Bondmen of Mizraim
Were our fathers,
Bridled and bitted
Were our fathers,
Israel’s children.
Taskmasters cruel
Hasted our fathers,
Beat them with rods,
Scourged them with cords,
Afflicted our fathers
With manifold tasks.
Higher Voices
Ere long the darkness which encompassed us
Was pierced by Jehovah’s compassionate gaze.
To save his people before it had perished,
God raised up a deliverer,
One of the house of Levi.
Moses came to our aid,
A man mighty of tongue,
A man mighty of hand.
He led us forth from the land of Egypt.
He freed us from the house of bondage.
Exultant Voices
Those who had numbered but seventy
When they entered the land of Egypt,
Went out from it numbering countless thousands,
Driving before them flocks and herds,
And bearing with them great possessions.
Before their faces went the pillar of cloud,
Before them went the pillar of fire,
And the angel of God went before the camp of Israel.
Such was the first exodus,
Such the beginning of happiness,
When God was bringing our fathers to the land of promise.
Jeremiah
But new tribulations awaited us,
Fresh trials;
Forbear not to recall the days of bitterness,
Forget not those days!
Voices
Pursuing us,
Came the army of Pharaoh,
Horses and chariots,
And a multitude of horsemen.
With vengeful clamor
Did they follow after.
The sea barred our passage;
Death pressed at our heels.
Higher Voices
Thereupon the Lord sent the strong east wind,
Dividing the waters that the sea might be dry land.
The waters were a wall unto us,
On our right hand, and on our left.
Thus went we into the midst of the sea
Upon the dry ground.
Exultant Voices
With the clashing of arms and the roaring of chariot wheels,
Our foes, thirsty for blood, followed after,
On the dry ground between the walls of the sea.
They shouted in their wrath as they thought to smite us.
But Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea,
And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen,
And all the hosts of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them;
Thus did the Lord overthrow the Egyptians in the midst of the sea!
Deep Voices
Thus did the Lord deliver us out of danger,
And lead us forth from the land of bondage.
Thus wonderful was the beginning
Of our happy and unhappy wanderings!
Jeremiah
Again and again did he pour over us the bitterness of
death and the waters of the cup of trial, that we might
be healed for evermore. Bethink ye of the scorching
days in the desert, of the forty years of privation ere
we reached the promised land.
Voices
Parched were our throats,
Blistered our lips,
Athirst were we
And anhungered,
In that waterless and barren region.
Exultant Voices
Then Moses lifted up his hand,
And with his rod smote the rock twice.
Lo, the stone was riven in sunder,
The water gushed forth abundantly,
The congregation drank and their cattle,
And the wanderers laved their toilworn feet.
Higher Voices
When we were weary, the Lord gave us rest.
He sent cool breezes
To temper the burning heats of noontide.
Bitter springs did he sweeten for our sake.
The wind brought fat quails from the sea.
When our entrails were gnawed with hunger,
Lo, after the morning dews had risen,
There lay on the face of the wilderness
Manna, small and round, the bread of heaven.
Jeremiah
Albeit, never was it granted us to live in safety.
Continually did the Lord chastise us with his holy hand.
Ever and again did he renew the tribulations of his people.
Voices
The nations stood
Against us in arms;
Greed and envy
Closed the roads
Of our pilgrimage;
Cities shut their gates;
Spears gleamed,
Strewing our path with death.
Higher Voices
Then God forged us new weapons,
Making our hearts like sharp swords,
Giving us strength against thousands,
Victory over tens of thousands.
Exultant Voices
Trumpets blew, walls fell down;
Moab was overthrown, and Amalek.
With the sword we carved ways
Through the anger of the peoples and the times,
Until our hearts stood the test,
Until we reached the land of promise,
Canaan, where after labor we could rest.
Here was a home for the wanderers,
Now could we ungird our loins,
Doff our shoes, lay aside our staves.
These staves put forth green shoots,
Israel blossomed, and Zion arose.
All the Voices
Again and again have we been yoked to the plough,
Necks bowed; again and again enslaved:
But never has he failed to break our yoke,
To free us from captivity and exile:
From all our afflictions, all our privations,
Never has he failed to deliver us,
To summon us home at last,
To grant us a renewed flowering.
