prophet speaks these words in direct contradiction to the facts on the ground. It is the work of poets to contradict the facts on the ground and to invite the listeners to embrace an alternative future. The poetry is grounded in a deep theological memory. But finally it depends on (inspired?) imagination to summon the community to an alternative reality. In all of these texts, poetic, imaginative discourse is required to circumvent the hopelessness of Babylonian reality. No one could see how to get from here to there. But the poet is into vision, not explanation. Those visions, moreover, are
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