the wise, nor the Word from the prophet. Come let us
smite him with the tongue and pay no heed to any of his words.

O Lord, unto me give Thou heed, 19
And hark to the voice of my plea!(720)
Shall evil be rendered for good, 20
That they dig a pit for my life?(721)
O remember my standing before Thee,
To bespeak their good--
To turn Thy fury from off them.
Give therefore their sons to famine, 21
And spill them out to the sword.
Let their wives be widows and childless
And their men be slain of death--
And smitten their youths by the sword in battle.
May crying be heard from their homes, 22
As a troop comes sudden upon them!
For a pit have they dug to catch me,
And hidden snares for my feet.
But Thou, O Lord, hast known 23
Their counsels for death against me.
Pardon Thou not their iniquities,(722)
Nor blot from Thy Presence their sins;(723)
But let them be tumbled before Thee
Deal with them in time of Thy wrath.

Verses 21-23 are rejected by Duhm and Cornill, along with XI. 22_b_, 23,
XII. 3_b_, XVII. 18 for no textual or metrical reasons, but only because
these scholars shrink from attributing to Jeremiah such outbursts of
passion: just as we have seen them for similarly sheer reasons of
sentiment refuse to consider as his the advice to desert to the
enemy.(724) Yet they admit inconsistently the genuineness of VI. 11, XI.
20, XV. 15.(725)

Lord, Thou beguiledst me, and beguiled I let myself be, XX. 7
Too strong for me, Thou hast conquered,
A jest I have been all the day,
Every one mocks me.
As oft as I speak I must shriek, 8
Crying "Violence and spoil."
Yea, the Word of the Lord is become my reproach
All day a derision.
If I said, I'll not mind Him(726) 9
Nor speak in His name,(727)
Then in my heart 'tis a burning fire,
Shut up in my bones.
I am worn away with refraining,
I cannot hold on.(728)
For I hear the whispering of many, 10
Terror all round!
"Denounce, and let us denounce him,"
--And these my familiars!--
Keep ye watch for him tripping,
Perchance he'll be fooled,
"And we be more than enough for him,
And get our revenge."
Yet the Lord He is with me, 11
Mighty and Terrible!
So they that hunt me shall stumble
And shall not prevail.
Put to