by Shlomo Kalo
Or-Nego rose to his feet and asked the prophet:
“And what fate does God have in store for my homeland, the place that made me what I am?”
And Jeremiah turned to him, and declared:
“Grievous is the offence of your homeland and the place of your nurture has sinned, turning away from the living God and cleaving to idols and abominations. Listen and I shall reveal to you what the fate of Babylon shall be:
“And Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, a place of horror and derision with no inhabitant. Together they roar like young lions, they snarl like the whelps of a lioness. I shall cause their drinking bouts to end in fever, and make them so drunk they will writhe and toss, then sink into unending sleep never to awake, says the Lord. I will bring them like lambs to the slaughter, rams and he-goats together. Sheshak is captured, the pride of all the world taken. Babylon has become a horror among the nations. The sea has surged over Babylon, she is covered by its roaring waves. Her cities have become waste places, a land dry and desolate, a land in which no man lives and through which no mortal passes. I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him spew up what he has swallowed, and nations shall no longer flock to him. The wall of Babylon has fallen. Come out of her, O my people and let every man save himself from the anger of the Lord. Then beware of losing heart, fear no rumours spread abroad in the land, as rumour follows rumour, year by year, violence on the earth and ruler against ruler. Therefore a time is coming when I will punish Babylon’s idols and all her land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall lie fallen in her midst. Heaven and earth and all that is in them shall sing in triumph over Babylon, for marauders from the north shall overrun her, says the Lord. Babylon must fall for the sake of Israel’s slain, as the slain of all the world fell for the sake of Babylon. You have escaped from the sword, go, do not stand still, remember the Lord from afar and call Jerusalem to mind. We are ashamed at what we have heard, and our faces are covered with confusion, for strangers have entered the sanctuaries of the Lord. Therefore the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will punish their idols and all through the land the wounded shall groan. Though Babylon should reach to the skies and make her high towers inaccessible, marauders will come to overrun her, says the Lord. Cries of grief shall be heard from Babylon, sounds of destruction from the land of the Chaldeans. For the Lord is despoiling Babylon and will silence the hum of the city, as the waves roar like a mighty torrent. For the marauders have come to her, to Babylon, her warriors are captured and their bows broken, for the Lord will repay in full, I shall make her ministers and her wise men drunk, her viceroys and governors and warriors, and they shall sink into endless sleep, never to awake. This is the word of the King, whose name is the Lord of Hosts.”
At Riblah
Zedekiah was caught as he attempted to escape, put in chains and brought to Riblah, by order of Nebuchadnezzar. And all the sons and daughters of Zedekiah were transported to Riblah, in the province of Hamat, for judgment. And King Nebuchadnezzar sat in judgment upon Zedekiah, his ministers and advisers, and all his household and his servitors.
The King sat on his high throne, with the three red-carpeted steps before it, with the purple cushions and arms of ivory, and the back that was ivory and gold, and above the King’s head a great stone was suspended, a sapphire known as the “stone of justice”, spreading all around its cold and menacing lustre. The very sight of this stone was enough to make a grown man shudder, make him recall all his wrongdoings and move him to remorse, even to confession and repentance – and to strike terror into the hearts of all those called to account before the King.
So Zedekiah was called before the King, and at his side all his sons and daughters and ministers and advisers and priests and generals. And Zedekiah fell at the feet of King Nebuchadnezzar, and the bronze shackles binding his hands and feet clattered on the marble floor of the judgment chamber. And Zedekiah cried out to the king in a loud voice:
“I have sinned and transgressed both against my lord the King and against God, and my iniquity is too heavy to bear, and yet I venture to appeal to my lord the King, to his merciful heart and his tolerant hand, if not for myself then for all those who now stand at my side – those who are blameless and have done no harm to anyone and whose only fault is in their association with me, and those whom I incited to do those things that should not be done! And on their behalf I address my plea to His Majesty the King, whose is noble of spirit and incomparably magnanimous of heart, a fair and a righteous judge who does no injustice to any man!” And Zedekiah beat his head on the steps of the throne and wept bitterly.
When Nebuchadnezzar delivered his reply, his booming voice resounded around the high walls of the palace of Riblah and set the very air a-quiver:
“According to your own words I shall judge you, wretch who called himself a ‘king’ and is now blubbering like a contemptible slave caught pilfering from his master! It was I who made you a king and placed you on the throne of dominion, putting a sceptre into your hand and hanging a gold sword at your waist, and you swore by your God and your holy writings, of which you say your whole life is in them, and vowed to keep faith and see to it that your people would know only good things, not bad, and worship its God and praise its judicious king! And instead of this you betrayed – not me but your own God, that God who sees the hearts of men! And when you said ‘I believe!’ you showed your contempt for the very notions of faith and reverence! Why did you not give thought while there was still time to those for whom you now ask my mercy and forgiveness, begging me to spare them? And yet it was your fervent claim, when you were first questioned, before you were brought here to face me, that they incited you to rebellion, and had you not listened to them you would not have risen against me, disgracing yourself and breaking your solemn vows.
