I saw Hashem standing upon the altar. It was already stated (above, 3:14): "For on the day that I punish the transgressions of Israel, I will also punish the altars of Beth-el, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off." I explained that Hoshea son of Elah sought to abolish the worship of the calves and removed the guards who had prevented Israel from going up on pilgrimage, and he cut off the horns of the altar. As a result, rebellion arose among the people, and they divided into two factions. This caused them to inform against Hoshea before the king of Assyria, who imprisoned him and besieged Samaria, thereby bringing about their exile, as I have explained in various places in my commentary on Hosea. He depicts this as having occurred through the Providence of Hashem, as though Hashem were standing upon the altar at Beth-el, and He said, "Strike the capital." This refers to the lintel of the altar-house, upon which there was a kind of ornamental knob. Through this, the thresholds shall shake, and the altar-house will be destroyed. This is itself what was meant by "and the horns of the altar shall be cut off." And cut them upon the head of them all; through this, they were all cut apart and divided into different factions, and this occurred at the beginning, meaning at the beginning of their downfall. For their end, the ultimate result of the turmoil, will be that I shall kill them by the sword through the king of Assyria. None who flees among them shall escape, for they will not be saved through flight; and even one who escapes the enemy's sword shall not be delivered, for the sword will later overtake him, as he goes on to explain.

If they dig down. He explains what was meant by, "None who flees among them shall escape": none of the possible means of flight will help them. If they dig a hiding place as deep as Sheol in order to conceal themselves there, from there My hand shall take them, and I will deliver them into the hand of the enemy. And if they ascend to heaven, meaning to the tops of the lofty mountains whose summits reach the heavens, from there I will bring them down into the hand of the enemy.

And if they hide themselves on the summit of Carmel, where there were many tunnels and large caves in which people would hide, from there I will search for them and take them through the enemy. And if they conceal themselves from before My eyes in the depths of the sea, meaning on desolate and remote islands in the sea that people do not reach, from there I will command the serpent, for serpents are found there, and they will bite them.

And if they go into captivity. This explains what was meant by, "Nor shall any fugitive among them escape." Even those fugitives whom the enemy leaves alive and takes into captivity will not escape the sword, for from there I will command the sword, meaning that there decrees of persecution and slaughter will be issued against them. Nor will I leave them there to chance; rather, My Providence will remain upon them. But when I set My eyes upon them, it will be for evil and not for good, for I will exercise Providence over them in order to punish them with a punishment brought about through Divine Providence.

And Hashem God of Hosts touches the land, and it melts. This corresponds to what was said above (8:8), "Shall not the land tremble for this?" which alludes to the rebellion that arose among them, while the wording there suggests that the land trembled of itself. Here he says that this occurred through Hashem. The people's rebellion, which he compared to the trembling of the land, and the enemies' sweeping the people away into exile, which he compared to the rising of the Nile and its covering the land—all this did not occur by chance, but through Hashem. He touches the land, and it melts, and the rebellion arises, as it is written, "I saw Hashem standing upon the altar." Likewise, through Hashem, the whole of it rises like the Nile, and the enemies cover it, as explained there above. All this occurred through Hashem's Providence.

Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens. This is based on what is written: "Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain; who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, etc.; who founded the earth upon its foundations." As I explained in my commentary on the account of Creation, at first the entire world was water within water. When Hashem willed that the dry land should appear, He stretched out the heavens like a curtain, meaning that He established in the nature of water that it should rise as vapor to the firmament, which is the sphere of the atmosphere. There, the waters that had been mixed with the air were separated and remained within the sphere of the atmosphere, as it is written, "Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters." This refers to the law He established for the waters, that they should rise to that point and remain there bound within the clouds. Through this, the dry land was revealed and the mountains rose out of the deep, concerning which it is written, "He founded the earth upon its foundations." This is the meaning of "Who builds His upper chambers in the heavens," for there the vapors and waters ascend, and through this "He founded His gathering upon the earth," for the dry land was gathered together, and He set a boundary for the sea so that it would not go beyond that gathering. And He Himself, who restrained the waters so that they would not cover the dry land, is "He who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth," so that the world returns to a state of water within water, as He did in the generation of the Flood, when rain descended from the heavens and the waters covered the dry land. Thus, He who made it can bring His sword near to return creation to the womb of chaos.

Are you not like the children of the Cushites to Me? After prophesying calamity, he concludes his book with words of consolation. He says: You are set apart for Me like the children of the Cushites, who are always distinctive and recognizable, and remain identified with their fathers because of the blackness of their skin. Although they may go into exile and mingle among other peoples, they do not become indistinguishable from them. So too, although you will go into exile and mingle among the nations, you will always remain recognizable, for you belong to Me. For you are the children of Israel, and all who see them will recognize them as children of the living God. He brings proof of this: Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt? Although you lived in Egypt for many years as exiles and slaves, you nevertheless did not become assimilated among the Egyptians, and I brought Israel out as a separate and recognizable people, retaining its name and lineage. But did I likewise bring the Philistines from Caphtor and Aram from Kir? This is a rhetorical question. The Philistines had been conquered in ancient times by the Caphtorites, as it is written, "And the Avvim, who dwelt in villages as far as Gaza—the Caphtorites who came forth from Caphtor destroyed them and dwelt in their place." Later, the exiles returned to the land of the Philistines, as it is written, "For Hashem will destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the island of Caphtor." Yet can it be said that I brought up the Philistines? Or when I bring Aram back from its exile in Kir, to which the king of Assyria exiled them, can it truly be said that I bring up Aram? Surely, in their exile they will intermingle with the other peoples and disappear among them, and they will no longer remain Philistines and Arameans, but will become Caphtorites and people of Kir, for they will have ceased to be the nations they were before their exile. Only Israel remained Israel and did not intermarry or assimilate among them, as it is written, "And their offspring shall be known among the nations, etc." And he explains the matter.

Behold, the eyes of Hashem are upon the sinful kingdom. When Hashem sets His attention upon a kingdom to punish it for its sins, then I will destroy it from upon the face of the earth; that nation will be destroyed and cease to exist as a people. Nevertheless, I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob. Although Hashem will punish them, He will not destroy their essential identity, and they will always remain the house of Jacob, recognizable by their families and their customs.

For behold, I command. He explains the workings of Divine Providence in this matter: He will shake them among all the nations, so that they will wander, be scattered, and dispersed among all the peoples. This is what our Sages meant by the expression, "The Holy One, blessed be He, acted charitably toward Israel by scattering them among the nations," for through this they will not disappear in any one place, nor will any single nation be able to destroy them, since they will wander from nation to nation. Second, they will be like grain shaken in a sieve. Wheat and barley are placed in a sieve, and the sieve is shaken to cleanse them of the refuse. The fine waste falls through the holes of the sieve, but the kernel, meaning the full grains in which flour is contained, shall not fall to the ground, but will remain in the sieve. So too, through dispersion and exile, the wicked among them will fall away and become assimilated among the nations, whereas the righteous, who are bound in the bond of Torah, the commandments, and the unity of Israel, will not fall to the ground but will remain steadfast in their faith. He now explains who constitutes the refuse that will fall to the ground and pass out of the sieve.

All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, for they are the refuse. They are those who say, "The evil shall not approach," meaning that they say that the coming calamity is a matter of chance and not an act of Divine Providence brought by Hashem because of their deeds. Therefore, they say that "the evil shall not approach us," meaning that the calamity that draws near will not come on our account in order to punish us, but is merely a matter of chance. And they add that it will not "overtake us," for they do not even believe that their deeds can cause the calamity to come sooner. Rather, they maintain that both the coming of the calamity and the time of its arrival are entirely matters of chance, and that it does not come upon the wicked before the righteous. This is a denial of Divine Providence and punishment.

On that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David. At first, the house of David was built and perfected as a permanent house, continuing through the descendants of David from generation to generation. Afterward, it was no longer a permanent house but only a temporary booth. This was during the Second Temple period, when the monarchy of the house of David had ceased and the Hasmoneans and Herod ruled. Nevertheless, there were still leaders descended from the house of David, and this was comparable to a temporary booth. Afterward, even the booth of David fell, for in this present exile the leaders too ceased to exist, and no trace of leadership remained among the descendants of the house of David. Then Hashem will raise up the booth of David, meaning that a man descended from the house of David will arise and lead the people in the manner of the former leaders. It has already been explained (Ezekiel 34:23–24) that the sun will rise for the house of David in three stages, as it is written there: "He shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd; and I, Hashem, shall be their God, and My servant David shall be a prince among them." At first, the man from the house of David shall feed them, meaning that he will lead them and compel them to practice justice and righteousness. Through this, the booth of David will be raised up—that is, leadership from his descendants will be restored—but the booth will still remain in ruins. Afterward, however, Israel will accept the kingdom of Heaven and willingly accept his leadership, and then he shall be their shepherd by their own consent. Concerning this it says, "I will close up its breaches." Through the repairing of the breaches of the generation, "I will raise up its ruins," and the booth will become whole rather than ruined, for they will willingly accept him as their shepherd. Afterward, the kingdom of Heaven will be revealed, as it is written, "And I, Hashem, shall be their God," and then, "My servant David shall be a prince among them." He will be the Messiah. At that time it will no longer be a temporary booth but a permanent structure, and therefore it says, "And I will build it as in the days of old," for the kingdom will once again be permanently established as it was formerly.

So that they may inherit the remnant of Edom. For most of the children of Edom will then fall in the war of Gog and Magog, and the remnant that remains of them, as well as all the nations that remain at that time, upon whom My name is called, meaning that they will acknowledge the name of Hashem and accept the true beliefs, until the name of Hashem is called upon them—all these will become an inheritance for the Messiah.

Behold, days are coming. He further explains that at that time the crops and fruits will become so abundant that the harvest will continue for a long time, until the season of plowing arrives, and the treading of grapes will continue until the time of sowing, because of the great abundance of grain and grapes, as it is written, "Your threshing shall reach until the vintage." The mountains will drip with sweet juice from the abundance of fruit, and the hills, where the cattle and sheep graze, will melt with the abundance of milk, as it is written at the end of Joel, "And the hills shall flow with milk."

And I will restore the fortunes of My people. This means the restoration of their former stature and standing. And they shall rebuild the cities that had been desolate, and they shall plant vineyards, etc.

And I will plant them upon their land. From then on, they will be like a tree planted in its place, which cannot be uprooted from its soil; so too, they will never again be uprooted from their land, for they will never again go into exile.