¹But Abimelech took the figs in the burning heat; and coming upon a tree, he sat beneath its shade to rest himself a little.

²And leaning his head upon the basket of figs, he fell asleep and slept for sixty and six years; and he was not awakened from his slumber.

³And afterward, when he awoke from his sleep, he said: I slept sweetly for a little season, yet my head is heavy, for I did not sleep enough.

⁴Then he uncovered the basket of figs and found them dripping with milk.

⁵And he said: I would fain sleep yet a little longer, for my head is heavy. But I fear lest I fall asleep and be late in awaking, and my father Jeremiah should think ill of me; for had he not been in haste, he would not have sent me forth this day at the break of dawn.

⁶So I will arise and go forth in the burning heat; for is there not heat, is there not toil every day?

⁷So he arose and took the basket of figs and set it upon his shoulders, and he entered into Jerusalem and knew it not, neither his own house, nor the place; nor could he find his own kindred or any of his acquaintance.

⁸And he said: Blessed be the Lord, for a great trance hath come upon me this day!

⁹This is not the city of Jerusalem; and I have lost my way, for I came by the mountain road when I arose from my sleep; and since my head was heavy because I had not slept enough, I went astray.

¹⁰It shall seem a strange thing unto Jeremiah that I lost my way!

¹¹And he departed from the city; and as he searched, he beheld the landmarks thereof, and he said: Verily, this is the city; yet I went astray.

¹²And again he returned unto the city and searched, but found none of his own people; and he said: Blessed be the Lord, for a great trance hath come upon me!

¹³And again he departed from the city, and he tarried there grieving, not knowing whither he should go.

¹⁴And he set down the basket, saying: I will sit here until the Lord taketh this trance from me.

¹⁵And as he sat, he beheld an old man coming from the field; and Abimelech said unto him: I say unto thee, old man, what city is this?

¹⁶And he said unto him: It is Jerusalem.

¹⁷And Abimelech said unto him: Where is Jeremiah the priest, and Baruch the scribe, and all the people of this city? For I could not find them.

¹⁸And the old man said unto him: Art thou not from this city, seeing that thou dost remember Jeremiah this day, for thou askest after him after so long a time?

¹⁹For Jeremiah is in Babylon with the people; for they were taken captive by king Nebuchadnezzar, and Jeremiah is with them, to preach the good tidings unto them and to teach them the word.

²⁰As soon as Abimelech heard this from the old man, he said: Wert thou not an old man, and were it not that it is not lawful for a man to upbraid one elder than himself, I would laugh at thee and say thou art beside thyself; for thou sayest the people have been carried away captive into Babylon.

²¹Even had the torrents of heaven descended upon them, there hath not yet been time for them to go into Babylon!

²²For how much time hath passed since my father Jeremiah sent me unto the estate of Agrippa to bring a few figs, that I might give them unto the sick among the people?

²³And I went and gathered them; and when I came unto a certain tree in the burning heat, I sat down to rest a little, and I leaned my head upon the basket and fell asleep.

²⁴And when I awoke, I uncovered the basket of figs, supposing that I was late; and I found the figs dripping with milk, even as I had gathered them.

²⁵Yet thou dost say that the people have been carried away captive into Babylon.

²⁶But that thou mayest know, take the figs and behold!

²⁷And he uncovered the basket of figs for the old man, and he beheld them dripping with milk.

²⁸And when the old man saw them, he said: O my son, thou art a righteous man, and God would not suffer thee to behold the desolation of the city; therefore he brought this trance upon thee.

²⁹For behold, it is sixty and six years this day since the people were carried away captive into Babylon.

³⁰But that thou mayest know, my son, that what I tell thee is true, look into the field and behold that the ripening of the crops hath not yet appeared.

³¹And mark that the figs are not in their season, and be thou enlightened.

³²Then Abimelech cried out with a loud voice, saying: I bless thee, O God of heaven and earth, thou Rest of the souls of the righteous in every place!

³³Then he said unto the old man: What month is this?

