Alas, alas.—The Chaldeans.—Our hour has come.—Jeremiah has brought disaster upon us.—Let us deliver him up.
Too late! They are already here.
Jeremiah
Open to them, Baruch. [Baruch hesitates. Jeremiah standing erect speaks slowly and clearly, almost exultantly] Open, that I may receive them. My soul yearns for death. Welcome, first fulfiller of my word! Welcome, Death. Open, Baruch! Open to the deliverer. [Baruch moves to the door where he again hesitates. The door is once more shaken by violent blows from without. Jeremiah repeats masterfully] Open, Baruch, I command you.
[Baruch veils his face and unbars the door. The two leaves of the folding door are flung open, and a gleam of the fading light of evening penetrates the dark crypt. The king’s three officers enter, richly appareled, their figures showing in strong relief against the red sky. Jeremiah stands alone, confronting them]
The Chief Officer
[Advancing to the front] Is the man named Jeremiah among you, the son of Hilkiah of Anathoth?
Jeremiah
I am he whom you seek. Fulfil your orders.
[The Chief Officer prostrates himself before Jeremiah, touching the ground three times with his forehead. The two other officers do the same. Jeremiah, startled, draws back a pace. The Chief Officer rises to his knees]
Hail to the interpreter of signs! Honor and glory to the revealer of events, to the seer of that which is hidden. [Having again abased himself three times, he stands erect; his companions follow his example. Jeremiah, recovering composure, regards him gloomily] I bear a message through my unworthy mouth from Nebuchadnezzar, my master, king of kings, destroyer of nations. Thus saith my dread lord. It hath been reported to Nebuchadnezzar that thou alone among thy people foretoldest destruction to the rebels and disgrace to those who goaded on the people to revolt. Melted like lead are the words of the priests who withstood thy strength; but thy warning, like gold, hath endured the test of time. Thy fame hath reached the ears of Nebuchadnezzar, and now he is eager to set eyes upon thee. He sendeth thee raiment such as is worn by the princes of Chaldea, and will have thee for the chief among his servants who wait at his table.
Jeremiah
No more will I serve any, either in heaven above or in the earth beneath, for I have served God and have wearied of that service. Say unto Nebuchadnezzar that I refuse to serve him.
The Chief Officer
Thou understandest not the words of my lord and master. Not to any menial service doth he appoint thee, but would have thee to be the chief over all his servants. Master of the magicians, astrologers, and soothsayers, shalt thou be, reading the stars and foretelling that which is to come. Second to none shalt thou be, but shalt come and go in the palace even as thou wilt.
Jeremiah
I hear your words, and therefrom I learn the king’s wishes. Great is the call of Nebuchadnezzar, but greater is the need of mine own people. Hearken, therefore! I enter not the palace where the daughters of Israel will scour the steps as bondwomen. No bread do I break as guest at the table of him who hath profaned the temple of Zion. Not for me the favors of the cruel, nor the grace of him who hath been pitiless.
The Chief Officer
The message I brought thee was a king’s message, and to kings obedience is due.
Jeremiah
You brought me true word from Nebuchadnezzar. Render him my answer no less truly. Return to him who sent you, and say unto him: “Thus saith Jeremiah to Nebuchadnezzar. My bitterness has no sweetness for thee, nor shall my lips minister to thy pride. Wert thou to summon me with the tongues of angels, yet would I not heed thy call; wert thou to load for me with gold all the stones of Jerusalem, yet would I not speak soft words to thee. Honor me if you wilt, to thee I pay not honor. Seek me if thou wilt, but thee I will not seek.”
Bethink thee, ’tis the king of kings who summons thee to enjoy the light of his countenance.
Jeremiah
I refuse to go! I refuse!
The Chief Officer
Never before hath any man refused to comply with the wishes of Nebuchadnezzar.
Jeremiah
Nevertheless I refuse, I, the least among the sons of Israel. Who is he, that I should fear him? His power is but a straw, and his wrath but a breath of wind.