“You surely know that the King is the final arbiter, and he has the competence to accept or spurn the advice of any man, listening to the words of the wise and silencing the mouth of the fool!
“Who would even think of saying such things but a simpleton and a craven wretch, who does not know the meaning of honour… And your weeping and your whimpering will avail you nothing – I do not hear them! You have kindled my wrath, and it blazes unabated! Scores of thousands have paid with their lives for your stupidity and greed, your betrayal of your people and your God! The voice of Jeremiah, through whom God speaks – you did not hear, paying more heed to the voice of your counsellors, those of whom you now say, ‘they incited me!’
“Mercy shown to one such as you is no mercy, but an insult to all mankind. Justice you asked for – a holy word that is alien to you as you are alien to it – and yet justice you shall have!”
And the King of Babylon slew Zedekiah’s sons before his eyes; he also put to death all the ministers of Judah in Riblah. Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with fetters of bronze, brought him to Babylon and cast him into the prison.
In the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month in the nineteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, Nebuzadaran, captain of the King’s bodyguard, came to Jerusalem and set fire to the house of the Lord and the royal palace. All the houses and mansions of Jerusalem were burnt down. The Chaldean forces with the captain of the guard pulled down the walls are round Jerusalem. Nebuzadaran captain of the guard deported the rest of the people left in the city, those who had defected to the King of Babylon and any remaining artisans. The captain of the guard left only the meanest class of people to be vine-dressers and labourers.
The Chaldeans broke up the pillars of bronze in the house of the Lord and the trolleys and the sea of bronze and took the metal to Babylon. They also took the pots, shovels, snuffers, tossing-bowls, saucers, and all the vessels of bronze used in the service of the temple. The captain of the guard took away the precious metal, whether gold or silver, of which the cups, fire-pans, tossing-bowls, pots, lamp-stands, saucers, and flagons were made. The bronze of the two pillars, of the one sea and of the
twelve oxen supporting it, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord, was beyond weighing. The one pillar was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference; it was hollow and the metal was four fingers thick. It had a capital of bronze, five cubits high, and a decoration of network and pomegranates ran all round it, wholly of bronze. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was exactly like it. Ninety-six pomegranates were exposed to view and there were a hundred in all on the network all round.
The Return Of The King
Babylon was in festive attire. The day before, the advance party of fast riders had arrived, having whipped and belaboured their horses relentlessly, till their mouths dripped blood and foam and two of them even collapsed on the spot and died of exhaustion – and informed the dignitaries and elders of the greatest city on earth that the victorious army, with the King at its head, was approaching his capital and was due to arrive at the Shamash gate, at the latest, two days hence in the early hours of the afternoon. The dignitaries made haste to recruit slaves and maidservants and set up pavilions and stands alongside the road leading from the Shamash Gate to the royal palace. One particularly ornate stand was erected near the royal palace, and it was assumed that here the victorious King, accompanied by his senior commanders, would take the salute of his troops and address the massed ranks of the parade.
This stand was bedecked with heavy and glossy fabrics and fine linens of blue and purple, and a regal throne was placed in the centre of it. The other stands, intended for the use of the aristocracy of Babylon, the priests and the magicians and the soothsayers, were set up on the northern side of the route, near the wall. The balconies and windows of houses, the sanctuaries of the gods and the wall itself were adorned with a plethora of luxuriant flowers of every shape and colour, flags and pennants and tapestries. Dense chains of flags and banners were also suspended above the route of the march, between house and house, between temple and temple, between the wall and poles erected specifically for this purpose and garlanded with flowers. Little silver bells were concealed among the flowers, tinkling softly in the gentle breeze, and everywhere there were standards emblazoned with the insignia of distinguished families, the insignia of the city of Babylon, the ancient symbols of the Chaldean kingdom, and in pride of place, above the central saluting stand, was the ensign of the royal household, with its three golden lions on a blue ground.
An orchestra of harpists, pipers, horn-blowers, players of the psaltery and the sackbut, was stationed by the grand Shamash Gate, waiting in bright sunshine to welcome the victors home.
Since the early morning a great crowd had been assembling on both sides of the triumphal route, on the wall, on the balconies and roofs of houses and temples. The colours of the flowers and the banners and the tapestries were enriched by the sunlight and for a moment Babylon, the greatest city on earth, resembled a great garland of glorious blooms, of the kind that enthusiastic people offer to their gods in token of gratitude for their grace and their generosity and their forbearance of the weaknesses of mankind. And just as the flustered messengers had predicted, the first ranks of the vanguard of the army were seen in the valley of Nukar in the early hours of the afternoon. A detachment of horsemen headed by three trumpeters approached the Shamash Gate, and on their arrival the trumpeters raised their gleaming instruments and blew a short fanfare, a signal to the others to take up their parade formation, sitting upright in the saddle and holding their lances at the vertical.
These soldiers were greeted by a shout of applause as they cantered through the gate without pausing there and stopped about a half a parasang further on. And then King Nebuchadnezzar was seen riding his horse at the head of the main body of his troops, flanked by his two senior commanders, clad in armour of pure gold, and wearing a gold, conical helmet with a gleaming diamond inset at the apex, reflecting back the light of the sun and dazzling anyone who caught its rays. The helmets of his two escorts were solid silver.
