כקרח אש המסׁים As when the melting fire burneth, and mountains melt in the heat of the fire, and. מים תבעה אש Like the water, which the fire causeth to boil.⁵ As to תבעה causeth to boil (lit. swelleth) comp. אבעבעות blains (Ex. 9:9). מפניך גוים ידגזו Thus the nations would tremble at Thy presence.⁶

footnotes: ⁵ A. V., As when the fire causeth the waters to boil. ⁶ A. V., That the nations may tremble at Thy presence.

בעשותך When thou didst.

נוראות Terrible things. It is an adjective, and a noun must be supplied. Comp.⁷ עזות rough words (Prov. 18:20).

footnotes: ⁷ The Hebrew text has the words כמו ועל דרך; but either כמו or ועל דרך is superfluous, because both expressions have the same meaning: like. It is also possible that the original text had a word like חלקות (30:10) after כמו which has been omitted by some careless copyist.

לא נקוה Which we looked not for.

ירדת When thou camest down. מפניך הרים נזלו Then the mountains flowed down at Thy presence. Such things Thou hast already done in the past.

לא שמעו ונו׳ Men have not heard,⁸ nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, etc. יעשה What he will prepare.⁹ למחכה For him that will wait.

footnotes: ⁸ Comp. I. E. on 2:4, Note 5. ⁹ A. V., What He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him.

פגעת וגו׳ Thou didst meet him, etc.¹⁰ When thou wast angry in former days, thou didst meet the righteous; comp. Had not Moses, his chosen, stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath? (Ps. 106:23). It may also be rendered, Thou acceptedst the prayer of him, etc. Comp. לא אפגע אדם I will not accept the prayer of any man (47:3; 53:12).

footnotes: ¹⁰ A. V., Thou meetest him, etc.

את שש Him that rejoiced.¹¹ The righteous man that rejoiced in God.¹

footnotes: ¹¹ A. V., Him that rejoiceth. ¹ Better Rashi: Him that rejoiced in doing righteousness; and Targum Jonathan: דחדיאו למעבד רעותך בקשוט וכזבו who rejoiced when performing Thy will with truth and integrity.

In Thy ways. The ways which Thou hast taught us through the faithful of Thy house.¹²

footnotes: ¹² That is, Moses. (Comp. Num. 12:7.)—The Hebrew text has the words שהורתנו לנאמן בית, which seem to be incorrect; לנאמן בית is probably to be altered into על ידי נאמן בית.

הן אתה קצפת ונחטא But now¹³ Thou art wroth, for we have sinned, or Behold Thou wast angry,¹⁴ for we had sinned.

footnotes: ¹³ At the time, when this prayer is uttered, during the exile of the Israelites. ¹⁴ At various times, when the Israelites were punished for their sins; as is for example pointed out in the book of Judges.

בהם *Through them,*¹⁵ that is, through the righteous men. עולם The disappearance of the wrath.

footnotes: ¹⁵ A. V., In those is continuance.—The words לעולם הספירות הקצף are corrupt; they must contain the explanation of עולם, since that of בהם is given before in the words בעבור הצדיקים through the righteous. If עולם were explained by always, the most important part of the sentence, the removing of the anger, is left to the reader to supply; it is, therefore, probable that I. E. renders עולם disappearance from עלם to conceal; and the Hebrew text is to be altered into עולם י הפרת הקצף or עולם.עולם י סתירת הקצף means the disappearance of the wrath.

ונושע *And we were saved.*¹ It is the imperfect.¹⁶

footnotes: ¹ A. V., And we shall be saved. ¹⁶ Comp. I. E. on 1:21, Note 43.

ונהי כטמא כלנו But now we are all as an unclean thing.

עדים Filthy rags. It is derived from עַד spoil (Gen. 49:47); for the garment of the spoil is usually stained with blood.

וַנָּבֶל And we fade away. The radical נ and the prefix of the first person plural are contracted into one letter. The root of the word is נבל. Comp. נבלת, fading (1:30). There is no other word similar to it in form.¹⁶

footnotes: ¹⁶ Comp. I. E. on 1:21, Note 43.

מתעורר That stirreth up himself. It is an adjective.¹⁷

footnotes: ¹⁷ Such a contraction is usually indicated by a Dagesh in the letter next to the one omitted; here the ב should have a Dagesh (וַנַּבֶּל Hiphil of נבל). The form can, however, be considered as regular if derived from בול; verbs פ״נ and ע״ו interchange sometimes; comp. סוך and נסך to anoint.

להחזיק To take hold with his hand.¹⁸

footnotes: ¹⁸ להחזיק is Hiphil, and therefore a transitive verb, governing the accusative; I. E. supplies therefore ידו; lit. to cause his hand to be strong in Thee.

ותמוגנו And hast consumed us. Comp. נמנו they melt (Ex. 15:15)

But now do unto us according to Thy will; there is no strength in us; for we are like clay, etc.

Be not wroth very sore, for Thou hast been very angry.

We are all Thy people now.

The holy cities, etc. Supply הבט, see from the preceding verse. Look at the towns which Thou hast sanctified with Thy name, and which are now desolate.

Our holy and our beautiful house. The temple.

Where our fathers praised Thee through the mouth of the Levites, the singers.¹⁹ by singing, and this was done in the temple by the Levites. In a more general sense it is paraphrased in Targum Jonathan: דפלחו קדמך אבהתנא where our ancestors worshipped Thee.

footnotes: ¹⁹ I. E. takes the verb הללוך literally: to praise, i.e.,

תחשה Wilt Thou hold Thy peace? Wilt Thou not hasten to save us.