Zedekiah
Thus shall the walls stand fast, thus shall the holy city be saved, though I sink into the dust. Better I should perish than Zion. Jerusalem endureth for ever.
All
[Fervently] Jerusalem endureth for ever.
Zedekiah
[To Baruch] Thou hearest, boy? Go, then, to the king of Ashur, and say unto him: “Zedekiah, who hath been ruler, and hath taken up arms against thee, boweth himself before thee, that thou mayest show him thy mercy.” Hasten, that soon I may stand before the door of my house, saying to my people the precious word, “Peace”.
Baruch
[Disquieted, speaks in subdued tones] I hear, Lord King. But there is yet one other thing I have to tell thee, one more demand from the king of Ashur.
Abimelech
[Angrily] Yet more? Does not this shame suffice him?