The fourth prophecy begins with "The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel" and continues until the end of this book. It consists of six sections: The first: "The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel." The second: "On that day, the Lord shall protect." The third: "Awake, O sword, against My shepherd." The fourth: "Behold, a day is coming for the Lord." The fifth: "And this shall be the plague." The sixth: "And it shall be that all who remain of the nations." And I have posed six questions regarding it:

The first question is regarding the phrase "And also upon Judah will be the siege against Jerusalem"—if this prophecy is a negative decree upon the nations, declaring their punishment for the evil they did in destroying Jerusalem, why is Judah included among them? Furthermore, from one perspective, it seems that Judah itself will be under siege from Heaven, as it says, "And also upon Judah there will be," yet from another perspective, the verse suggests that Judah will be besieging Jerusalem, driven by fear of the enemy, as it says, "Judah will be in the siege against Jerusalem." These two explanations contradict one another.

The second question concerns the beginning of the prophecy, which states, "The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel," but afterwards, there is no mention of Israel—only of Judah, as it says, "And also upon Judah there will be a siege against Jerusalem," and "And the clans of Judah shall say in their hearts," and "On that day, I will make the clans of Judah like a flaming pot among wood," and "The Lord will save the tents of Judah first," and similar phrases. It seems as though this divine providence applies only to the Second Temple period and to the people of Judah who returned there, rather than to the future return of all the tribes.

The third question relates to the verse, "And the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David," and then, "They shall mourn for him, and the land shall mourn, family by family." What do these verses refer to? And who is the subject of "They shall look to Me, whom they have pierced"? It is implausible that this refers to every Jew or the lowest among them who will die in that war, as some commentators explain, because why would such intense mourning be held for him—especially "the family of the house of David separately and their wives separately"? This interpretation has led Christian scholars to claim that the verse refers to their Messiah, Jesus, who was killed. It is necessary to remove this stumbling block from the path of my people by explaining the verses properly.

The fourth question pertains to the verse, "On that day, a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and impurity." This verse appears to indicate a negative decree against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as if they will be like a menstruant woman in impurity. Yet immediately following, it states, "I will cut off the names of the idols from the land," which suggests that the fountain being opened is not a negative sign.

The fifth question concerns the prophecy about false prophets and the spirit of impurity being removed from the land, stating that even a father and mother will kill their son if he falsely prophesies. This is difficult to understand, for from the destruction of the First Temple and the construction of the Second, prophecy ceased—not only for Israel but for the entire world. No nation or tongue has claimed to possess prophets or prophecy since then. If this prophecy refers to the future, what is the point of this promise, since prophecy has already ceased entirely? Because of this, some heretics have claimed that this prophecy was about the Second Temple period, during which prophecy ceased. However, its context proves otherwise—it applies to the future.

The sixth question concerns the verse, "And there shall be one day, known to the Lord, neither day nor night; but at evening time, there shall be light." This statement seems impossible—there is no intermediate time that is neither day nor night. Moreover, if it is called "one day," how can it be said that it is "neither day nor night"? Additionally, the phrase "at evening time, there shall be light" contradicts nature, for the sun rises and gives light in the morning, not in the evening. How can the natural order be reversed? Now, I will explain the verses in a way that resolves all these questions:

The general purpose of this prophecy is to foretell what will happen at the end of exile and the conclusion of divine wrath. The message is that Israel is holy to the Lord; all who consume it shall be guilty. All those who have destroyed Jerusalem will drink the cup of the Lord’s wrath and His great vengeance. Jerusalem will become a cup of poison and a burdensome stone for all nations—whoever touches it will suffer punishment. This is because the appointed and decreed time will arrive when the nations of Edom will gather against Jerusalem, but then the peoples of the East and the North will come against them, and it will be a war of the Lord between these nations. At that time, God will turn His providence and protection toward the Jewish people, making them like a firepot in wood—burning their enemies to the right and left. During this war, the leader of Israel's army will fall, and all of Israel will mourn for him, men and women alike. Then, God will open in Jerusalem a fountain of living waters and supreme prophecy to purify all sin and impurity. Idolatry and its prophets will be removed from all nations. However, the devastation of the nations—and even of Judah—will be so great that two-thirds of them will perish, while only a third will survive and be purified, like silver in the fire. Those who remain will be sanctified and cleave to God. In those days, when the Jews are in great suffering and distress, God will perform wonders and miracles. And at the height of their suffering, when darkness is greatest, the light of God's salvation will shine. From then on, Jerusalem will be settled and secure. The nations that remain will come to worship the Lord of all the earth and will recognize His divinity. Those who refuse to do so will be struck with plague and drought. All of this will be explained further in the upcoming verses.

"The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel… until 'On that day, the Lord shall protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem.'” The essence of this prophecy is that, after the previous prophecy explained that, due to the wickedness of the people during the Second Temple period, they were not deserving of any of the goodness that God had wished to bestow upon them — neither the vengeance upon their enemies, nor the ingathering of the exiles, nor the return of the Divine Presence, nor any of the other blessings — and instead, they experienced destruction and another exile at the hands of the children of Edom, God informed the prophet whether, after all this, at some point in time, those good promises that were not fulfilled during the Second Temple period would eventually come to pass. God told him that, without a doubt, there will come a known and predetermined time before Him, blessed be He, when all the good things He spoke concerning His people and His inheritance will be fulfilled. This is the meaning of the phrase "The burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel" — this is the prophecy given to this prophet regarding Israel, foretelling what will inevitably happen to them in the future. And He prefaced the announcement of these future events with the statement: “Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.” This is because the ultimate and intrinsic purpose of the future redemption is to perfect humanity as a whole. Since all the nations of the world, in their lands, their peoples, their religions, and their beliefs, are false and distorted — and they do not follow the laws of the King, the Lord of Hosts, and truth is absent from their mouths and hearts — therefore, God will create something new in the world: He will bring war between the nations and strike them with a mighty blow because of their evil deeds and false beliefs. Through the miracles and wonders that God, blessed be He, will perform in this process, all the inhabitants of the world will come to recognize and know the truth of His divinity, and they will all call upon His name to serve Him with one accord. This is why the prophecy says: “Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens and lays the foundation of the earth” — referring to the initial creation of this wondrous universe — “and who forms the spirit of man within him” — meaning that He created humanity for His glory, so that they would know and recognize the truth of His existence.

And because of this, He will make Jerusalem a "cup of poison" for all the nations — meaning, a cup of deadly poison, so that whoever drinks from it will die. So too, all those who besiege Jerusalem will be annihilated and perish without any effort. There are those who interpret "cup of poison" as connected to the word "end" (סוף) and "poison" (רעל) as meaning desolation, as in "and the cypresses languish" (Nahum 2:4). According to this, it means that Jerusalem will, at that time, be the end of destruction and desolation for all the nations. As for the phrase "and also upon Judah will be the siege," the commentators explained that Judah, too, will experience the cup of poison, since they will come along with the nations to besiege Jerusalem. Therefore, they too will suffer many troubles and calamities. However, it is more correct to explain that the "cup of poison" mentioned will also affect Judah, and the bet (ב) in "במצור" (in the siege) is a bet of causality — meaning "because of the siege" that will come upon Jerusalem, and because the people of Judah will be there, the cup will also pass over them. And with this, the first question is resolved.

Since in earlier times, nations came up to conquer Jerusalem — sometimes the children of Edom, sometimes the children of Ishmael — and the matter was easy for them, as they would conquer the city as soon as they arrived, the prophet says that it will not be so this time. For God will make Jerusalem a "burdensome stone" for all the nations — meaning, a stone so heavy that they will not be able to carry it on their shoulders, nor will they be able to lift it from the ground. And so, "all who burden themselves with it shall be lacerated" — their flesh and their hands will be torn by the weight of the stone they are trying to carry. This is a metaphorical expression, indicating that all those nations who come to conquer Jerusalem will perish and be destroyed there, for the city will be too heavy and difficult for them, to the point of death — like a man who tries to carry an unbearably heavy load, collapses beneath it, and dies. The prophet then explains how this great event will happen, saying: "And all the nations of the earth will gather against her." This means that this will occur when all the nations of the earth gather to go up against Jerusalem — referring to the watchers, who will come to conquer and take the city for themselves, and the nations of the East and North, the sons of Arabia, who will come to drive them out of the land. And in this way, "all the nations of the earth" will be gathered against her — these against those.

"And on that day, in that great war, I will strike every horse with confusion and its rider with madness" — meaning that those who come to besiege Jerusalem, neither they nor their horses will act in an orderly manner during the battle. The horses will be in confusion, without courage, and the riders will act like madmen, without reason, but in panic, without understanding. "And upon the house of Judah I will open My eyes" — meaning that God will protect those who are sitting in siege within Jerusalem, saving them from the hands of their enemies who are besieging them. Rashi and the Ibn Ezra explained "upon the house of Judah I will open My eyes" to mean that even though they are coming with those who are besieging Jerusalem, God will protect them so that they will not suffer the same harm and destruction that will come upon the besieging forces. Additionally, it is mentioned that God will perform another miracle: every horse from those who come to besiege Jerusalem will be struck with blindness, so that none of them will see where they are going or to which side they will fight.

The "chiefs of Judah" are the high officers and the second-in-commanders of the nation, they shall see God's hand upon their enemies and that they are saved from it. Because of this, they will say in their hearts that this is the finger of God, and they will beseech the inhabitants of Jerusalem that they pray and cry out to their God, for even while Jerusalem lies in waste, God still watches over it, and prayers done there are accepted by Heaven, and thats what "God, the lord of hosts, command for me by Jerusalem of their God". This means that every person in a position of honor in all of the cities of Judah will say "command for me and thus encourage the inhabitants of Jerusalem to pray on my behalf"

"And the Lord promises them that on that day the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not need to pray, because He is their God by Himself, and by His will He will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery cauldron in the midst of wood" — meaning like a great bonfire when it is placed on the wood, because "cauldron" comes from the word "kirim" (furnaces). Likewise, they will be like a flaming torch when it burns on the stack. The leaders of Judah will strike right and left at all the nations coming against them and those surrounding them, in such a way that Jerusalem will sit again in its place, and the nations will not conquer or destroy it, as they had intended to do. "And Jerusalem will sit again in its place" — this phrase, repeated again, emphasizes the true meaning which I will explain here, and I have already pointed it out to you. When Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus and the Roman soldiers, its walls were thrown to the ground, and all its houses were ruined, leaving it desolate like a field that is not worked. Later, the emperor Hadrian commanded the city of Jerusalem to be rebuilt. However, it was not rebuilt in the same exact location as it was originally, and the proof of this is that when Jesus was crucified and buried, it is known that his burial place was outside the city of Jerusalem, like other cemeteries which were all outside the city because of impurity. The law states that those condemned to death by the court are taken outside the city (as it says in Leviticus 24:14, "Take the blasphemer outside the camp"). The Rambam writes in his Laws of Sanhedrin that they used to take them six miles away from the city. Since Jesus was crucified and buried there, it shows that the city was not built in its original place, but rather in the area of the previous burial grounds. Therefore, when it says here, "Jerusalem will sit again in its place," the prophet needed to say "again in Jerusalem" to indicate that the city will not remain in its current location, but rather will return to its original place.

And the Lord tells the prophet that on that day the Lord will save the tents of Judah first, and they are the people of Judah who live in the cities before the salvation of Jerusalem, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than that of the people of Judah. Because the house of David is inside Jerusalem, if they were saved first, they would boast over the people of Judah who are outside, saying that it was through their strength and valour that the salvation came. However, when the first salvation is for the people of Judah, who are outside, the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than theirs. And the matter is that the beginning of the war will be outside, before the people of Jerusalem go out. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, and the people of Judah, who are in the cities, and half the people who have already gone into exile from the city, as will be remembered, will strive to avenge themselves on their enemies. Then the inhabitants of Jerusalem will also come, and in this way, the first salvation will be for the inhabitants of the cities, and after that, the salvation will come to the people of the city. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that 'the Lord will save the tents of Judah' refers to those coming with the enemies, for it is the way of the camps to dwell in tents. For when they see the defeat of the nations, they will begin to fight them, and that is what was said earlier, 'they will consume on the right hand and on the left.' Afterwards, the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go out and also strike them, and in this way, the salvation will first be for the thousands of Judah, and after that, the salvation of Jerusalem. And according to the content of the matter, it seems to me that when the people of the East and the North come to fight the watchers, their first battle will be at the end of the land of Judah, as they enter the land with the watchers who are spreading throughout the land. Since there will be vengeance from the Lord against them, the Jews in the villages who live in the open cities will go out to this war and strike their enemies as they wish. Afterwards, the war will spread further to Jerusalem, and therefore it was said that the Lord will save the tents of Judah first. And this name that appears in the words of Zechariah, namely, the leaders of Judah, is not commonly used by the other prophets, and I think He called them this to hint at their small number, as they were few after their many were exiled, and therefore He called them 'leaders of Judah,' as if He said 'the heads of the leaders of Judah.' And the house of David mentioned here, the commentators explained it to mean the descendants of the house of David and his family. And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra wrote that the house of David until today is in the city of Baghdad, the capital of Ishmael, and they are the heads of the exile, a large family, and they have the book of lineage from ancient times. And it is true that there were thrones for judgement there, the thrones of the house of David, as Rabbi Benjamin wrote in his travels that he saw them there, but he did not write that they were a large family, only distinguished individuals. And also in Spain, after the destruction of the First Temple, Rabbi Isaac ibn Ghayyat wrote that two families from the house of David came: one from the family of the sons of Daud, who settled in Alusna, and the other from the family of the sons of Abarbanel, who settled in Shibiliya, from which came the poor thousands. But it is not appropriate to interpret the phrase 'so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be greater than that of the people of Judah' to mean that the descendants of David will be so many that they will be the main force in the war, and perhaps not all of them will be in Jerusalem. Therefore, I think that when He says 'the house of David,' He means only the inhabitants of Jerusalem who were from the tribe of Judah and his kingdom, because David captured Zion, and Jerusalem is called the city of David. Therefore, He said again 'and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem,' which refers to the other tribes who live there. For this reason, it was said afterwards, 'the family of the house of David,' which refers to his descendants and family specifically, but the house of David alone should be understood here as referring to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the tribe of Judah, and the same as 'on that day, a fountain will be opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem,' for always the inhabitants of Jerusalem will be remembered as part of the house of David, as though He said to the tribe of Judah and the other tribes. And now, all this was mentioned concerning Judah, and not Israel, even though the beginning of the prophecy was 'the burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel,' because the Lord chose Judah to be the leader, and through the division of the kingdoms, the kingdom called Israel was not from the descendants of the tribe of Judah. But when the kingdom is restored to unity, it will be called all the house of Judah and the leaders of Judah, and because Jerusalem is the head of the whole kingdom, only the inhabitants of Jerusalem are mentioned, and there all the kingdom and tribes are included. And this resolves the second question.

On that day, the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, meaning that when the battle comes before the gates of Jerusalem, the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go out to fight their enemies and take vengeance on their wrongdoers, and the Lord will protect them from their enemies. However, when it says "the one who is fallen among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them," the commentators explain that the weak and fallen among them will be like David, who was a mighty warrior and a man of war, and the house of David, which refers to his family, will be like God, as Jonathan translated it as "like great ones." Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra interpreted it as "like supreme angels," and so did Rashi and the Radak, who explained "like the angel of the Lord before them" in the context of war, as well as "they will look at me whom they have pierced." They explained that if the nations pierce one of the Israelites in battle, even if he is the least among them, Israel will raise their eyes toward heaven and mourn for him. The sages, may their memory be blessed, also interpreted it as the fallen among them being like David, as it says, "Your head is like Carmel" (Song of Songs 7:6). God said, "The leaders among you are precious to me like Elijah who went up to the top of Carmel," and "the humble head is like purple" (Song of Songs 7:6), meaning the poor among you are precious to me like David, as it says, "The one who falls among them on that day will be like David." It is more accurate to interpret this as referring to the Messiah son of Joseph, as our sages explained in Tractate Sukkah (52a), since he will be a mighty warrior from the tribe of Joseph and will be the commander of the Lord’s army in that initial battle, and he will die in that battle. The prophet clarified that his death will not be because of sin, nor will it be because of his weakness, for he is called "fallen" only because he will fall and die there, as it says, "And the helper will stumble" (Isaiah 31:3). That Messiah who will fall and die among them on that day will be a complete figure like David, who was a man who feared the Lord and greatly delighted in His commandments, and he will be mighty and a man of war like him. Moreover, the inhabitants of Jerusalem who go out with him to those wars will not be wicked or sinful, so that it should be thought that their Messiah died because of their sin. They will be like 'Elohim', meaning like the supreme angels, holy and pure, and this will not be due to their weakness, as they will be like the angel of the Lord before them, meaning they will strike and kill their enemies like the angel of the Lord who smote Sennacherib’s army. From this, you will understand that when it says "the house of David will be like God" it refers to the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as I have explained.

Similarly, it says, "And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplications," and it was said of the children of Judah that they are all called the house of David, and of the other tribes that are included among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, it says "the inhabitants of Jerusalem." It is mentioned that the death of that righteous person will be precious in the eyes of the Lord, and because of this, the Lord will seek ways to destroy all the nations, meaning that when the Messiah, son of Joseph, dies in battle, the Lord’s anger and jealousy against those nations will be kindled. Therefore, He will cause events to strengthen their war efforts in order to destroy and annihilate them. As a result, most of them will be destroyed, and the third will remain, and the majority of them will be wiped out. This will be aided by the Lord pouring out a spirit of grace and supplications on them, meaning He will put it into their hearts to pray and plead before Him for the death of that righteous one, and they will lift their eyes to heaven and look to Him, blessed be He, for that perfect one whom the enemies will pierce. They will say before Him, "The spirit of our face, anointed one of the Lord, has been captured in the wickedness of the enemies, whom we said, 'In their shadow, we will live among the nations,'" and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, as a father mourns for his son.

And just as a person would say about his firstborn son that he will die, and the mourning over him in Jerusalem will be like the mourning for Hadad-Rimmon in the Valley of Megiddo, which was a great and famous mourning among them in ancient times. Jonathan understood that there is no connection to Hadad-Rimmon in the Valley of Megiddo, and therefore he interpreted that there are two types of mourning: one like the mourning for Ahab, son of Omri, whom Hadad-Rimmon, son of Tabramon, killed, and the other like the mourning for Josiah, son of Amon, whom Pharaoh Necho killed in the Valley of Megiddo, as it is said, "And Jeremiah lamented, and all the officials and the women mourned in their mourning," and so it was interpreted in the first chapter of Megillah (Daf 3a).