Then he commanded the angels, and they brake down the corners of the wall and loosened the foundations, and made weak the fastenings of the gates; and after that a great voice sounded out of the temple, saying, “Enter, ye enemies, and come in, ye adversaries; for He that kept the house hath departed from it.”  And the angels went up again into heaven.  But Jeremiah and Baruch went into the temple, and took the vessels of the sanctuary and delivered them to the earth, as they were commanded; and forthwith the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up.  And for the rest of that night they wept and lamented; and in the morning Jeremiah called for Ebedmelech and said to him, “Take a basket and go to the vineyard of Agrippa, and fetch me some figs, that I may give them to the sick and needy among the people; and the blessing of God go with thee.”  And Ebedmelech set forth.

On that same morning the host of the Chaldeans surrounded the city, and a trumpet sounded in heaven, and they came against the city; and the gates gave way before them, and the wall fell, and they entered the city and laid it desolate, and took the people captive.  But Jeremiah took the keys of the temple, and went outside the city and threw them up towards the sun, saying, “O sun, I say unto thee, take these keys and keep them until God shall require them of thee; for we are not found worthy to keep them any longer.”  And they vanished out of his sight.  Then he returned, and the Chaldeans took him prisoner and carried him away to Babylon.  But Baruch fled, and took refuge in a tomb, and there he remained in great sorrow of heart.

Now Ebedmelech had gathered the figs, and filled his basket; and by the time he had finished, the day had become burning hot.  So he sat him down under a tree to rest a little, and then laid his head on the basket of figs and fell into a slumber.  And he slept for sixty-six years without waking.

And when the sixty-six years were over, and the time of deliverance of the children of Israel was near, Ebedmelech woke up, and said to himself, “I should have been glad to sleep a little longer, for my head is still heavy; I have not slept my sleep out.”  And he uncovered his basket and looked at the figs, and saw that they were oozing with juice; and said again, “Well, I should like to sleep yet a little, but I am afraid I may oversleep myself; and if I do, father Jeremiah will be disappointed; for if he had not been in haste for the figs, he would not have sent me out so early.”  So he rose and picked up his basket of figs and put it on his shoulder, and went back to Jerusalem.  When he came near the city he could not recognise it, and when he had entered the gate he could not either find his own house or see any of his acquaintance.  He said therefore within himself, “Some strange delusion has come upon me; I have missed my way in coming over the hills:  it must be that I was not fully awake.  This will be a wonderful thing to