THIS Chapter is either the explanation of the latter part of Chapter II., beginning the cedars, the mountains, etc. (2:13, ff.) or the continuation of the subject, commencing Cease, ye from man, etc. (2:22); I adopt this latter view.

משען ומשענה. The stay and the staff. Poetically said for every kind of staff. ¹ The explanation of the figure follows immediately, The whole stay of bread and water.

footnotes: ¹ The repetition of a noun with or without the variation of its form is often used for כל, all; for instance, איש איש every man, Lev. 15:2, חכם מחכם wise in every respect (Prov. 30:24), שממה ומשמה all kinds of desolation (Ez. 6:14, comp. Job 30:3).

The mighty man. He who has the strength required for a successful war.²

footnotes: ² The words required for a successful war have no direct equivalent in the Hebrew text, but are understood. Without this addition the remark of I. E. would have no sense. I.E. evidently endeavours to show how all the categories mentioned in this verse might contribute to save the nation from imminent ruin by a foreign conqueror. The first two are enabled by valour and practice to lead the people against the approaching enemy, the second two to keep them from unjust, the third from unsuccessful undertakings. I. E. adds before the astrologer the word also (גם), and before the charmer (ver. 3) the word even (אפילו), to indicate the distinction between them and the others; while the latter promote the welfare of the country in reality, the merits of the former exist only in the imagination of the credulous people.

The man of war. He who has the experience.

The judge, who is asked to show the right way according to the law. The prophet, who serves the same purpose; and also the astrologer,³ who foretells future events through the science of astrology.

footnotes: ³ A.V., the prudent. Root קסם, to decide, to give judgment. In his commentary on Deut. (18:10) Ibn Ezra leaves it uncertain whether קוסם has the general meaning prognosticator, and includes the מעונן מנחש מכשף as three kinds of קוסם who pretend to derive their knowledge of the future from the clouds, from predictive signs or experiments, or the special meaning, an astrologer, who foretells the future by stars; קוסם is in the latter case coordinate with the other three.

The ancient, who has profited by the changes and trials of life.

חכם חרשים The cunning artificer.

נבון לחש The charmer. Even he that understands to charm the serpents, will be taken away. According to some, the eloquent orator; comp. מתלחשים whispering (2 Sam. 12:19).⁴

footnotes: ⁴ לחש, to whisper, to speak; 1st ,נבון לחש. One that understands to whisper, to conjure by whispering charming formulas. 2nd. One that understands to speak ; an orator.

תעלולים Babes. The ת is not a radical letter; root עול to be young. Comp. עולל child (Jer. 6:11). העלולים is here an adjective, they that are young,⁵ החכם the wise האיש החכם═, The wise man; העלולים, Young תעלולים אנשים═, Young men. More correctly this word may be explained as an abstract noun, which is used instead of the concrete ; childishness═children. but in chap. 66:4, it is a noun, childishness, delusions.

footnotes: ⁵ The adjective (שם התואר) includes those adjectives which in consequence of the qualified noun being omitted, are treated as nouns; e.g.,

וְנִנַּשׂ And shall be oppressed. Niphal; like נִצָּב (3:13), he is standing up. According to some, and shall oppress; the נ being radical, and נִנַּשׁ piel.

ירהבו They will have power or dominion ;⁶ comp. רהב power (51:9)

footnotes: ⁶ A.V., Shall behave himself proudly.

The house of his father. His family.

לכה To thee. It is the same as לך though having an additional שמלה לכה .ה thy clothing be to thee.⁷ We do not ask thee to give us clothing.

footnotes: ⁷ A.V., Thou hast clothing.

This ruin. Jerusalem (comp. 5:8.).—This is just the style in which people speak while labouring under strong excitement.⁸

footnotes: ⁸ This remark seems to refer to this ruin, which Jerusalem in her despair exclaims, while pointing to herself.

יִשא He will swear (comp. לא תשא את שם יי thou shalt not swear by the name of the Lord, Exod. 20:7).

חובש Ruler.⁹ It is the same verb as in הובש מכה ‘ dressing a wound ;’ comp. עֶצֶר power (Judg. 18:7).

footnotes: ⁹ A.V., Healer. According to I. E., 1st ,עצר═חבש, to keep or press together; 2nd, to rule. See note 20, c. i., and I. E. on Job 34:17.

There is no clothing. Even for myself.

כי לשונם ומעלליהם אל ה׳ For their tongue and their doings with regard to the Lord.¹⁰

footnotes: ¹⁰ A.V., Are against the Lord.

למרות To provoke. ל has Pathah, because of the omission of ה, the characteristic of the Hiphil; להמרות ═ למרות comp. להנחותם ═ לנחותם to lead them (Ex. 13:21).

The eyes of His glory. Publicly.¹¹

footnotes: ¹¹ The eyes of His glory are, according to Ibn Ezra, the eyes of all nature, which witness the actions done publicly.

