Gather the sons of Benjamin to go to their cities to guard their fortifications.

Beth-hakerem That is a place name.

raise a standard a standard to gather and fight for your lives.

The comely and the delicate one have I destroyed Heb. דמיתי. Jonathan renders it as an expression related to (25:37) “And the dwellings of peace shall be destroyed (ונדמוּ).” Also (47:5), “Ashkelon has been destroyed (נדמתה).”

Shepherds and their flocks Figurative of kings and their armies.

they feed bare Heb. רעו, they eat.

his place Heb. ידו [lit. his hand.] His place around him.

Prepare Heb. קדשו.

woe is to us at the time the day declines.

for the day has declined When it declined to eventide, they ignited the Temple.

Cut the trees Heb. עצה. This is not a ‘mappiq heh,’ yet it is an expression of a tree (עץ), for the expression of cutting is not appropriate for advice, (עצה), and עצה mentioned here is an expression of many trees, as דגה is an expression of many fish.

the city whose sins have been visited upon her Heb. הפקד, whose visitation has come.

As...lets...flow Heb. כהקיר, an expression of a spring.

a well Heb. בַּיִר, equivalent to בְּאֵר.

so has she let her evil flow So does their evil flow, constantly increasing and renewing.

sickness and wounds Therefore, I brought upon her sickness and wounds.

Be corrected Heb. הוסרי. Accept correction.

lest...be alienated Heb. תקע, lest it be pulled away. יקע is an expression of joining. Comp. “and hang them up (והוקע)” (Num. 25:4), and it is sometimes an expression of detaching. There are many words that are used in such a manner.

thoroughly glean (grappiller in French). After the vineyard has been gathered, and gleanings are left, and the poor come and glean them, so will they spoil and return and spoil.

return your hand You, the enemy, return your hand to spoil a second time, like a vintager who returns his hand for the search, who looks and searches for the gleanings. And so it was when he exiled Jehoiakim and slew him, and crowned Jeconiah, he returned three months later and exiled him. He returned eleven years later and exiled Zedekiah.

the branches Heb. סלסלות (reverchedures in O.F). Comp. (Prov. 4: 8) “Search for it (סלסלה) and it will exalt you.” So did Dunash (Teshuvoth Dunash p. 21) explain it. Menahem (Machbereth p. 126), however, explains it as an expression of a basket (סל) (paniers in O. F. baskets).

and warn Heb. ואעידה, an expression of warning.

clogged Heb. ערלה, clogged, and so is every expression of ערלה.

a disgrace They deride it.

Therefore, I am full of the fury of the Lord My heart is full of the prophecy of the coming of the fury of the Lord upon them.

containing Heb. הכיל, like להכיל, to contain ([a]souffrir in O.F.), to tolerate.

to pour it out upon the babes to pour it upon the sucklings.

in the street in the market.

one full of days i.e., one close to death, older than ‘an old man.’

fields and wives together shall be turned over to others.

commit robbery rob money.

easily It is easy for the false prophets to pronounce with their mouths and to say, “You shall have peace,” and with this thing they heal with their speech the breach destined to come upon them.

They should be ashamed Heb. הובישו, they should be ashamed [from Jonathan].

to feel disgrace Heb. הכלים, like להכלים.

Neither are they ashamed They are not ashamed of their evil deeds.

rest Heb. מרגוע.

And I have stationed lookouts over you That is that they station men on the towers at the time of strife. A man looks and sees. If a troop is approaching the city he sounds a shophar and warns the people to arm and to come on the wall. I too appointed prophets who inform you about the impending retribution to alert yourselves and to mend your ways so that you be saved and that is like the shophar sounded by the lookout. Hearken to the sound of this shophar and arm yourselves.

And I have stationed Heb. והקמותי. This means: I have already stationed for them. And so did Jonathan render: ואקימית, and I stationed. lookouts (Badetes in O.F.).

what is within them i.e., the evil that is in their hands.

the fruit of their thoughts the retribution for their thoughts.

and they rejected My instruction Heb. ותורתי וימאסו בה. This follows the pattern of (Exodus 15:2) “The strength and destruction of God was my salvation (ויהי לי לישועה),” for he should have said: והיה לי לישועה. So too, here it should have said, ותורתי מאסו בה, but it is the style of Scripture to speak in this manner.

Why do I need frankincense that you offer up to Me, that comes from Sheba?

are not pleasant Heb. ערבוּ.

They will grasp Heb. יחזיקו, they will take. Comp. (Exodus 4:4) “And he stretched out his hand and took it (ויחזק).” Comp. also (infra verse 24) “trouble grasped us (החזיקתנוּ) held us.”

there is fear Heb. מגור. Another explanation: An expression of gathering. Comp. (Ezekiel 21: 17) “Gathered (מגורי) to the sword.” And in this manner Jonathan renders it.

and roll Heb. והתפלשי.

a mourning [as] for an only child A mourning for an only son; one who has only one son and he dies.

a bitter lamentation Heb. מספד תמרורים. Since it is the construct state, it is vowelized מספד with a ‘pattah,’ and it is not vowelized מספד with a ‘tzere.’

upon us So to speak, upon Me and upon you.

I have made you the strong one This was said to Jeremiah. I have made you the strong one in their midst, and you shall know and test their way, that he tested them and they will not heed. בחון is an expression of strength. Comp. (Isa. 32:14) “rampart and tower (בחן),” also (ibid. 23:13) “they erected its towers (בחוניו).”

extremely perverse Turning away from the road.

going tale bearing between copper and iron. They introduce hatred between two princes who have the power to provoke one another. That is what I heard. But I say, they are tale bearers, and they are as strong as copper and iron to maintain their falsehood. Jonathan, however, renders this word רכיל as an expression of guile (נוכל). They go with guile as one mixes copper with iron. נוכל is an expression of plot. Comp. (Gen. 37:18) “And they plotted (ויתנכלו) against him to slay him.”

The bellows is heated This is an allegory. When they refine silver, they blow with a bellows, and they always put lead into the crucible, which helps for the refining. But you—I have come to refine you. The bellows is heated and parched because of the fire, and the lead is completely consumed. נחר is an expression related to (Job 42:7) “My wrath has been kindled (חרה)”; (ibid. 30:30) “And my bones are burned (חרה) with heat,” (esrast in O.F.).

in vain In vain does the founder refine, for it is of no avail

and the wicked ones have not been separated from their evil way. That is to say that the prophets toiled to reprove, but it did not avail them.

Separated Heb. נתקו, (furent de... in O.F.). (Another version:) and the wicked ones. This is like רשעים.

Refuse silver which cannot be refined with any toil.