הוי Woe to.¹

footnotes: ¹ See c. i. Note 13.

ממני ═ מני Of me. (Comp. 22:4).

ולנסוך מסכה And that cover with a covering. Comp. והמסכה and the covering (28:20). It is figuratively used for counsel.²

footnotes: ² There is no doubt that מסכה is parallel to עצה and has a similar meaning; but it appears to be a far-fetched explanation, to consider covering as a figure for counsel, simply because counsel is usually given secretly.

ולא מרוחי ═ ולא רוחי But not of my spirit, that is, of my prophecy.

That walk to go down, etc. This verse explains the preceding.

במעוז In the strength of. מ retains its vowel, although the word is in the construct state, because of the second and third letter of the root being the same.³ מָעוֹז strength, root מָקוֹם :עזז place, root קום; in the construct state, however, they differ; the former retains the Kamez under מ, the latter changes it into Sheva.

footnotes: ³ Root עזז,—Nouns with a preformative מ, derived from verbs עיע and עיו are alike, e.g.,

והחסות And the trust. A noun; it is the contracted form of ⁴חסיות; comp. עבדות slavery (Ezr. 9:8)

footnotes: ⁴ The י in חסיות is substituted for the third radical ה, of נלות ;חסה captivity (Obad. 20) is formed of נלה in a similar manner, with the entire omission of the third radical.

שריו His princes. The princes of the people;⁵ they sent even their princes to Egypt, that the Egyptians might deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrians.

footnotes: ⁵ The substantive עם people, to which the pronominal suffix ־ָיו refers, is not mentioned before, but is implied in בנים סוררים (ver 1.)

כל הוביש═כל הבאיש. The א is superfluous; הבאיש is transitive, Every one blamed⁶ those that had gone to Egypt; for they went to a people that would not profit them.

footnotes: ⁶ A. V., They were all ashamed.

The burden of the beasts of the south. This refers to those that went down to Egypt. South. Egypt, which is in the south of Palestine. The prophet says that, on their way, those messengers would meet wild beasts, as bears, tigers, etc.; this is expressed in the words a lion, a leopard, amongst them an asp, etc.

בארץ צרה In a narrow land,⁷ whence they will not be able to escape. They will carry, etc. Those messengers will carry their property on the back of the mules, in order to bring it to Egypt into safety. חיליהם Their property. Comp. החיל the property (Deut. 8:17).

footnotes: ⁷ A. V., Into the land of trouble and anguish.—I. E. takes צרה in a more literal sense, narrow; they will be pressed in, in such a way, that they will not be able to get out again.

דבשת Bunches. Hap. leg.—The beasts of the south will do them much damage.

לזאת To this.⁸ To Jerusalem. רהב הם שבת Their strength is to sit still. He who remains in Jerusalem, and will not go down to Egypt, will be strong and safe.

footnotes: ⁸ A. V., Concerning this, that is, concerning Egypt.

Now go. Now go with them; the prophet has hesitated to be together with them.

חקה Note it. חקה is without Dagesh in ה; some copies have the Dagesh; it is the imperative instead of חוקקה or חוקקהּ or חוקקנה.⁹

footnotes: ⁹ It is either the imperative with a paragogic ה, the contracted form of חוׄקקָה or with the pronominal suffix חוׄקְקֶנָּה ═ חוׄקְקָהּ ═ ־ָהּ.

כחשים Lying. Adjective of the same form as אִבָּרִים husbandmen; the כ has Segol, on account of the guttural letter which follows.

שמוע Infinitive. To hear.

See not. You shall not prophesy.

לראים To the seers. To those that see a divine vision.

נכחות Upright things. Comp. טובים ונכוחים דבריך thy words are good and upright (2 Sam. 15:3). It is an adjective.¹⁰

footnotes: ¹⁰ See c. iii. Note 5. I. E. does not explain why חלקות is a substantive (שם), and נבחות an adjective (שם התואר); perhaps because the verb דברו implies the masculine substantive, דברים words, with which the feminine חלקות, if taken as an adjective, would not agree.

דברי חלקות ═ חלקות words of flattery; חלקות is a substantive; so also דברי מהתלות ═ מהתלות, words of mockery.

Get you out of the way, etc. These words are addressed by the people to the prophets.

Cause the Holy One, etc. Cause the mention or the name of the Holy One of Israel to cease, etc.¹¹

footnotes: ¹¹ The Holy One himself cannot be caused to cease; Omnipresence is one of His essential attributes.

Ye despise this word, the prophecy.

בעושק In oppression. In the money wrongly taken from the nation.¹²

footnotes: ¹² The ו before בממון in the Hebrew text seems to be superfluous; בממון is not the explanation of נלוז, since this is explained by הפך הישר, the opposite of upright, but that of בעשק, and refers to the money taken from the people for the King of Assyria.

ונלוז And a perverse thing.¹³ נלוז is an adjective; supply דבר thing. Comp. תועבת ח׳ נלוז the perverse (man or thing)¹⁴ is an abomination to the Lord. נלוז is the opposite of ישר upright.

footnotes: ¹³ A. V., Perverseness. ¹⁴ A. V., The froward.

Therefore,¹⁵ because you trust in the money, which you send to the King of Assyria, that he shall not come.¹⁶ This iniquity shall be to you, etc., that is, it will destroy you.

footnotes: ¹⁵ לכן, in the Hebrew original, is not part of the explanation, but the first word of the next verse, which is to be explained. ¹⁶ Comp. 2 Kings 18:15, 16.

כפרץ מגדל נופל ═ נופל כפרץ As a breach of a falling tower.¹⁷¹⁷ דבר נבעה ═ נבעה A swelling thing. Of the same root is אבעבועות blains (Exod. 9:9). נבעה can also be joined with פרץ: a swelling breach.

footnotes: ¹⁷ A. V., As a breach ready to fall, swelling out. ¹⁷ A. V., As a breach ready to fall, swelling out.

לפתע פתאם Suddenly at an instant. The two words have nearly the same meaning; comp. אדמת עפר the dust of the earth (Dan. 12:12).¹⁸ קדש הקדשים the most holy; so also לפתע פתאם most suddenly.

footnotes: ¹⁸ This construction, the combination of two similar nouns, the one in the genitive governed by the other, is met with more frequently than I. E. seems to suppose. It expresses a kind of superlative, e. g.,

נבל Vessel.

He shall not spare, to break it.

לחתות אש To take fire. Comp. יחתה אש he takes fire (Prov. 6:27). גחלים אתה חותה thou shalt heap coals of fire (ib. 25:22). במכתתו In the bursting of it. Derived from כתת, a verb ע׳ע.¹⁹

footnotes: ¹⁹ The Hebrew text has והוא מפעלי הכפל it is a verb ע״ע; but it is impossible to suppose, that I. E. meant to say, that לחתות is derived from התת, since he quotes as a parallel חותה, which can only be the participle Kal of חתה. Before והוא either כתות or במכתתו with some explanation is wanting. The commentary on the whole verse is rather deranged; the remark on לחשוף is interrupted by the explanation of גבא.

ולחשוף מים And to take water. Lit., to reveal the water, which is hidden. Comp. מחשוף to make appear (Gen. 30:37); חשף he made bare, (52:10).

גבא Pit. Comp. וגבאיו and its pits. (Ez. 42:11), and גבא, the Chaldæan translation of בור (14:15). This prophecy refers to those that went down to Egypt for assistance.

בשובה In rest.²⁰²⁰ Comp. שובה give rest (Num. 10:36). You will find salvation at home, and you need not go down to Egypt.

footnotes: ²⁰ A. V., In returning, Return.—In his commentary on the Pentateuch I. E. mentions this explanation as the opinion of the grammarian R. Judah, who says, that שוב with an accusative, means to give rest, and that the neuter verb שוב to return is never used with an accusative. ²⁰ A. V., In returning, Return.—In his commentary on the Pentateuch I. E. mentions this explanation as the opinion of the grammarian R. Judah, who says, that שוב with an accusative, means to give rest, and that the neuter verb שוב to return is never used with an accusative.

ננוס. According to the grammarian R. Jonah: we shall lift ourselves up; he compares it with נֵס banner (that is lifted up), and gives thus to ננוס a meaning similar to that of נרכב we will ride, as required by the parallelism. Others taking ננוס in its usual sense, we shall flee, explain the passage thus: You fled without cause, you will therefore be compelled to flee by your pursuers.

קל The swift. An epithet of the horse, as is כר swift of the camel.²¹

footnotes: ²¹ Comp. I. E. on 16:1. and on Gen. 31:34.

אלף Thousand. It is in the constr. st. אלף אחד The thousand men of one of you;²² אחד signifies the officer. The meaning of the whole phrase is: An officer over a thousand men will flee at the threatening of one man.

footnotes: ²² The Hebrew text has סמוך אל אחר מהם, which is to be altered into סמוך ,אלף אחד מכם; because אל אחד would be quite superfluous, since there is no other noun that would be the genitive governed by אלף, and I. E., satisfying himself with סמוך or נסמך, leaves it generally to the reader to find the genitive referred to; מהם would refer to the enemies; but it is evident from the whole remark that the first אחד, which refers to the Israelites addressed by the prophet, is to be explained, not the second.

Shall ye flee, shall all of you flee.

Till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, etc., till a few out of many will be left. I think that the words as an ensign on a hill refer to those who remained in Jerusalem and did not go down to Egypt.²³

footnotes: ²³ It seems as if I. E. meant to say, that the first figure as a beacon on the top of a mountain refers to their small number, the second figure as an ensign on a hill to their glory and happiness, by which they will attract all nations.

Will the Lord wait. An anthropomorphism.

לחננכם That He may be gracious unto you. A verb ע״ע like לחמם to warm (47:14); it is the Kal like לשכב to lie (Gen. 34:7); all these forms, however, are irregular.²⁴ And therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you, for the Lord is a God of judgment,

footnotes: ²⁴ The Pathah or long Kamez (a) instead of the Holem or short Kamez (o) under the second radical in the infinitive Kal is probably the irregularity referred to by I. E.

He will do judgment on Assyria for your sake.

Thou shalt weep no more, says the prophet to his people, for he will be, etc. God will be gracious unto thee.

לקול זעקך. The ל indicates the cause: At the voice of thy cry, that is, because thou hast cried unto Him.

עָנָ He hath answered thee. It is an irregular form; comp. פֵּאֲרָ He hath glorified thee (55:5).²⁵

footnotes: ²⁵ The form is irregular by having  instead of ,

לחם צר Scanty bread.²⁶ They were afflicted with famine, as I said before (29:17). מים לחץ The water of affliction. מים is not in the construct state, but מֵי the waters of is to be supplied. מים מי לחץ ═ מים לחץ; comp. שרה האהלה אהל ═ האהלה שרה to the tent, namely to the tent of Sarah. (Gen. 24:67)

footnotes: ²⁶ A. V., The bread of adversity.

And thine ears, etc. Thou wilt see thy teachers before thee, and hear the words of thy prophets and instructers, that call after thee from behind. Some explain the words thine eyes shall see and thine ears shall hear to express figuratively the seeing and understanding of the heart. תאמינו ═ חימינו; א is substituted for י as is frequently done.

When you turn to the right hand, etc.: When you are about to depart from the right way, either to the right or to the left, you will hear distinctly the words of them that show the right way.

צפוי The covering. A noun.

אפודת The ornament of. The ornamental covering over the image.—

Thou shalt cast them away, for they can be of no use.²⁷

footnotes: ²⁷ Comp. Deut. 13:18.

דוה A menstruous woman,²⁸ that is unclean, and whom no clean person may touch.²⁹

footnotes: ²⁸ A. V., menstruous cloth. ²⁹ The terms clean and unclean have the same meaning as defined in the Pentateuch by the laws concerning the clean and the unclean, especially Lev. 13:15.

Then shall he give, etc., that thou shalt sow, after the death of the King of Assyria.

ככר ═ כר (Gen. 13:10), Plain;³⁰ comp. בבת עין═בת עין the apple of the eye (Lam. 12:18). In that day shall thy cattle feed, etc. Such will be the abundance of corn and fruit.³¹

footnotes: ³⁰ A. V., Pastures. ³¹ The cattle will feed on the wide plains, which are generally not used for pasture but for corn.

The oxen and young asses that ear the ground, that are employed in ploughing the fields. אלפים Oxen. Comp. אלפיך thine oxen (Deut. 7:13).

בליל Provender. Comp. Job 6:5.

חמיץ═חמץ Leaven.³²

footnotes: ³² A. V., Clean. According to I. E. provender which is leaven, that is, provender which is well prepared: there is a sufficient supply of it, and it can therefore be prepared in the best way. Comp. I. E., on חמוץ 1:17. Note 40.

אשד זרה Which he winnows.³³ Supply אתי it.³⁴

footnotes: ³³ A. V., Which hath been winnowed. ³⁴ I. E. supplies אתו, though not necessary, to indicate more clearly that זרה is participle active Kal, and not the past of Pual.

ברחת With the shovel. Derived from רוח wind. It is an instrument used for the same purpose as ³⁵מזרה the fan.

footnotes: ³⁵ The Hebrew text has ובמזרח and with the fan, which is either superfluous since it is not followed by any explanation, or it is to be altered into כמזרח like the fan, as is done in the translation.

יבלי Rivers. Comp. יובל river (Jer. 17:8). And there shall be upon every high mountain, etc. The rain will come in such quantity, that the water will remain upon the mountains.³⁶

footnotes: ³⁶ The hills and mountains are deprived of the water which they receive from the rain in a very short time; the water partly evaporating, partly flowing down to the plains. They retain of course the more of the water, the greater its supply is.

In the day of great slaughter, etc. When people will die through the fall of³⁷ towers. It is a kind of consolation to learn, that when ten die, myriads are kept alive: for although the wall might fall upon the widow through the rain, the Lord will not keep it back from coming down and giving life to many; the rain has no knowledge that it should come down upon one place and not at the same time upon the neighbouring ones.

footnotes: ³⁷ The rain will come in such quantity that the houses and towers will fall and bury under their ruins many people.

Moreover the light of the moon, etc. All commentators refer this verse to the Messianic period, to the time of the war of Gog and Magog;³⁸ only R. Moses Hakkohen is of opinion, that all this part of the book³⁹ refers to one and the same event.⁴⁰ We read e. g. in the next chapter (ver 1.): Woe unto them that go down to Egypt; the same we read above (ver. 2).

footnotes: ³⁸ See c. xxiv. Note 18. ³⁹ c. xxiv.—xxxv. ⁴⁰ To the invasion of Palestine by the Assyrians, and the ultimate destruction of the army of Sennacherib before Jerusalem.

The meaning of this verse is, that the Lord will increase the light of the moon and sun after the rain in a wonderful way.⁴¹

footnotes: ⁴¹ The Hebrew text has וזה דבר פלא; lit.: and this is a wonderful thing; but since I. E. does not explain why it is a wonder that the sun shines brighter after the rain than before, it must be referred to the manner in which this prophecy will be fulfilled, especially to the intensity of the light, that it will be sevenfold, etc., and is to be translated, and this will be done in a wonderful way.

Sevenfold, the prophet himself explains it, as the light of seven days taken together.

In the day that the Lord bindeth up, etc. When the Lord heals the wounds of Israel; it refers either to the time of the war of Gog or to the time of the Assyrian dominion.

The name of the Lord, the report of what He has done to the army of Assyria.

From far. From heaven; the angel that smote the Assyrians came down from heaven.

משאה Smoke.⁴² Comp. המשאת the smoke⁴³ (Judg. 20:40); there are many words for smoke.⁴⁴

footnotes: ⁴² A. V., Heavy. ⁴³ A. V., The flame. ⁴⁴ In the Hebrew text the word כמה many before שמות, or רבות many after it, is omitted.

And His breath. The breath that comes out of His mouth; a figurative expression for the work of the angel.⁴⁵

footnotes: ⁴⁵ This refers to the angel that destroyed the Assyrian army. Comp. 37:36.

