Jeremiah
Think you so? But I have failed. To whom have I brought joy? I am a horror to the upright and a grievous affliction to my mother. No wife bears my child in her womb, nor does any one living believe in my words.
Baruch
I believe you. I will not forsake you. You are great. I cleave to you for your very sorrow.
Jeremiah
Praise me not. My soul burns with shame. What have I done that shall profit Jerusalem? Have I softened the king’s heart; have I led the erring people into the right path; have I found an envoy of peace? How, when I myself have faltered, shall I show the way for an envoy?
Baruch
You seek an envoy from Nebuchadnezzar to our king?
Will Nebuchadnezzar be readier to parley than Zedekiah? Kings are like boys, each waiting for the other to begin.