Midrash su Geremia 29:21

Rav Isaac bar Samuel bar Martha said: There were two ways before him, one long and one short. The short one was full of pebbles, but the long one did not have a pebble in it. He left the long one and went by the short one on the Sabbath. Concerning him it was stated (in Prov. 19:2): AND ONE WHO HASTENS WITH THE FEET IS A SINNER. Our masters have taught (in Avot. 4:2): ONE GOOD LEADS TO ANOTHER, AND ONE TRANSGRESSION LEADS TO ANOTHER. A person should not worry about a sin which he commits by mistake, but rather that an opening has been made for him to sin, whether by mistake or deliberately. Moreover, one should not rejoice over a good deed which comes to him (for fulfillment), but rather that many good deeds are going to come to him.³⁹Cf. Avot. 4:2: THE RECOMPENSE FOR A GOOD DEED IS A GOOD DEED. Therefore, if one has sinned by mistake, this is not a good sign. How much the more so if he sins deliberately! About him it has been stated (in Prov. 19:2): AND ONE WHO HASTENS WITH THE FEET IS A SINNER. So also (in Prov. 6:16–19): SIX THINGS THE LORD HATES…: HAUGHTY EYES, A LYING TONGUE,… FEET QUICK TO RUN TO EVIL, <….> This refers to Ahab ben Kolaiah and Zedekiah ben Maaseiah (the false prophets of Jer. 29:21–23), who sinned in Jerusalem.⁴⁰Sanh. 93a; PRK 24:15. And that was not enough for them, but after they had gone into exile in Babylon, they added to their sin. And what had they done in Jerusalem? They were false prophets. Moreover, they did not forsake their trade in Babylon. Now they would pimp for each other. Ahab would go to visit <one of> the great ones in the kingdom and would say to him: I am so-and-so, a prophet. The Holy One has sent me to say something to your wife. Then he would say to him: Here she is before you. Go on in. When he was alone with her, he would say to her: The Holy One wants to raise up prophets from you. Simply go, have intercourse with Zedekiah, and give birth to prophets from him. So he would come and have intercourse with her. Then Zedekiah would similarly pimp for Ahab. And this was their trade for several years. Come and see how wicked they were. They gave themselves a reputation in Babylon for being great prophets. When some woman became pregnant and saw one of them, she would say to him, O Prophet, what is in my womb? A male or a female? He would say: A male. Then he would go to her neighbors and say: So-and-so will bear a female. If she bore a male, she would say: So-and-so, the prophet, told me. If it was a female, the neighbors would say: Thus did so-and-so, the prophet, tell us; but he did not want to worry you. Now they acted in this way until they came to Shemirah, the wife of Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah said to her. Thus says the Lord: Inform Ahab….⁴¹For the missing part of the story, see Tanh., Lev. 1:6; Sanh. 93a; PRK 24:15. What caused these wicked men to be burned? It was because they ran with their feet after transgressions. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 19:2): AND ONE WHO HASTENS WITH THE FEET IS A SINNER. Nevertheless (ibid.) ALSO, A SOUL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE IS NOT GOOD. Therefore, the Holy One said to Moses: Say unto Israel (in Lev. 4:2) WHEN A SOUL SINS BY MISTAKE.

(Jer. 29, 21, 23) Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Achab, the son of Kolayah, and of Zedekiah, the son of Maasseyah, who prophesy unto you in my name of false-hood… . And of them there shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah who are in Babylon, saying: May the Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Achab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire. "It does not read (Sarfam), whom he burned, but it says (Kalan) whom he roasted," said R. Jochanan in the name of R. Simon b. Jochai: Infer from this that they were roasted as people roast grain. (Ib. ib, 23) Because they have done scandalous deeds in Israel, and have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors. What had they done? They went to the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. Achab said to her: "The Lord has commanded me to tell thee that thou shalt listen to Zedekiah." And the latter said the same — that she should hearken to Achab. And she straightway went and told this to her father. To which he answered: "It is known to me that their God abhors incest. When they shall come to you again, send them to me. When they did come, she sent them to her father; Nebuchadnezzar asked them: "Who told you to do so?" The Holy One, praised be He!" they said. "But Chananyah and his colleagues told me that such a thing is prohibited," said he. And they answered: "We are also prophets as they are, and this command, although not given to them, was, nevertheless, given to us." Then said the king: "I would try you as I did Chananyah and his colleagues." And to their claim, "They were three, and we are only two," he said: "You may choose a third one, whomever you like." And they selected Joshua, the high-priest, thinking that his merit was so great that it would save them also. Joshua was then brought, and all three were thrown into the kiln. They were burned, but Joshua was saved; only his garments were singed. And this is what is meant by the passage (Zech. 3, 1-3) And he showed me Joshua the high-priest standing before the angel of the Lord. And the Lord said unto the accuser, the Lord rebuke thee, O accuser, etc. Satan said to him: "I know that you are an upright man, but why did the fire affect your garments, which was not the case with Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah?" And he answered: "They were three, and I one." "But was not Abraham the patriarch also only one when he was thrown into the kiln," Satan asked. "With Abraham," said he, "there were no wicked whom the fire was granted permission to affect, but with me were two wicked, and such permission was given to the fire." And this is what people say: "If there are two dried pieces of wood, and a green one between, the green piece will burn with the dry ones." But why was he punished? R. Papa said: "Because his sons married such wives as were not fit for the priesthood, and he did not protest against it; and this is what is meant by the passage (Ib. 3, 3) And Joshua was clothed with filthy garments. Was it then the habit of Joshua to wear filthy garments? But infer from this that his sons married such wives as were not fit for the priesthood and he did not protest agninst it."

Rabbi Tachanah said: Israel was exiled to Babylon, and did not forsake their evil deeds. Ahab, son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah, son of Maaseiah, became lying healers, and they healed the wives of the Chaldeans, and came unto them for coition. The king heard thereof, and commanded that they should be burnt. They both said: Let us say that Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, was with us, and he will save us from the burning with fire. They said to him: O our lord, O king, this man was with us in every matter. The king commanded that the three should be burnt by fire. And the angel Michael descended and saved Joshua from the fiery flames, and brought him up before the throne of glory, as it is said, "And he shewed me Joshua, the high priest" (Zech. 3:1); and the other two were burnt by fire, as it is said, "And of them shall be taken up a curse…. The Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire" (Jer. 29:22). It is not written here "whom the king of Babylon burnt with fire," but "whom he roasted," hence we learn || that his hairs were singed on account of their sins, as it is said, "In the pride of the wicked the poor is hotly pursued" (Ps. 10:2). Whence do we know that he was delivered? Because it is said, "And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan.… Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" (Zech. 3:2).