but now hear the good which I shall do unto thee.

From the womb. With this expression the prophet alludes to Jacob (comp. Hos. 12:4; in my commentary thereon I shall explain it),¹ or metaphorically to the time, when Israel was declared to be the people of the Lord.

footnotes: ¹ I. E. takes the expression womb literally, and refers it to the incident recorded Gen. 25:26, in the account of the birth of Jacob and Esau.

ישרון Jesurun. It is originally an adjective derived from ישר right; there is no other instance of this form.

For I will pour water, etc. As I pour water over the place that is thirsty, so will I pour out the spirit of my holiness, or of my salvation, etc. אֶצּׁק I will pour out. The Dagesh in צ compensates for the י which is omitted;² comp. אצרך I shall form thee (Jer. 1:5)

footnotes: ² The root of אצק is יצק.

And they shall spring up. The pronoun they refers to My spirit, and My blessing, of the preceding verse; according to others³ to thine offspring. בבין חציר Like grass. Lit., between the grass, that is, as if they were between grass. They will increase and multiply.⁴

footnotes: ³ Comp. Rashi, ad locum; and Targum Jonathan. ⁴ This remark on בבין חציר is seemingly a continuation of the second explanation of And they shall spring up, but in reality it can also be connected with the first one.5 Comp. Rashi ad locum.

One shall say, etc. They will be numerous, and the majority of them will be faithful to God, and desirous of returning to His house.

And another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, in order to show to all nations, how proud he is of belonging to the holy people.

בידו═ידו With his hand. And another shall subscribe unto the Lord, that he is willing to go to the sanctuary of the Lord.

יכנה He will surname himself.—Many refer this verse to proselytes; comp. Ten men shall take hold, out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you; for we have heard that God is with you (Zec. 8:23)

The King of Israel, When the Israelites were in their own land. And his redeemer, when he is in exile.

The Lord of hosts. He is always king, and the hosts of heaven testify it.

I am the first, the first king.⁶

footnotes: ⁶ I. E. explains ראשון by מלך ראשון the first king, because the context demands here rather the declaration that God is the King and Ruler of the universe, that every thing that happens is caused and commanded by Him, than a description of His Eternity.

And who is like me, that is, Who pretends to be like me.

יקרא Shall lift up his voice.⁷

footnotes: ⁷ The Hebrew text has the words כאמר קולו which appear to be a corruption of a phrase like הרמת קול the translation is based on this conjecture.

And shall declare it, namely all that has passed.

עם עולם The ancient people. עולם means here of old.

ואתיות And the things that are coming. It is like a perfect verb.⁸ למו *For themselves,*⁹ that is, in order to show that they know it.

footnotes: ⁸ The third radical ה of the verb אתה being replaced by י, I. E. seems to have overlooked the Dagesh in י, else he would have made some remark on it. ⁹ A. V., Unto them.

אל תרהו Be ye not afraid, תרהו is hap. leg; those that identify it with תראו are wrong, on account of the absence of the radical י ¹⁰—

footnotes: ¹⁰ This is no good reason at all; since י of ירא to fear can in writing be well omitted in the future Kal; it is read תּׅ־רְאוּ to distinguish it from. תּׅרְאוּ you will see.—According to I. E. א and ה belong to those letters which interchange.

Be not afraid, when those calamities befall Babylon.

Have I not told thee of it long ago? Ye are even my witnesses, and you will see whether there is a God beside me; There is no God בל ירעתי whom I know not¹¹ to be vain and powerless. According to some, whom I chastised not; comp. ויודע and he chastised¹² (Jud. 8:16). I think that the prophet speaks here of the host of heaven.¹³

footnotes: ¹¹ A. V., I know not any. ¹² A. V., He taught. ¹³ In that case צור rock, protection, would signify the same as שׂר prince, used by Daniel 10:20. See I. E. on 24:21, Note 30.

They that make a graven image, are all of them vanity. They themselves as well as their images are vanity.

וחמוריהם And their delectable things. The objects which they ornament with figures, that they be charming to the eye, namely the idols.¹⁴

footnotes: ¹⁴ The word פסילים is not used here by I. E. in its general meaning idols; but in the special meaning assigned to it by I. E., stone images (40:19). The reason that I. E. refers חמודיהם to stone images is to be found in his desire to find system and symmetry in the words of the prophet. The images made of metal and wood being mentioned ver. 12 and ver. 13, the general term חמודיהם must be restricted to stone images, in order to have a complete picture of all kinds of idols.

And they are their¹⁵ witnesses, to testify that the images see not, nor know.

footnotes: ¹⁵ A. V., Their own.

That they may be ashamed. Connect this phrase with they are their witnesses.¹⁶

footnotes: ¹⁶ That is, they shall be compelled to confess, to their own shame, that the idols in whose divine power they have believed hitherto, have no power whatever, not even that of man.

Who hath formed, etc. Is there any thoughtlessness like this, to attempt to form a god? God. So called in the sense of him who formed the image.

נסך He hath molten. Comp. מסכה molten (Jer. 7:5)

His fellows. The priests of Baal, or the artificers of the idols; the latter explanation is the better.

Let them all be gathered together and be ashamed.

חָרַשׁ Smith. In the construct state the ר has Pathah, in the absolute it has Kamez, without exception.

מעצר A cutting instrument of iron.¹⁷

footnotes: ¹⁷ A. V., With the tongs.

מקבות *Borer.*¹⁸ An instrument used for making a hole.

footnotes: ¹⁸ A. V., With hammers.

יצרהו He fashioneth it. Comp. צורה form, or, what is still better, יצירה formation.¹⁹

footnotes: ¹⁹ It can hardly be discovered, why I. E. gives the latter the preference. As to the meaning of the word there can be no difference whether it is compared with צורה or with יצירה, since the latter could in this instance only signify formation, not creation. With regard to the etymology there can be no doubt that the word is to be derived from יצר, and not from צור.

He is hungry. The smith is hungry.

The carpenter, etc. After having mentioned the mason and smith,²⁰ he speaks of the carpenter.

footnotes: ²⁰ Ver. 9 and 12. Comp. Note 14.

The carpenter stretches out his rule, etc. This is just the mode of proceeding of those workmen.

יתארהו He forms it or he draws the outlines; comp. ותאר הגבול and the border was drawn (Jos. 15:9).

שרד A kind of drug used for dying.²¹ The word is hap. leg. יעשהו He finisheth it.²²

footnotes: ²¹ A. V., A line. ²² A. V., He fitteth it.

מקצעות *Rulers.*²³ This is the opinion of R. Jonah.

footnotes: ²³ A. V., With planes.

מחוגה Compass. Comp. חוג circle (40:22). It is an instrument used for drawing a circle.

According to the beauty of a man, that is, the female, according to the opinion of some ; but I think that it is in reality only a repetition of the preceding idea.²⁴

footnotes: ²⁴ Of כתבנית ארם after the figure of a man, which refers to man generally, without any distinction between the male and female sex.

לשבת בית That it may remain in the house. That it be like a man, who dwells in his house.

He heweth him down cedars, etc. Some cut the idols out of cedar wood, others of. תרזה cypress. It is the name of a tree.

ויאמץ לו And he planted it.²⁵

footnotes: ²⁵ A. V., He strengtheneth for himself.—I. E. does not inform us how the verb ויאטץ comes to have the meaning and he planted. There is perhaps some omission or corruption in the Hebrew text.

אורן It is either the name of a tree, or it means root.²⁶

footnotes: ²⁶ A. V., An ash.—The connection between the word ארן and the meaning root, is not explained by I. E.

וגשם *And the stem.*²⁷ Lit., the substance comp. גשמא in Chaldee, and in Arabic ara/ body. According to others: rain ; the meaning of וגשם יגדל is then, and the rain will cause it to grow.

footnotes: ²⁷ A. V., Rain.

לבער To bum. Then shall it be for a man, etc. Some warm themselves by the fire, others kindle it, etc. ישיק He kindleth it. Comp. נשקה was kindled (Ps. Ixxviii. 21); the meaning of נשק is similar to that of בער to burn.

ויסגד And falleth down. This word is frequently met with in Arabic and Chaldaic.¹

footnotes: ¹ The Targum usually renders השתחוה by סגד; in Arabic سجد to bow down: comp. يَسْجُدُونَ in the Arabian translation of Isaiah by R. Saadiah, 2:8. مَسْجَدََ Mosque.

האח Aha. Interjection of joy; comp. Ps. 35:21.

אור Fire, Comp. 31:9.

ראיתי I have seen. It is to be taken literally. R. Saadiah explains it I enjoyed,²⁸ but he has no parallel instance to support his rendering.

footnotes: ²⁸ ara/

A god according to his idea.

His image. This is the explanation of the expression a god which precedes.

לא ידעו ולא יבינו They have not known nor understood. The seat of knowledge (רעת) is in those cavities of the brain that are nearer to the forehead; the understanding (בינה) is in the middle one, that is also in the middle of the head.²⁹

footnotes: ²⁹ In his remark on Ex. 31:3, I. E. explains the three expressions ,חכמה ,תבונה, דעת to signify the receptive, discriminative and reproductive faculties of our mind, and assigns to each of them its special place in the brain.

טח He hath shut. Comp. וטח and he shall plaister (Lev, 14:42); it is a transitive verb; the Lord is understood as the subject to it.

עיניהם Their eyes. The eye of each of them; this construction is not at all rare.³⁰

footnotes: ³⁰ As to the explanation of it, see I. E. on 2:11, Note 18.

His heart. His intellect, which is the principal part of man.

במו=ב In. Comp. כמו=כ as (Ps. 58:10).

ויתרו And the residue thereof.

בול It is hap. leg.³¹ It means, according to some authorities, an image, or a statue. R. Moses Hakkohen compares it with בול plant (Job 40:20).³²

footnotes: ³¹ Although we meet with the same word again in Job 40:20, but since according to I. E., it seems to have a different meaning, he calls it properly hap. leg. ³² A. V., Food. יבול═בול produce.

He feedeth on ashes. He is like a man who feedeth on ashes, that hurt and do no good. It may also be compared with Ephraim feedeth on wind (Hos. 12:2).³³

footnotes: ³³ That is, he goes after vain things.

הותל *Foolish.*³⁴³⁴ It i³⁵s an adjective; the form of adjectives is not constant. The form of הותל is like that of מועדת out of joint (Prov.xxv. 19).

footnotes: ³⁴ A. V., Deceived. ³⁴ A. V., Deceived. ³⁵ The same remark as repeatedly made by I. E. concerning the substantive. See c. 9:3. Note 4.

לב הותל הטהו A foolish heart hath turned him aside.

The verb הטה is always used in an unfavorable sense: to turn from the right way. As to the phrase אחרי רבים להטות (Ex. 23:2) I have given my opinion.³⁶ used in a bad sense (לגנאי). These words are only brought in connection with that rule לזכר, as a mnemonicon.

footnotes: ³⁶ The remark referred to is the following: The principle of our Sages, to decide every question by majority, is right, but it is not based on the words אחרי רבים להטות (Exod. 23:2), as some believe, since להטות is always

Remember these, those which I have done, when thou wast in thy land.

For thou art my servant. Since thou hast been my servant, confess thy former sins; I am desirous to keep thee as my servant.

אתה Thou. Thou alone.³⁷ V., I have formed thee, thou art my servant.

footnotes: ³⁷ I. E. seems to connect, in accordance with the accents, עבל לי with יצרתיך ; I have formed thee that thou be a servant unto me. The addition of אתה is therefore explained by I. E., as a sign of emphasis.—A.

תנשני is Niphal, and I think³⁸ that the meaning of לא תנשני is: Thou shalt not be forgotten of me. The meaning of the verse is: Remember me, and I will remember thee.

footnotes: ³⁸ I. E. seems to oppose his rendering of the phrase to that of others, who explain it in an active sense, thou shalt not forget me. Comp. Rashi ad locum.

As a thick cloud, that passeth away; when the sun comes out, it is no more.

Sing, 0 ye heavens, etc. This is a figurative expression ; it means: great rejoicing will be through Israel, for through the redemption of Israel the glory of God will be revealed to the whole world.

That maketh all things, which I desire; you may infer it from the fact, that I, by myself, stretch forth the heaven.

מאתי By myself. Lit., from myself, that is, by my strength; for God is incorporeal.³⁹ It is written in two words, מי אתי. who is with me, which is the same as I alone. Consider well the words of the text: who stretcheth⁴⁰⁴⁰ forth the heavens and spreadeth abroad the earth ; they teach us that it is God who is continually keeping heaven and earth in existence.

footnotes: ³⁹ The literal meaning of the words, That spreadeth abroad the earth from, myself might imply the idea that the earth has its origin materially in God; I. E. refutes this idea by substituting the figurative meaning from or with my strength. ⁴⁰ The use of the present tense. ⁴⁰ The use of the present tense.

בדים Liars. Comp. בדיך thy lies (Job 11:3). More probably בדים is connected with בדד alone, and signifies such, persons as pretend to be able to emancipate their souls from, the influence of the body, which some in reality can do.¹

footnotes: ¹ The more the soul emancipates itself from the body, the closer is its union, with the pure intellect, with the original and fundamental ideas, and the wider and surer its knowledge. This state of emancipation is called by I. E. preparatian for inspiration. Comp. תמונות צורות ומראות בדבר השם ובהיות הנפש מכוונת לכבוד או תתחדש לה when the soul is prepared for the Divine Glory, then it receives new ideas, images, and visions by the word of the Lord. (Abridged Commentary on Exod. 23:21.)

וקוסמים *And astrologers.*⁴¹ Lit., men that decide by reason, and say that and that will happen; while בדים foretell the future not by reasonable means.⁴²

footnotes: ⁴¹ A. V., Diviners. ⁴² Comp. I. E. on c. 3:2, and Note 3.

Wise men. Persons, who divine from the liver or shoulder, and soothsayers.⁴³

footnotes: ⁴³ From the context it may be inferred that by wise men the prophet meant diviners; but since two kinds of diviners ברים and קוסמים have already been mentioned, I. E. refers this general expression to other kinds, which are not included in these two names.

His servant. The prophet himself.⁴⁴ The word of his servant, that Jerusalem shall be inhabited.

footnotes: ⁴⁴ I. E. here neglects the rule of the parallelism, which he repeatedly recommends; for that rule demands that עברו and מלאכיו should have the same meaning) and since the latter is a plural, signifying his messengers, עבדו is likewise to be taken in a collective sense, and referred not only to the one prophet who is here speaking, but to all prophets.

תושב Thou shalt be inhabited. Root ישב to dwell. Comp. תורד thou shalt be brought down (14:15) from ירד to go down.

Her decayed places. The decayed places of every city,⁴⁵ or of Jerusalem.¹

footnotes: ⁴⁵ The use of the singular her (הָ) after the plural the cities of Judah is explained in this remark. Comp. I. E. on c. 2:11, Note 18. ¹ Although the pronoun her is nearer to the cities of Judah, it may still agree with Jerusalem, which is mentioned first, because it is the most important, and may be considered as the representative, of all the cities of Judah.

מצולה═צולה (Jon. 2:4) The deep. A figurative expression, signifying Babylon, that was full of men and wealth like the deep of the sea.⁴⁶

footnotes: ⁴⁶ Which is full of water.

That saith to Cyrus, etc. This verse proves that Jerusalem was built in the days of Cyrus; the words thy foundation shall be laid contain an allusion to the fact, that Cyrus ordered the temple to be built, but after its foundation had been laid by Zerubbabel, prohibited its further restoration; it is therefore clear, that Daniel made no mistake in his calculations, as I have already explained.⁴⁷

footnotes: ⁴⁷ All our learned men agree, says I. E. in his commentary on Dan. 9:1, that Daniel made a miscalculation; he thought that the 70 years of exile, foretold by Jeremiah, commenced with the first deportation under king Jehoiakim, and ended with the commencement of the reign of king Cyrus over Babylon, while in truth the exile commenced with the destruction of the temple, and ended during the reign of Darius Hystaspes. I. E. objects to this opinion, and proves, in the form of a dialogue between himself and R. Jehudah Hallevi, that Daniel was right. The exile lasted only till the reign of Cyrus, under whose auspices the foundation of the temple was laid. According to the prophecy of Isaiah not the building, but the founding of the temple (תּׅוׇּםֵר), was to be promoted by Cyrus.