a company of traitors Companies of traitors.

They have directed Lit. trodden. This expression is appropriate for the preparation of the bow to shoot an arrow, and a bow (קשת) is (arbalete in French), and they tread it with their feet. Therefore, he calls it treading, and the prophet compared their tongue to a treacherous bow, for they directed their tongue like a treacherous bow.

from evil to evil From sin to sin.

forges plans He lays traps.

they commit iniquity [until] they are weary They wearied themselves and toiled to pervert their way.

העוה is like (Exod. 8:11) “and making heavy (והכבּד) his heart,” to commit iniquity.

Your habitation is in the midst of deceit When they sit, they devise plans of deceit, and with deceit they have exchanged fear of Me and refused to know Me.

because of deceit Heb. בּמרמה.

I will refine them with torments.

because of the daughter of My people Because of the sins of the congregation of Israel.

Their tongue is a deadly arrow Heb. שחוט, drawn. Comp. (I Kings 10:16) “malleable gold” (שחוט). Also, (Hos. 5:2) “And the extent of their turning away (ושחטה),” (tirer in French), pulling. Another explanation is that it is actually an expression of slaughter (tranchant in French, cutting). In this manner Menahem classified it (Machbereth Menahem p. 172), and in this manner Jonathan rendered it: כּגיר די מחרף, like a sharpened arrow.

but in his heart lit. in his midst. Jonathan renders: in his innards.

for the mountains i.e., for the destruction of the mountains.

for the dwellings of the wilderness The dwelling of the shepherds in the wilderness. נאות is an expression of a dwelling. Comp. (Psalms 83: 13) “the dwellings (נאות) of God,” also (ibid. 93:5) “to Your house, the dwelling (נאוה) of sanctity.”

they are withered Heb. נצתו. An expression of aridness. Comp. (v. 11) “withered (נצתה) .”

have fled and are gone i.e., they are destined to go. For fifty-two years no one passed through Judah; from the exile of Zedekiah until the order of Cyrus, king of Persia, were fifty-two years. An allusion to the matter [is that the numerical value for] “and the beast” (בּהמה) amounts to fifty-two, and the computation is exact, in Tractate Megillah [should read: Yoma 54a].

heaps Heb. דגורין heaps.

Who is the man so wise Who will understand this, and who is the prophet to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken,

that he may declare it? And who will declare why the land is ruined and all this retribution has come?

with wormwood Bitter grass.

poisonous water Snake venom.

they have cast down our dwellings Heb. השליכו משכנותינו, [our dwellings] have cast out their inhabitants. We can also explain: For the enemies have cast our dwellings to the ground.

from the streets Heb. מחוץ, from the street. Comp. (I Kings 20:34) “And you shall make yourself streets in Damascus.”

Let not the wise man boast Do not boast, saying, “We are wise.” Behold, you have rejected My words, so what wisdom do you have? If you understand and know Me, then you can boast of your wisdom.

that he understands Heb. השכיל, like (Exod. 8:11) “making heavy (הכבד)” (Enteliant in O.F.).

every circumcised one for his uncircumcision Every circumcised one who has a foreskin, even an uncircumcised heart, and surely I will punish the heathens.

Egypt etc. These were the neighbors of Eretz Israel, and they were punished shortly after her, as it is written in Ezekiel (29), and explained in Seder Olam (ch. 26).

cast off to the corners Heb. פאה, an expression of an end, those cast off to the corner of the desert.