The Chief Officer
Rash and presumptuous art thou, to speak thus lightly of the king my master. Curb thy tongue, and have a care for thy life.
Jeremiah
[Fiercely] Who is he that I should fear him? Many have there been who bore the proud name of Pharaoh, many whose foreheads were once adorned with circlets of gold, but no man careth to remember their deeds, and no man taketh pen to inscribe their names in the book of time. There have been mightier than he, whom the generations of men have forgotten ere the trees they planted have rotted. Who is Nebuchadnezzar under the stars, that I should fear him? Is he not a worm, even as other men? Does not death dog his footsteps, and corruption await his body? Shall he escape the finger of time? Think you that he, more than another, can keep that which he now hath, or that he can find an issue from the doom which awaits all the sons of men? Return, therefore, to your master, bearing from me this message: “Woe to the destroyer, for he shall be destroyed! Woe to the robber, for he shall be robbed. He who has drunk his fill of blood, shall be drowned in blood; he who has battened on the flesh of the nations, shall himself soon become food for worms! Hearken! A wind is rising against Babylon, and a tempest is about to break over Nineveh! Numbered are the days of Ashur. Drawn is the sword, and it hangs over thee, thy people, and thy realm. Thou art greedy for news of that which is to come. Learn, O Nebuchadnezzar, that Ashur is ripe for destruction; the measure of thine iniquity is full.”
[The officers shrink before these fiery words, and make gestures as if to avert the threatened doom]
The Elder
[Suddenly stands forth from a dark corner, and cries enthusiastically] Hear him, O Lord, hear him! Fulfil the promise of his words.
Voices
[Imploringly] Hear him, Lord God of Sabaoth!
Already hath the avenger awakened, for the Lord hath summoned him, and hath equipped him with strength. He is coming. Already is he near. Mighty are his hands; they will crush Babylon like a bird’s nest, and will scatter the people of Ashur like chaff before the wind. Set watchmen in the towers upon the walls, that they may warn you of his coming; send forth men in armor, bearing sharp spears, that they may resist his onslaught. Just as little as thou canst blow away the clouds of heaven with thy breath, just so little canst thou avert the coming of the avenger, whose sword will slay the children of Ashur.
The Elder
[Ecstatically] So let it be, Lord, so let it be!
The Other Refugees
[They have collected round The Elder, and have caught fire from his enthusiasm] Smite them, O Lord, as he has foretold.—Fulfil the words he has spoken.—Send the avenger.—Cast down Babylon even as he has prophesied.—Hear him, O Lord, hear him.
[The officers, panic-stricken, make for the door]
Jeremiah
[In a frenzy of joy] O fool among fools, didst thou verily believe thou couldst enslave us; didst thou verily believe that God would forget us, would forsake his city of Jerusalem? Are we not his children, his first-born and his heirs? Is not his spirit upon us, and his blessing upon the seed of Abraham? He has chastised us for our sins, but will now have pity on us. What his left hand has taken from us, his right hand will restore a thousandfold. For know, brothers, that sooner shall mountains fall and rivers flow upwards, sooner shall the stars be darkened, than that God shall forget his covenant, shall abandon Israel, shall turn away his face from Zion.
[The officers have vanished during this speech]
The Elder and The Others
[Thronging round Jeremiah] Blessings upon your words.—Blessings upon your head.—God will be mindful of Jerusalem.—O glorious prophecy!
Jeremiah
[Ignoring them in his growing exaltation] How dark were the days upon earth when God frowned upon his children. We thought to perish in that darkness, to go down unto death in our anguish. But with the end of his wrath came the beginning of his love. A storm has raged; God has broken our strength like a reed. But now, once more, the sun of his mercy shines upon us. He has laid aside the lightnings; he has stilled the thunder of his voice; his words fall softly on our ears. Sweet do they sound, sweet and gentle: