Woe is me. The prophet laments the low state of the generation: all the pious and upright have vanished and disappeared from the land, and he alone remains faithful to God. He compares the generation before him to a vineyard of grapes or a grove of figs whose season has already passed. Among the figs, he is like one who gathers the summer fruit after the first-ripe figs have already been taken, while he alone remains like a fig left at the end of summer. Among the grapes, he is like the gleanings remaining after the vintage. Corresponding to the gleanings of the vintage, he says, There is no cluster to eat; and corresponding to the gathering of summer fruit, he says, There is no first-ripe fig to eat, which my soul desires. He longs to eat a cluster or a first-ripe fig, but there is none.

Has perished. He explains the corresponding phrase, “There is no cluster to eat”: The pious man has perished from the land. The pious person does more than he is strictly obligated to do, both in the commandments between man and God and those between one person and another. He resembles a cluster filled with grapes, for he is filled with the fruits of righteousness and justice. Thus our Sages interpreted eshkol as “a man in whom everything is found.” Such a person has perished from the land. Corresponding to “the first-ripe fig that my soul desires,” he says, There is no upright person among men—not even a person who at least acts uprightly in matters between one person and another. Therefore, he says “among men,” referring to commandments governing relations between people. Even such a person does not exist. On the contrary, they all lie in wait for blood, seeking to shed blood, and each hunts his brother with a net, setting a snare and trap to capture him.

Concerning the evil. The order of the verse is: Concerning the evil committed by the hands, the prince inquires and the judge investigates, in order to favor the evildoer in exchange for payment. That is, although you see the prince and the judge asking about the evil committed by someone’s hands—questioning, investigating, and examining the wrongdoing—do not think that they do so to administer justice and punish the evildoer. Rather, they investigate in order to favor him in exchange for payment. By paying them a bribe, the evildoer induces them to treat him favorably and refrain from punishing him. The prince was charged with disciplining wrongdoers, while the judge was charged with examining the case according to law; yet both the prince and the judge accepted payment and favored the evildoer. Above them stood the great man, the head of them all and the preeminent member of the Sanhedrin. When people could obtain no justice from the prince or the judge, they went to this great man. And the great man declares the ruin desired by his soul—in order to favor him in exchange for payment. The great man also desires a bribe. He therefore declares that this evil deed warrants the ruin of the evildoer’s soul—that he deserves death and that destruction and calamity should befall him—but he merely says this. Thus, the prince and judge investigate, while the great man declares that the evildoer deserves destruction; yet all of this is done only to favor him in exchange for payment. Both the investigation by the prince and judge and the great man’s declaration that the evil committed deserves ruin and destruction are merely intended to extract bribes from the offender, after which they will favor him. And they weave it together. The three—the prince, the judge, and the great man—then agree to favor the evildoer and form a threefold cord, for, as our Sages said, a cord consists of no fewer than three strands. That is, they issue a forceful and binding judgment, like a threefold cord that cannot be broken, firmly confirming that the evildoer deserves no punishment.

The best of them is like a thorn; the most upright is worse than a thorn hedge. Even the good person found among them is not inherently good. He resembles a thorn that appears straight in comparison with a thorn hedge. A thorn hedge is a fence or covering made from thorns and briars. The thorn itself is full of twists, but when it is fashioned into a hedge, it is bent still further and becomes even more tangled and twisted, so that by comparison the individual thorn appears straight. Likewise, even the best among them is crooked and perverse; he is considered upright only in comparison with the members of his generation, who are as twisted as a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen—your visitation—has come. On the day of calamity prepared for those who watch you—that is, the nations waiting to behold your misfortune—on the very day appointed for their punishment, your own visitation has also come: your sins have been remembered, and you will be punished for them. Thus, on the day prepared for the punishment of the nations neighboring the Land of Israel, Israel too was called to account for its sins, so that now their confusion shall come. The entire people, of whom he said, “They all lie in wait for blood,” etc., will become bewildered, and confusion will prevail among them.

Do not. This means that the confusion among them will be so great that their hearts will become divided, each person from his brother, until they will not trust even a friend whose affection they had previously trusted, nor place confidence in a guide—the leader who teaches them and directs their path. Even from her who lies in your embrace, guard the openings of your mouth, for peace within the home will also cease.

For a son dishonors his father. Even one’s own offspring will rise against their parents, demonstrating the utmost confusion and corruption of the people. Every bond of love and kinship will be severed; all the more so will there be no civil peace among them.