Jeremiah
Have no fear, have no fear, that the Lord will forsake us!
Mistrust him not, brothers, in days that are dark!
For when he debases us, when he afflicts us,
The suffering he sends is but sign of his love.
Then bow ye, my brothers, bend necks to the yoke,
Accept gladly the lot by Jehovah decreed.
Know, that sorrow but proves us, that trial uplifts us,
That affliction, though sore, brings us nearer to God.
Each pang that we feel is a step toward his kingdom,
Since the vanquished on earth are in heaven beloved.
Up brothers, march onward, march onward to God.
Voices
[Ecstatically] Yea, now let us begin our wanderings.—Lead
us forth.—We shall suffer, even as our fathers
suffered.—Exodus and never-ending return.—Hasten,
hasten, sunrise is at hand.—Let us march steadfastly
into slavery.—Now as ever, God will deliver us.—We
will all go, not one will stay behind.
Zedekiah
Alas, alas! Who will lead me? Leave me not
behind! Who will carry me?
Jeremiah
Who calls?
Voices
Let him stay where he is.—He is chaff for the winnowing
fan.—He is rejected of God. [To Jeremiah]
Lead us, prophet.—You shall be our master.—Leave
the outcast.
Jeremiah
No one is an outcast! Whoever calls for help must
be heard, for all our sakes.
Voices
Not he.—He is the cause of our troubles.—He is
the rejected of God.—He is one accurst!
Jeremiah
I, too, was rejected of God, and God has heard
my prayer; I, likewise, was a man accurst, and God has
blessed me. Who was it, crying in his distress? Let
me bring him comfort, even as I was comforted.
Voices
’Tis the man lying on the steps.—God’s wrath has
smitten his pride.
Jeremiah
Why lies he alone there? Wherefore does he not
join us?
Voices
Look, his stars are darkened.—No longer can he find
his way, for he is blind.—They have put out his eyes.
Jeremiah
[Drawing near the recumbent figure with profound
emotion] Zedekiah! Lord King!
Zedekiah
Is it thou, Jeremiah?
Jeremiah
It is I, Lord King. I am thy faithful servant,
Jeremiah. [He kneels beside the king]
Zedekiah
Scorn me not! Drive me not from thee, as I
drave thee from me! Thy words have burned me to
ashes, man of might. Now leave me not alone in the
hour of mine anguish. Be with me, as you swore
before God when last we met.
Jeremiah
I am with thee, King Zedekiah.
Zedekiah
[Groping for him] Where art thou? I cannot find
thee.
Jeremiah
I am at thy feet, thy servant and thy slave.
Zedekiah
[Trembling] Mock me not before the people, nor
bow thyself in reverence to one abased. The oil
wherewith I was anointed hath turned to blood upon
my brow. My crown is dust.
Jeremiah
Thou hast become the king of sorrows, and never
wert thou more kingly. Zedekiah, I stood upright
before thee when I faced thee in thy strength, but I
bow myself before thee now that God hath brought
thee low. Anointed by suffering, lead us forth! Thou
who now seest God only, who no longer seest the world,
guide thy people. [He rises and faces the multitude]
Behold, behold,
Children of sorrow, children of God,
The Lord hath hearkened to your cry,
He hath sent you a leader!
One crowned with suffering,
One scorned of men!
Who is more fitted than he
To reign over those that are blessed by defeat?
God hath closed Zedekiah’s eyes on earth
That he may better see the glories of heaven.
Brothers, has any son of the house of David
Been so fitted as he to be king of the sorrowful?
Zedekiah
Whither would you take me? What will become
of me?
Jeremiah
Lift him up,
Him who has been abased,
Pay him all honor!
Harness the horses,
Make ready the litters,
Tenderly lift him,
Israel’s guardian,
King over Zion.
[The king is lifted with all signs of respect, and is
placed in a litter. A trumpet sounds in the distance.
There is a red glow upon the walls as the day dawns.
The sky has cleared. A tremor runs through the
crowd at the sound of the trumpet]
Voices
The signal!—The first signal!—God summons us.—The
day of our trial has dawned.—Soon the sun will
shine over Jerusalem.—The exodus.—The exodus.—Exodus
and return.—Jerusalem.—Jerusalem.