הכרת. According to some, the cutting off, derived from כרת to cut off, but more correctly, the knowing of; comp. הכירהו they knew him (Gen. 42:8); the Dagesh in כ indicates the omission of the radical נ which appears in ינכר He is known (Prov. 26:24).¹² He who is able to judge of the constitution of the whole body from the face will find in it the declaration and confession of the truth; no further evidence is wanted.¹³

footnotes: ¹² The first explanation is probably rejected, because הכרת would then be status constructus with the definite article ; and this is very exceptional. ¹³ Their evil designs are clearly written in their face, and easily to be discovered by those who are versed in reading countenances.

And they tell their sin like Sodom. They do not even conceal their sins; for he who does conceal them feels at least ashamed of what he has done.

אמרו According to some, Praise ye (comp. Dent. 26:17); I prefer Say ye, from אמר to say—in the heart or with the mouth.¹⁴

footnotes: ¹⁴ In the heart or with the mouth—that is, to think or to declare—is added because the context—here as well as Deut. 26:17—requires rather the verb to think, to be convinced, than to speak. In his commentary on Deut. 27:11, I. E. confesses to have obtained this explanation from R. Jehudah Hallevi.

Shall they eat. They, that is, all the righteous (for these words have to be supplied);¹⁵ as if to say, Do not think that only one righteous man shall enjoy the fruit of his actions. This verse is closely connected with the preceding.¹⁶

footnotes: ¹⁵ The ellipsis is assumed by I. E. to explain the discord between the singular צדיק and the plural יאכלו. ¹⁶ The preceding verse concludes with exclaiming : Woe unto them, etc. In this verse it is shown that they might as well have enjoyed the divine blessings, for the righteous enjoy, etc.

רע. Bad. According to some it is in apposition to אוי woe. Woe, evil, etc. I take it rather as an attribute to רשע woe to the hardened sinner.

נגשיו מעולל Every one of his rulers is playful.¹⁷ The מ in מעולל is not essential; מעולל is an adjective, and not a participle.¹⁸

footnotes: ¹⁷ A.V., Children are their oppressors. Compare 2:11. ¹⁸ מְעוֹלֵל is the regular form of the participle Polel of עלל, to do, to mock; according to I. E. it is an adjective, and has the same meaning as עוֹלֵל young, playful.

מישריך ═ מאשריך They that lead thee. א in מאשריך is instead of י, for the letters א ה ו י interchange; comp. 1:17.—They that ought to guide you mislead you.

בלעו They have destroyed. (Literally, they have swallowed up.) They have destroyed the way to such an extent that it is no more to be recognised.

The Lord standeth up. Therefore the Lord standeth up.¹⁹ לריב To plead. It is not the noun, ריב the strife, with the preposition ל, but infinitive Hiphil; the same is to be said concerning. לדין To judge.—This verse refers to the punishments to be decreed by Him.

footnotes: ¹⁹ This remark of I. E. is to show that the prediction contained in this verse is the consequence of the preceding, and that the conjunction על כן therefore is to be supplied.

עמים People. A great many; comp Deut. 32:19

Ye have eaten up, etc. How can you be the judges of my people, when you yourselves, etc. בערתם You have eaten up. Comp. Exod. 22:4. The vineyard. That is, Israel.

מלכם What mean you ? Dagesh in ל compensates for the omitted מה לכם ═ מלכם .ה is compounded, of two words, like (מה זה ═)מזה What is that (Exod. 4:3).

Ye grind. Metaphorically said, for you put to shame and contempt.

ומשקרות And wantonly looking about. In Rabbinical literature a woman of this class is called סקרנית (Bereshith Rabba, 100:19).

וטפוף According to some, Speaking; comp. והטף And prophesy (Ez. 21:2); but the grammatical principles of the Hebrew language will not admit of this explanation ; according to others, Mincing—comp. אטיף, the Chaldæan translation of הציף He made overflow (Deut. 11:8)—‘ moving slowly, like one that swims upon the surface of the water.’ Others, again, derive it from טף Little ones (Est. 3:16), and I incline to this opinion ; walking slowly like a child. ²⁰

footnotes: ²⁰ The first explanation makes טפוף related to נטף, to drop; Hiphil: to speak, to prophesy. The second derives it from צוף ═ טוף, to swim, to go slowly; the third takes it as a denominative from טף, child: to walk like a child.

תעכסנה They put spurs. They wear spurs on their feet, like riding-men; according to some, they make a tinkling with their spurs.

ושפח And he will smite with a scab. It has the same root as מספחת scab (Lev. 13:6), although written with שׂ; comp. בסורי ═ בשׂורי when I turn away (Hos. 9:12).

פתהן Some supply א, so that פאתהן ═ פתהן the locks of their head ; but I compare it rather with הפותות the hinges (1 Kings 7:50), that is, the back of the doors, and find in this verse the description of the plagues of the whole body, from the head to the foot.

עכסים Ornaments for the foot.

שביסים Hapax legomenon; according to some, an ornament for the legs.

שהרנים A moonlike ornament of the girdle, derived from the Chaldæan סהרא moon; סהר (Song 7:2) is generally explained in the same way.

נטיפות Hap. leg. According to some, an ornament for the hair.

שרות An ornament for the ears; according to others, bracelets; comp. שרין the Chaldean translation of אצעדה bracelets (Num. 31:50).

רעלות Hap. leg. An ornament for the cheeks.

פארים comp. תפארת ornament; for the hands.

צעדות An ornament for the arms; comp. אצעדה bracelet (which Saul wore on his arm, 2 Sam. 1:10). א of אצעדה is pleonastic, as the א in אזרוע (Jer. 32:21).

קשרים A well-known ornament for the neck.

בתי הנפש An ornament for the breast; the breast is called נפש soul, because it is the seat of the soul, it contains the heart.

לחשים Amulets. Inscriptions on gold and silver, for a charm.

טבעות Rings, for the fingers.

נזמי האף Nose jewels; I have already described them (Gen. 24:22)

מחלצות Changeable suits of garments, worn over the dress; comp. חלצתו his armour (2 Sam. 2:21), which is worn over the garments.²⁰

footnotes: ²⁰ The Hebrew text has אלה בגדים, which is evidently a mistake, and is to be altered to על הבגדים.

מעטפות Mantles. A dress wherein the woman wraps herself. According to some, מחלצות shifts; מעטפות trowsers.

מטפחות Vails (comp. Ruth 3:15).

הריטים According to some, a dress in the form of a Taleth²¹ (this word has a similar meaning in Arabic ²²), or figures (comp. 8:1), as I shall explain further on (ibid.)

footnotes: ²¹ The scarf still worn by the Jews in prayer. ²² حَرِيطَةٌ bag. But bag and Taleth not being very similar, the words קרוב מל ישמעאל, similar to the Arabic, contain perhaps a second explanation, so that three various different of the word חריטים are given, namely, Taleth, bag, figures. Before קרוב the word או, or, must then be added, which would better agree with the next או than the preceding יש אומרים, According to some. From the remark of I. E. in his commentary on Exodus (32:4), it appears that the second explanation is his own.

נליונים Cloth (cp. 8:1).

סדינים Fine linen (cp. Pr. 31:24).

צניפות An ornament for the head;

רדידים. In Arabic,²³ this word signifies a dress in form of a taleth. All these things here enumerated are, in general, articles of clothing, and vary with the fashion of the country.

footnotes: ²³ رِدَاعٌ Mantle.

בושם Sweet smell. It keeps the body fresh and healthy.

מק Rottenness is nearly the opposite of the preceding. Root מקק, to rot; verb, ע״ע; comp. תמקנה They shall consume away (Zac. 14:2).

נקפה A noun; נ is radical; we may fairly compare with it ונקף And he shall cut down (10:34); its mean-is a kind of cutting.

מעשה מקשה Well set hair; comp. עשה שפמו ולא Nor trimmed his beard (1 Sam. 19:25).

פתיגיל A fine embroidered garment, which is worn over all the dresses.

כי תחת יופי According to Saadiah: for the contrary (תחת) is more fit for them; others take כויה ═ כי burning (Exod. 21:24); comp. ברויה ═ ברי (root רוה) with plenty (Job. 37:11); but this is contrary to the rules of the grammar, since ו in כויה is radical. I think the passage must be taken in this sense: For instead of beauty, the above-mentioned consumption, destruction and baldness shall come.²⁴

footnotes: ²⁴ Ibn Ezra rejects the identity of כי and רי ,כויה and רויה; he takes the ב in ברי as radical, and explains ברי pure; root כי תחת יופי .ברר is translated by Saadiah: إنَّ ٱلتَّبْدِيلُ أحْمَلُ لَهُم

The women shall become widows in consequence of the death of their husbands in war. וגבורתך And the men of thy strength. Supply מתי the men of; comp. והנבואה עודד הנביא And the prophecy, the prophecy of the prophet Oded (2 Chr. 15:8)

ואנו And they shall lament; comp. באני In my sorrow (Deuter. 26:14); root און to lament, it is a weak verb (ע״ו); the accent is on the ultima. as in וסרו And shall depart (Exod. 8:1).²⁵

footnotes: ²⁵ The laws of Hebrew accentuation demand that the bi-syllabic forms of verbs עֹוֹ and ע״ע should have the accent on the first syllable; אָנֽוּ is therefore an exception to the rule.

פתחיה Her gates. Those of Zion, which is mentioned at the beginning of the chapter.²⁶

footnotes: ²⁶ Jerusalem is mentioned in the first verse of this chapter, Zion and Jerusalem are, however, the same, as a figure representing the Hebrew nation.

ונקתה And she shall be desolate. Comp. נקיון שנים cleanness of teeth (Am. 4:6).

She will sit. The pronoun refers to Zion.