Jeremiah Part 8

BARUCH

Let hosannas sound! Up, Israel; up Jerusalem, and break the yoke!

THE CROWD

Let us break the yoke.--Down with Ashur.--To arms against Nebuchadnezzar.--Unfurl the flag.--Tell us, is it time to start?--War against Ashur.--Say, shall the victory be ours?

HANANIAH

The voice of the Lord burns within me. The words come to my mouth like the roaring of the sea, and thus do they sound: "Arise, Israel. I have delivered Ashur into thy hand; clench thy fist, Israel, and break the bones of thy foe! Tread the oppressor beneath thy heels, bring back my stolen goods, deliver me as I deliver thee. Reject those who would counsel thee otherwise; destroy those who would curb thee; pay no heed to the weaklings, and hearken only to the words of my messenger! Hear the words of my messenger, O Israel!"

JEREMIAH

[Calling wildly from amid the crowd] Heed him not! Heed him not! Heed him not!

[A tumult ensues, and the crowd draws apart, disclosing JEREMIAH in the midst. He tries to make his way up the steps to the place from which HANANIAH is speaking]

VOICES

Who is that speaking?--What is he saying?--Who is he?

JEREMIAH

Do not heed him. Pay no heed to him who speaks through the lips only; reject the lure of his words. Do not listen to the hypocrites who would lead you into slippery places. Do not fall into the snare of the fowlers. Do not listen to the decoy calling to war.

PASHUR

[The high priest, wearing full vestments, has appeared on the threshold of the temple] Who speaks in the crowd?

HANANIAH

Who speaks against the Lord? Let him show himself in the open.

JEREMIAH

[Coming forward] Dismay speaks; concern for Jerusalem cries aloud; the mouth of terror is opened. I speak for Israel, and for the life of Israel.

VOICES

Who is he?--I know him not.--He is not one of the prophets.--I know him not.--Who is he?

A VOICE

It is Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests in Anathoth.

VOICES

Who is Jeremiah?--Who is he?--What do the people of Anathoth want in Jerusalem?--He is the son of Hilkiah.--Who is he?--What does he want?

PASHUR

[To JEREMIAH, who is mounting the steps] Away from the steps of the temple! The messengers of the Lord, the men of G.o.d and the prophets, may alone tread the holy threshold. To none but us is it given to reveal G.o.d's will.

JEREMIAH

Who dares declare that to him only has the Lord vouchsafed wisdom and the secret of his will? G.o.d speaks to men in dreams, and to me likewise has he sent dreams. He has filled my nights with horror, and has awakened me at due time; he has given me a mouth that I may speak and a voice that I may cry aloud. He has breathed dismay into my mind that I may spread it over you like a burning cloth. I will utter my dismay on behalf of Jerusalem; I will cry my cry before the people; I will reveal my dreams.

BARUCH

Away with dreamers and interpreters of dreams. The hour needs waking men.

HANANIAH

Dreams come to all. Beasts stir in their sleep, and the dreams of slaves are full of visions. Who has anointed you, that you should speak before the temple?

VOICES

No.--Let him speak.--We want to hear him.--He is out of his mind.--Let him reveal his dreams.--The marketplace is free to all.--G.o.d's house is free. Speak, Jeremiah.

PASHUR

Not from the threshold of the temple.

HANANIAH

I am the prophet of G.o.d, and there is no other prophet in Israel to-day.

You shall hear my words, not those of the chatterers in the streets.

Scourge the dreamers out of the marketplace.

BARUCH

He is a coward, shun his terrors.

VOICES

Let him speak.--We want to hear what he has to say.--No, let Hananiah speak.--Perhaps Jeremiah is sent by the Lord.--Why should not we hear him.--Speak, Jeremiah.--What has he dreamed?--Revelation often comes in dreams.--Let him speak, Hananiah.--We can compare their words.--Speak, Jeremiah.

JEREMIAH

[From the top of the steps] Brothers in Israel, brothers in Jerusalem, in my dream I heard a storm burst upon the city, and I saw warriors a.s.sail our walls. The pillars fell and the battlements were laid low.

Fire sat upon the roofs like a red beast devouring our dwellings. No stone was left standing upon another, and the streets were laid waste. I saw the dead lying in heaps upon the ground, so that my heart was turned within me and my mouth was unsealed even in sleep.

PASHUR

Madness is crying from the steps of the temple.

HANANIAH