Behind the King, mounted on his mighty charger, white as snow as were the horses of his outriders, came the seventy-strong royal bodyguard mounted on horses black as night and with gold shields, and next in line were the horn-blowers and trumpeters with instruments at the ready and the drummers pounding out the rhythm of the march.
As soon as the King was seen approaching the Shamash Gate, the orchestra struck up with the popular marching song known as the “Anthem of Victory” or “Praised be the Gods” according to the ancient Chaldee version. The rousing strains of the song, sweeping across the parade ground, had the expectant crowd breaking into cries of “Long live the King!” and “Gods of Babylon, preserve the King!” and “The King is our God!” and similar spontaneous exclamations. Then the King’s trumpeters and horn-blowers raised their instruments and emitted three abrupt and intimidating blasts, and the crowd was hushed into silence.
The King approached the wide open gate, decked as it was with flowers, banners, tapestries and bells. And here he was met, as tradition demanded, by three of the elders of the city of Babylon, in colourful costume and with silver medals hanging about their necks. Bowing low before the King, seated aloft on his gilded saddle, they offered him bread and wine on a gold tray and greeted him: “In the name of the Gods of Babylon, we welcome the victor home from the battlefield!” And the King answered them: “Greetings to the fine folk of Babylon, its good citizens and all the peoples that the Gods of Babylon have placed beneath my sway.” And without dismounting from his horse, he took a small piece of the brittle bread and sipped from the goblet offered him.
At that moment the orchestra, silenced by the fanfare of the trumpeters and the horn-blowers, resumed the playing of their anthem, and to the strains of the orchestra and the cheers of the onlookers, the King finally entered the city and made his way in stately procession towards the triumphal route, passing the precinct of the shrines, while the advance formations that had awaited him fell in behind. And the massive, jostling crowds on the main thoroughfare caught the first glimpse of their monarch, and all cried with one voice “Long live the King” and the whole city reverberated to the sound, and this time the trumpeters and the horn-blowers and the drummers were unable to compete with it. And the shouting continued unabated until the King had passed through the crowds and reached the stand prepared for him, where he dismounted from his horse and took his seat on the throne.
Behind the first contingent of warriors the Babylonians had an opportunity to inspect the vast hoard of booty brought from Jerusalem: gold implements and ornaments and whole pillars looted from the Temple that had been sacked and burnt, and from the palace of the Kings of Judah built by Solomon, most glorious of all oriental monarchs. Seventy open wagons, laden to overflowing, carried the spoils of war, and the multitudes feasted their eyes on them, staring with a kind of appalled fascination. And trailing behind the wagons came the prisoners, barefoot and clothed in tatters, and chained together.
Bound in bronze shackles, led by a gigantic Negro slave, with only rags to cover his livid blue flesh and black holes instead of eyes, Zedekiah, King of Judah stumbled along, falling frequently before being brusquely hoisted back onto his feet and forced to march on.
When the troops came to a halt, two horsemen took Zedekiah from the black hands of the slave, one lifting him onto his saddle and the other supporting him from the side, and he was brought to the stand where Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, victor and conqueror, was enthroned. Once on the stand, Zedekiah tottered and fell before the throne, and from his parched lips emerged the word “Water!” – spoken in Hebrew, Aramaic, colloquial Chaldee and ancient Chaldee, all the languages that he knew.
The man standing beside the prisoner, an officer in purple uniform, raised questioning eyes to the King, and the King nodded. The officer held the mouth of a long clay bottle to the lips of the prisoner, who drank thirstily of the reviving liquid, his gullet, behind the dusty, unkempt beard, bobbing up and down at a rapid rate. When he had finished, he turned his head away, and the officer co
rked the bottle and put it back in his sabretache. Drops of water on Zedekiah’s beard glistened in the sunlight like morning dew.
The King stood up from his throne, to address the crowds and his troops, speaking in a clear, metallic and resonant voice, clearly audible from far away.
“I, King Nebuchadnezzar, by the grace and consent of God, King of mighty Babylon and of the nations of the world that I have conquered at God’s behest and by my own valiant hand – I fought the rebellious King of Judah and defeated him, and slew before him all his minions and all his household and then put out his eyes. His city I set ablaze, and I demolished its walls to the foundations. Such is the fate in store for all those who break their vows to their God and betray my trust!
“I, the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the peoples, nations, tongues and races which God has given into my hands, I the conqueror of the world, have accomplished what I set out to do, and so may I continue, for as long as God allows me!”
As the King concluded his brief oration, again that awesome cry arose from innumerable excited mouths and took hold in the city like fire, growing ever stronger and louder, and defying all the efforts of the King’s stewards to restrain and control it. And the King, clearly gratified, gave the signal, and the massed ranks of the army moved forward for the final phase of their triumphal march, weapons gleaming and flags flying proudly, dragging behind them the seventy wagons laden with looted treasure. And the cheering of the crowd continued unabated, as the army saluted its victorious King, once more enthroned in splendour.