³⁴And he said: Nisan, which is Abib.

³⁵And taking of the figs, he gave them unto the old man and said unto him: May God illumine thy way unto the city above, even Jerusalem.

³⁶And Abimelech, taking the figs in the burning heat, and coming upon a tree, sat beneath its shade to rest a little.

³⁷And leaning his head upon the basket, he fell asleep for seventy times. And this came to pass according to the commandment of God, because of the word which he spake unto Jeremiah: I will hide him.

³⁸And after he awoke, he said: I slept sweetly for a little season; and because of this my head is heavy, for I did not sleep enough.

³⁹And uncovering the figs, he found them dripping with milk, as though he had gathered them but a little while before.

⁴⁰And he said: I would fain sleep yet a little longer; but since Jeremiah sent me in much haste, if I do this I shall be late, and he shall be grieved.

⁴¹For is there not toil and heat every day? Nay, rather I shall depart with speed, and I will bring him healing, and then may I sleep.

⁴²And taking the figs, he went into Jerusalem, and he knew not his own house, nor that of his kindred, nor of his fellows.

⁴³And he said: Blessed be the Lord; a trance hath come upon me this day!

⁴⁴This is not the city; lacking sleep, I have gone astray. And he departed therefrom, and searching for the landmarks, he said: Verily, this is the city; yet I went astray.

⁴⁵And entering again and searching, he found none of his kindred or of his fellows; and he said: Blessed be the Lord; a great trance hath come upon me!

⁴⁶And going out, he tarried there grieving, not knowing what he should do.

⁴⁷And putting down the basket, he said: I must sit here until the Lord taketh the trance from me.

⁴⁸And as he sat, behold, an old man came from the field; and he said unto him: I say unto thee, old man, what city is this?

⁴⁹And he said: It is Jerusalem, my child.

⁵⁰And Abimelech said: And where is Jeremiah the priest of God, and Baruch the scribe, and all the people of the city? For I could not find them.

⁵¹And the old man said unto him: Art thou not from this city? This day thou hast remembered Jeremiah and asked after him.

⁵²Jeremiah hath been in Babylon with the people since they were made captives by Nebuchadnezzar the king, seventy times ago; and how is it that thou, being a young man and having never been old, art asking after the things which I myself have never beheld?

⁵³And when he had heard these things, Abimelech said unto him: Wert thou not an old man, and were it not that it is not lawful for a man of God to upbraid one elder than himself, I would laugh at thee and say thou art beside thyself, for saying that the people went captive into Babylon.

⁵⁴Even had the torrents of heaven been opened, and the angels of God come to take them with power and dominion, not yet would they have had time to go into Babylon!

⁵⁵For how much time hath passed since my father Jeremiah sent me unto the estate of Agrippa because of a few figs, that I might give them unto the sick of the people?

⁵⁶And coming upon a tree from out of the heat, I fell asleep for a little while.

⁵⁷Supposing that I was late, I uncovered the figs and found them dripping with milk, even as I had gathered them.

⁵⁸And thou sayest that the people were carried away captive into Babylon.

⁵⁹But that thou mayest know, and not account me a deceiver, take the figs and behold.

⁶⁰And when the old man beheld these things, he said: O my child, thou art the son of a righteous man, and God would not shew thee the desolation of this city; therefore he brought this trance upon thee.

⁶¹Behold, it is seventy times since the people were carried away captive into Babylon with Jeremiah, from this day.

⁶²But that thou mayest know, my child, that what I tell thee is true, look into the field and behold that the ripening of the crops hath not yet appeared.

⁶³And mark that the figs are not in their season, and be thou enlightened and persuaded that I speak the truth.

⁶⁴Then Abimelech, even as from a great soberness, beholding the land with care and the trees therein, said: Blessed be the God of heaven and earth, the Rest of the souls of the righteous.

⁶⁵And he said unto the old man: What month is this?

⁶⁶And the old man said: The twelfth.

⁶⁷And giving some of the figs unto the old man, he departed, having blessed him.