In the shadow of the walls, where the watchfires fade, a king asks for heaven, but fears what heaven says. Zedekiah wears the crown, but the crown wears him thin. He calls for the prophet while he bargains with sin. Egypt rides like thunder, Pharaoh’s banners in the sun. The people shout deliverance, but the judgment is not done. Jeremiah hears the Word, and the Word cuts like a blade: Do not trust the fleeing horse, do not trust the promises made. They ask for prayer, but not for truth. They want the fire without the proof. The wounded will rise, the broken will stand. Babylon returns with a torch in its hand. Chain me down, but the Word still rises, throw me deep where the daylight dies. Kings may tremble, walls may fall, but the voice of the Lord breaks through them all. Mud below me, fire in the sky, truth is living though the kingdoms die. Chain me down, let the whole world hear: the Word of the Lord is near. The Word still rises! The Word still rises! At the Benjamin Gate, they seized him in the street. Traitor to Judah! Babylon at your feet! I am not deserting, but the captain would not hear. So they dragged him to the rulers with their hatred and their fear. They beat the faithful witness, locked him under stone. But the fire in his spirit did not bow to pain alone. Then the king came whispering, hidden from the crowd: Is there a word from the Lord? And the answer came aloud. Chain me down, but the Word still rises, throw me deep where the daylight dies. Kings may tremble, walls may fall, but the voice of the Lord breaks through them all. Mud below me, fire in the sky, truth is living though the kingdoms die. Chain me down, let the whole world hear: the Word of the Lord is near. No water in the pit, only hunger, mud, and stone. Lowered by the hands of men with murder in their bones. Down, down, down— into the mire. Down, down, down— but not into the fire. Lift him out! Lift him out! There is blood upon this town. Lift him out! Lift him out! Do not let the faithful drown. Lift him out! Lift him out! When the cowards wear the crown. Lift him out! Lift him out! God sees the man who stands his ground. Wall by wall! Stone by stone! Fire falls! The king alone! Wall by wall! Stone by stone! Fire falls! The king alone! Bronze on the wrists, smoke on the stones. The princes flee through the garden alone. Eyes put out, chains drawn tight. He would not see truth, now he walks without sight. Palace in ashes, houses in flame. The Word he rejected has spoken his name. Bound among captives, Jeremiah stands. Chains on his wrists, but the Lord holds his hands. Chain me down, but the Word still rises, from the prison, from the dust. Empires burn and kings are blinded, but the Lord remembers trust. Mud below me, fire in the sky, truth is living though the kingdoms die. Chain me down, let the nations hear: the Word of the Lord is near. Chain me down— the Word still rises. Chain me down— the Word still rises. Chain me down— the Word still rises. The Word of the Lord is near.