Jeremiah
[With confident mien, strides up the steps once more.
The crowd has drawn back, and he stands alone at the
top, looking taller than ever in his isolation]
Up, ye rejected,
Up, all ye vanquished,
Brisk for the journey!
Wanderers,
Chosen of God and the world,
Lift up your hearts!
[A surge of activity passes through the crowd.
Jeremiah gazes out over the city]
On Jerusalem’s pinnacles
Now for the last time
Look through your tears.
Carry with you the image
Of the home you so love.
Drink your fill of the towers,
Drink your fill of the walls,
Drink your fill of Jerusalem.
Voices
Yea, yea, ere we go
Let us drink our fill of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah
Bend down a last time,
Piously caressing
Your native earth.
[He apostrophizes the earth]
Earth drenched with blood and tears,
Lo, I touch you
With loving hand.
The memory of this touch
Shall go with me,
Shall be an undying hunger.
[He addresses the people once more]
Unceasingly,
Wherever we wander,
Shall we be anhungered,
Shall we be athirst,
For Zion!
Voices
Unceasingly,
Wherever we wander,
Shall we be anhungered,
Shall we be athirst,
For Zion!
Jeremiah
Wanderers, chosen of God,
Filled with your hunger, your thirst,
Having now said your farewells,
Manfully turn to the journey.
Look forward, not backward.
Stay-at-homes
Have home;
Wanderers
Have the world!
God’s are the ways
On which ye shall walk.
Made wise through suffering,
Wanderers, chosen of God,
On, through the world!
The People
Shall we ever see Jerusalem again?
Jeremiah
He who believes, looks always on Jerusalem.
The People
Who shall rebuild the city?
Jeremiah
The ardor of desire, the night of prison, and the
suffering which brings counsel.
The People
Will it endure?
Jeremiah
Yea. Stones fall, but that which the soul builds in
suffering, endureth for ever.
[There is a bustle among the crowd as all make
ready for the start. The trumpet sounds again. It is
now quite light. The crowd, eager to begin the exodus,
greets the second blast of the trumpet with a shout of
impatience]
[Raising his voice to dominate the tumult]
Wanderers, sufferers, march in the name
Of your forefather Jacob, who erstwhile with God,
Having wrestled the livelong night,
Strove till dawn for a blessing.
March on in the morning light
By a path like that which your forefathers trod,
When from Mizraim forth by Moses led
Toward the land of promise their way they sped.
Scatter your seeds, scatter your seeds,
In unknown lands,
Through numberless years.
Wander your wanderings, watered with tears.
On, people of God; for, wherever ye roam,
Your road leads through the world to eternity, home.
[The march begins in silence. At the head of the
procession, the king is borne in a litter. In due order,
tribe by tribe, the wanderers fall into line and move
towards the gate. They gaze heavenward, singing as
they march, so that the exodus has the solemnity of a
religious procession. There is neither haste nor lagging,
but a rhythmic movement forward. The files
succeed one another in an endless train. An infinite
on the march]
First Chorus of Wanderers
In strangers’ houses now must we dwell,
Eating bread salted with tears.
By an enemy’s hearth, with souls full of dread,
Must we sit upon stools of shame.
The weight of the years will lie heavy upon us
When, captives and bondmen, we must serve men of might.
But from exile escaping, from bondage redeemed,
To Jerusalem homing, to Zion returning,
Our spirits shall ever be free and at rest.
Second Chorus of Wanderers
Our drink must be drawn from distant waters;
Evil their taste, bitter in the mouth.
We must shelter from the sun beneath strange trees,
Their leaves breathing fear as they rustle in the wind.
But we shall win solace from the starry skies;
Dreams of home will comfort our nights;
Our souls will find continual refreshment
In the thought of Jerusalem.
Third Chorus of Wanderers
We shall journey by unfamiliar roads;
The wind will carry us afar, through many lands;
Weary shall we be, footsore and weary,
As the nations drive us from home after home.
Nowhere at all will they suffer us to take root,
Perpetual our pilgrimage through the changing world.
Yet happy shall we be, eternally vanquished;
Happy shall we be, chaff blown by the breeze;
Kindred to none, and by none made welcome;
For through the ages our path leads unerringly,
To the goal of our desire,
Jerusalem!