But as for me. The prophet says: In view of the degradation of this generation, its corruption, and the evil state of its public and domestic life, there is no hope at present. But as for me, I will look to Hashem. Looking denotes expectation directed toward a distant time: I will look to Hashem’s promise that He will yet return and redeem us in the latter days. I will wait. That is, within this expectation of the future redemption in the latter days, there are two possibilities. One is to hope and wait until the arrival of the appointed time and the end of days, when the redemption must come under all circumstances. The term “waiting” applies to awaiting something certain to come, like waiting for morning, which will surely arrive when the night ends. Concerning this he says, I will wait for the God of my salvation—for the appointed time of salvation. Alternatively, the redemption may come even before its appointed time if they repent, seek His presence, and an acceptable time arrives, as it says, “In an acceptable time I answered you, and on a day of salvation I helped you” (Isaiah 49:8), as I explained there. Concerning this he says, My God will hear me—He will hear my prayer at an acceptable time, even before the time for which I wait.

Do not. Therefore, do not rejoice over me, my enemy, because I am in exile, for though I have fallen, I shall arise. Through my very fall into the depths of the pit, I will rise and regain strength, for through it I will be saved. Moreover, though I dwell in darkness—the darkness of affliction—Hashem is a light to me. Even if I lack physical light—the light of material prosperity—I possess the light of Hashem: the light of religion and faith, and the light of hope in Hashem’s salvation.

Indignation. Through this fall, I will bear the indignation of Hashem, because I have sinned against Him, and thereby my sins will be cleansed and my iniquity atoned for, until He pleads my cause. At the time of redemption, He will plead my cause and execute judgment for me against those who oppress and afflict me. Then He will bring me forth into the light, and I will behold His righteousness. Until that time, the light arising from Hashem’s righteousness already exists, but I sit in darkness and my eyes are closed from perceiving Hashem’s righteous acts. Then He will bring me forth into the light, and I will behold Hashem’s righteousness, His light, and His salvation. Looking back, I will then understand the righteousness He showed me and recognize that everything was an act of righteousness and kindness for my benefit.

And my enemy shall see. My enemy, too, will see this at that time, and then shame shall cover her, for throughout the exile she said to me, “Where is Hashem your God?”—why has He withdrawn His Providence from you? She will then see that Hashem was with me throughout all the days of my exile, that He never hid His face from me, and that everything occurred through His Providence so that He might benefit me in the latter days. But my eyes shall look upon her: when I lift my eyes to behold her, they will look upon her with contempt. Even now, although she now prospers and grows powerful, I see that she shall be trampled like mud in the streets. Her prosperity is itself preparing her downfall, so that she will ultimately perish and be trampled underfoot. This is what I see in her even now, during the days of her tranquility.

(11–12) A day. He turns toward the congregation of Israel, and the clauses correspond to one another: A day for rebuilding your fences—that day is firmly established; though the appointed time of that day is distant, it shall come to you. That is, the day prepared for rebuilding your fences—within which, like sheep gathered into newly built folds, the scattered flock will be assembled—that day is firmly established before Hashem. It also means that this day will truly be day, with no night accompanying it, whereas the days preceding it will be night rather than day. He then says again: Although the appointed time of that day is distant—its fixed time is indeed far off, in the latter days—nevertheless, it shall come to you, as it says, “Though it tarries, wait for it, for it will surely come.” From Assyria—it will come to the returning exiles from Assyria and the fortified cities, where they were exiled in the days of Sennacherib; and from the fortress—meaning the exile in the land of Egypt—as far as the River Euphrates, as it says, “Those lost in the land of Assyria and those driven away in the land of Egypt shall come,” and, “Hashem shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian Sea and wave His hand over the River.” And sea—those exiled toward the west, namely, the exiles caused by the Romans—shall come from the sea; while the exiles of the north shall come from Mount Hor, which lies north of the Land of Israel.

And the earth shall be. Then the earth—meaning the entire globe—shall become desolate because of its inhabitants, for the iniquity of the earth’s inhabitants will be visited upon it. Thus he says, because of the fruit of their deeds.

