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!