[A few Chaldeans, among them a captain, have come
out from the palace. Some of them are half drunk.
Their voices sound shrill in contrast with the chanting
of the wanderers]
The Captain
The dogs are mutinous. They murmur against
their fate. Beat them with rods if they refuse to go.
A Chaldean
Look, Captain, they have not waited for an order.
There is no sign of mutiny.
The Captain
If they complain, strike them on the mouth.
The Chaldean
Captain, they are not complaining.
Another Chaldean
Watch them marching. They stride along like
conquerors. Their eyes flash with joy.
The Chaldeans
What people are these?—Have they not been vanquished?—Can
anyone have spread among them false
tidings of liberation?—What are they chanting?—A
strange people.—No one can understand them, whether
in their dejection or in their exultation.—Their very
gentleness is a danger, for it has a strength of its own.—This
resembles rather the triumphal entry of a king,
than the exodus of an enslaved people.—Saw the world
ever such a nation?
Fourth Chorus of Wanderers
[Here Jeremiah inconspicuously joins his tribe]
Through ages we wander, we march through the nations,
The tale of our sufferings ever renewed;
Aeon after aeon eternally vanquished,
Thralls at the hearths where in passing we rest.
But the cities wither, and the nations
Shoot into darkness like wandering stars.
The oppressors who scourged us with many whips
Have become a hissing and a byword among the generations.
Whereas we march onward, march onward, march onward,
Drawing strength from within, eternity from earth,
And God from pains and tribulations.
The Chaldean Captain
Verily madness has seized them. We are the victors,
they the defeated and the disgraced. Why, then, do
they not complain?
A Chaldean
An invisible force must sustain them.
Another Chaldean
True, they believe in the invisible. That is the
mystery of their faith.
The Captain
How is it possible to see the invisible, or to believe
in what cannot be seen? They must have secret arts,
like those of our astrologers and soothsayers. It
would be well to learn their mysteries.
The Chaldean
These mysteries cannot be taught; the secret lies in
faith. What sustains them, they say, is their faith in
the invisible God.
Fifth Chorus of Wanderers
We wander adown the road of suffering,
Through our trials we are purified,
Everlastingly vanquished, and everlastingly overthrown,
For ever enslaved, for ever enfranchised,
Unceasingly broken and unceasingly renewed,
The mock and the sport of all nations on earth.
We wander through the eternities,
A remnant, a remnant,
And yet numberless.
We march onward to God,
To God who is the beginning and the end,
To God who is our home.
The Chaldean
See how they are walking to meet the sun. His
light shines on their foreheads, and they themselves
shine with the strength of the sun. Mighty must their
God be.
The Captain
Their God? Have we not broken down his altars?
Have we not conquered him?
The Chaldean
Who can conquer the invisible? Men we can slay,
but the God who lives in them we cannot slay. A
nation can be controlled by force; its spirit, never.
[For the third time the trumpet sounds. The sun
has risen, shining on the exodus of the chosen people,
beginning their march athwart the ages]
Transcriber’s Note:
The following is a list of corrections made to the original. The
first passage is the original passage, the second the corrected one.
- Page 33:
No we, nor we.—Down with Ashur.—Let us break
Nor we, nor we.—Down with Ashur.—Let us break
- Page 45:
us, is it time to start?—War against Ashur,—Say, shall
us, is it time to start?—War against Ashur.—Say, shall
- Page 85:
keep their virginity
keep their virginity.
- Page 88:
happened people of Jerusalem, a miracle which delivers
happened, people of Jerusalem, a miracle which delivers
- Page 120:
Jeremiah, who leads the people astray? Jeremiah
Jeremiah, who leads the people astray? Jeremiah,
- Page 122:
broken. Jerusalem endureth for ever
broken. Jerusalem endureth for ever.
- Page 133:
[Zekediah turns away, and slowly resumes the
[Zedekiah turns away, and slowly resumes the
- Page 141:
[A female relative, coming from without, cautionsly
[A female relative, coming from without, cautiously
- Page 188:
[To Nahum] Coward and traitor!
[To Nahum] Coward and traitor!
- Page 200:
on the face of Jehovah.”
look on the face of Jehovah.