להנפה. Most of the commentaries say that להנפה is the same as להניף, to wave;⁴⁶⁴⁶ but R. Moses Hakkohen is of opinion, that it means to bridle, and that by the breath of God, the false spirit, described by Micaiah (1 Kgs. 22:19—23) is to be understood; and this is the right explanation. And there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. The bridle is put in the mouth of the horse, to make it go the right way, but the spirit mentioned here, will be רסן מתעה a misleading bridle. The same idea is expressed by ,בנפת שוא and this proves that להנפה has the meaning to bridle.

footnotes: ⁴⁶ A. V., To sift with the sieve of vanity. ⁴⁶ A. V., To sift with the sieve of vanity.

To you, to Judah.

As in the night when a holy solemnity is kept, In the night of the passover. Our sages said therefore, that the Assyrian army was destroyed on the Passover night.⁴⁷

footnotes: ⁴⁷ See Targum Jonathan, and Rashi, ad locum: This rejoicing will come to you on the eve of Passover.

לבוא To come. To be joined with כהולך as when one goeth.⁴⁸

footnotes: ⁴⁸ The infinitive לבוא could also be joined with the principal sentence in this way: Ye shall have a song, etc., when you come to the mountain, etc. Comp. Kimchi, ad locum.

And the Lord shall cause His glorious voice to be heard. The people will be frightened, as they are when they hear the thunder.⁴⁹

footnotes: ⁴⁹ This remark of I. E. seems to have been intended for the next verse.

ונחת And the lighting down. Comp. ותנחת and it cometh down (Ps. 38:3).

And shall show to all people.

בזעף With the indignation. The preposition ב governs also the nouns נפץ ,להב, etc.

נפץ With scattering. Comp. תנפצם thou wilt scatter them (Ps. 2:9).

And hailstones. A figurative expression.⁵⁰

footnotes: ⁵⁰ This remark is made, probably because of the hailstones mentioned in Joshua 10:11., which in fact destroyed the army of the five kings marching against Gibeon, while in the destruction of the Assyrian army hailstones were not employed.

בשבט יכה As if he were smitten with a rod or for the Lord will smite him with a rod.⁵¹

footnotes: ⁵¹ A. V., Which smote with a rod.

מוסדה Grounded. Participle Hophal; מטה is sometimes used as a feminine noun; comp. Mic. 6:9.—The following is the meaning of the whole verse: And in every place where this rod shall pass, and upon which the Lord shall lay his staff, it will be done. בתפים ובכנרות with tabrets and harps; the Lord will not be weary, but there will be a continual smiting by the angel, who shall rejoice as if he were playing with tabrets and harps.

תנופה Playing.¹ Lit., moving, sc. the hand to play with musical instruments.

footnotes: ¹ A. V., Shaking.

מאהמוֹל═מאתמוּל Of old.

תפתה Tophet. The name of a squalid place near Jerusalem, where all refuse was cast, and whence a continual smoke was rising.⁵² The meaning of the sentence is: Tophet is prepared by the Lord for the King of Assyria.

footnotes: ⁵² Tophet is a place in the valley of Ben Hinnom near Jerusalem; Moloch had once been worshipped there, but when that idolatry was abolished it became the receptacle of all the refuse of the city, so that the use thus made of the place formed a striking contrast to the reverence with which it was previously regarded. The horror and disgust felt for this spot was so great that it was considered the greatest curse to be compelled to live in its neighbourhood, and thus it gave its name to the abode of the wicked after death (Gehinnom═hell). It was very probably the smoke rising from the ashes and refuse cast there, that suggested the idea of the eternal fire in hell.

גם הוא למלך הוכן. Yea, for the king it is prepared. For all his officers and princes have already perished. According to others the pronoun הוא refers to the King of Assyria.⁵³

footnotes: ⁵³ The translation of the passage accordingly is, Yea, he is appointed King, sc. of Tophet.

מדרתה The pile thereof. Comp. מדורה fireplace (Ez. 24:9).

The breath of the Lord, the breath that cometh out quickly; it expresses figuratively the immediate fulfilment of the divine decrees.⁵⁴

footnotes: ⁵⁴ The breath of the Lord is according to I. E. the breath that cometh out of the mouth of the Lord; he therefore paraphrases it, in order to remove the anthropomorphism; but it can also be explained to signify the wind caused by the Lord.