Shepherd Your people. When the seer perceived how long the exile would endure, he prayed that Hashem would have mercy upon them throughout that period. He says to Hashem, Shepherd Your people with Your staff. Even if You must strike them during the days of their exile, nevertheless shepherd Your people through Your Providence, as a shepherd tends his flock. Do not strike them with the staff of destroyers; rather, chastise them with Your staff—with the rod of men, not with a club or cudgel. The flock of Your inheritance, dwelling alone in a forest—shepherd them in the midst of Carmel. They dwell alone—that is, separated from all workers of iniquity—yet they remain in a forest filled with savage, predatory beasts. I therefore ask: Shepherd them in the midst of Carmel, a fruitful land filled with grain—that is, watch over them so that they possess everything they need—until the time comes when they shall graze in Bashan and Gilead as in days of old, meaning that they will return to the Land of Israel.

As in the days. This is Hashem’s answer: As in the days when you came forth from the land of Egypt, when they too were afflicted and oppressed and I brought them out with great power, signs, and wonders, so I will show them wonders in the future.

They shall see. The nations that see this with their own eyes shall be ashamed of all their might, for they will recognize that their strength is vanity and emptiness when Hashem performs wonders, and that no man prevails through strength. They shall place their hands over their mouths and utter nothing, for their lips will be unable to express these awesome wonders, which surpass human understanding. Their ears. That is, they will not place their hands over their ears, as at the Exodus from Egypt, concerning which it says, “The peoples heard and trembled,” for their ears shall become deaf. The meaning is that they will not merely hear reports with their ears; rather, they will see Hashem’s deeds and wonders with their own eyes.

They shall lick the dust like a serpent. He adds, like creatures that crawl upon the earth, for a serpent sometimes raises its head, whereas these nations will remain entirely prostrate. He further says, They shall tremble from within their enclosures. They will not be like a crawling creature able to creep wherever it wishes, for fear will confine them within their cities. This fear will arise not from warfare or widespread slaughter; rather, they shall be in awe of Hashem our God because of His greatness and exaltedness, and consequently they shall fear you, because Hashem is with you.

Who is a God like You? In concluding his words, he gives thanks to God for the forgiveness of sins, for Hashem will bear the transgression of His people. He says: You are God—who is like You, bearing iniquity? Although You initially chastised them for their sins, nevertheless, for the remnant of His inheritance—the generation that will remain at the end of days—He bears iniquity and passes over transgression. Among the Thirteen Attributes it says, “Bearing iniquity, transgression, and sin.” “Bearing” means that He carries and tolerates the sin without punishing it, although it remains preserved before Him until the appropriate time, as indicated by the words, “Yet He will not entirely acquit.” In the future, however, there will be a difference: transgression, meaning rebellion that does not constitute iniquity—that is, rebellion not arising from heresy or a distortion of the intellect—He will remove entirely. Iniquity, however, He will not remove from existence; it will remain as before, when He bore and tolerated it without removing it. The attribute of patience results from His bearing iniquity and transgression rather than removing them entirely: He tolerates them and postpones His anger instead of punishing immediately. In the future, when He removes transgression entirely, the attribute of patience will apply only to iniquity, which He will not remove but will continue to bear patiently. He therefore adds, He does not retain His anger forever. Even regarding iniquity, toward which He exercises patience and which remains preserved before Him, He will not retain His anger forever. This will result from the awakening of two other attributes: mercy and abundant kindness. Concerning this he says, for He delights in kindness, and will forgive out of kindness. And also:

He will again have mercy upon us and forgive through the attribute of mercy. Through these attributes, He will subdue our iniquities: He will no longer bear iniquity as a burden that He carries and tolerates, but will suppress it so that no punishment will ever result from it in the future. (You already know the dispute in which one Sage says that He “subdues” iniquity and another says that He “bears” it; the iniquity itself is not erased.) And You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Sin, however—an offense committed inadvertently or because of desire, rather than through rebellion or heresy—You will cast into the depths of the sea, so that it will no longer exist at all.

You will grant. After enumerating all the attributes, he turns to the attribute of truth and the attribute of preserving kindness for thousands of generations. He says that the attribute of truth means that You will fulfill Your promise: You will grant the truth—the promise You made to Jacob, when You told him, “Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread out westward and eastward.” This means that after the exile, when their souls cling to the dust, He will arise to help them, and they will spread through an inheritance without boundaries. You will fulfill this promise through Your attribute of truth. You will also grant the kindness that You promised to Abraham. In Abraham’s case, God had not yet become obligated by any previous promise, and therefore it is called “kindness.” In Jacob’s case, however, He was already obligated to fulfill the oath He had sworn to Abraham and Isaac, and therefore it is called “truth.” Thus, You will preserve what You swore to our forefathers; although the oath dates from days of old, You preserve kindness for thousands of generations.