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text: Rashi on Jeremiah
  רש"י על ירמיהו
  merged
  
  This file contains merged sections from the following text versions:
  -Jeremiah, English translation by H. Freedman, Soncino Press, 1949
  -
  
  Rashi on Jeremiah
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah Let the son of the corrupt woman, whose deeds are proper Jeremiah was descended from Rahab the harlot and let him reprove the son of the righteous woman whose deeds are corrupt these are Israel who corrupted their deeds who are descended from legitimate seed.
  
  Verse 2
  
  To whom the word of the Lord came Upon whom the Shechinah commenced to rest at that time.
  
  Verse 3
  
  And he was in the days of Jehoiakim And he was a prophet all the remaining days of Josiah, the days of his son Jehoiakim, and the days of his son Zedekiah, until the end of the eleventh year that is the year until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  When I had not yet formed you in the womb, etc. Since the days of the first man. The Holy One, blessed be He, showed Adam each generation and its prophets.
  I...formed you Heb. אצרך, an expression of צורה, a form.
  I knew you connois toi in O.F. Comp. (Exodus 6:3), “I was not known (נודעתּי) to them.”
  I appointed you I appointed you for this.
  a prophet to the nations To Israel, who behave like the nations. In this manner it is expounded in Sifrei on the verse: “A prophet from your midst, etc.” (Deut. 18:15), will set up for you and not for those who deny the Torah. How then do I fulfill “A prophet to the nations I made you”? To the children of Israel who deport themselves with the customs of the nations. It can further be interpreted: “A prophet for the nations,” like “About the nations,” to give them to drink the cup of poison, to prophesy retribution upon them, as it is said: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand, you shall give all the nations to drink of it” (infra 25:15). Another explanation of “When you had not yet emerged from the womb I appointed you” is: Concerning you I said to Moses: “I will set up a prophet...like you” (Deut. 18:18). This one reproved them, and this one reproved them. This one prophesied for forty years and this one prophesied for forty years.
  
  Verse 6
  
  Alas This is an expression of wailing (konpljjnt in O.F.).
  for I am a youth I am not worthy to reprove them. Moses reproved them shortly before his death, when he was already esteemed in their eyes through the many miracles that he had performed for them. He had taken them out of Egypt, split the Reed Sea for them, brought down the manna, caused the quails to fly, given them the Torah, brought up the well. I come to reprove them at the beginning of my mission.
  
  Verse 7
  
  wherever I send you to the heathens.
  and whatever I command you to Israel, you shall speak.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  And the Lord stretched forth His hand Every sending mentioned concerning a hand is an expression of stretching forth. Another explanation is like the Targum: And the Lord sent the words of His prophecy.
  
  Verse 10
  
  I have appointed you I have appointed you over the heathens.
  to uproot and to crush (depayser in French, to uproot) and over Israel to build and to plant if they heed. So did Jonathan paraphrase it.
  
  Verse 11
  
  a rod of an almond tree (amendleer in O.F.) Jonathan, however, renders: A King who hastens to do evil.
  
  Verse 12
  
  You have seen well This almond tree hastens to blossom before all other trees. I, too, hasten to perform My word. And the Midrash Aggadah (Ecc. Rabbah 12:8) explains: An almond tree takes twenty-one days from its blossoming until it is completely ripe, as the number of days between the seventeenth of Tammuz, when the city was broken into, until the ninth of Ab, when the Temple was burnt.
  
  Verse 13
  
  a bubbling pot [lit. blown up,] seething (boillant in French).
  whose foam [lit. and its face,] its seething (et ses ondes in O.F.) [and its waves].
  
  Verse 14
  
  From the north the misfortune will break forth Babylon is on the north of Eretz Israel.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  And I will utter My judgments against them I will debate with them, with Judah and Jerusalem.
  
  Verse 17
  
  And you shall gird your loins This is an expression of quickening like a man of valor.
  
  Verse 18
  
  against the Kings of Judah lit. to the Kings of Judah.
  
  Verse 19
  
  And they shall fight against you They shall quarrel and fight against you to refute the words of your prophecy.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  I remember to you Were you to return to Me, I would desire to have mercy on you for I remember the loving kindness of your youth and the love of the nuptials of your wedding canopy, when I brought you into the wedding canopy, and this (כלולתיך) is an expression of bringing in. Your nuptials (Noces in O.F.). Now what was the loving kindness of your youth? Your following My messengers, Moses and Aaron, from an inhabited land to the desert without provisions for the way since you believed in Me.
  
  Verse 3
  
  Israel is holy like terumah.
  the first of His grain Like the first of the harvest before the Omer, which it is forbidden to eat, and whoever eats it is liable, so will all those who eat him be guilty. So did Jonathan render it.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  And they did not say, Where is the Lord that we should follow other gods?
  plains Heb. ערבה (planure in O.F.), related to pianoro in Old Italian, meaning ‘a plateau.’
  and pits Heb. ושוחה (enfosses in O.F.), pitted.
  waste Heb. ציה (degat in French).
  and darkness Heb. וצלמות. An expression of darkness.
  
  Verse 7
  
  to a forest land To the land of Israel which is planted like כרמל, meaning: planted like a forest.
  
  Verse 8
  
  and those who hold onto the Torah The Sanhedrin.
  and the rulers the kings.
  prophesied by Baal In the name of Baal.
  
  Verse 9
  
  Therefore, I will still contend Before I bring misfortune upon you, I will still contend with you through My prophets, although I have already contended with you many days.
  
  Verse 10
  
  the isles of the Kittites To the isles of the Kittites.
  איי is (isles in French).
  and send to Kedar And send to Kedar to see their custom.
  and consider diligently And put your heart to it to consider the matter diligently.
  whether Heb. הן, like אם, if. Whether either of those nations exchanged its god although they are no gods, yet My nation exchanged their glory, with which they were honored. The Kittites and the Kedarites were tent dwellers and cattle herders, who would travel, go, and wander from pasture to pasture and from desert to desert, and they carry their gods with them to the place where they encamp. But I carried you until I established you, yet you forsook Me. This is how Jonathan paraphrased it. Our Sages said however: The Kittites worshipped water and the Kedarites worshipped fire. And although they know that water quenches fire, they did not forsake their god.
  
  Verse 11
  
  for what does not avail For an idol that does not avail.
  
  Verse 12
  
  O heavens, be astonished Heb. שמו, an expression of astonishment, like השתוממוּ. It is the imperative form, with the same vowel points as (I Sam. 14:9): “If they say thus to us, “Wait (דּמּוּ) .”
  and storm Heb. ושערו, an expression of סער, a storm.
  become very desolate As though you are becoming desolate because of the Temple that is destined to be destroyed.
  
  Verse 13
  
  two evils Had they exchanged their Deity [lit. their fear] for one His equal, it would be one evil, and now that they have forsaken Me, that I am a spring of living waters, to follow idols, which are like cisterns of stored up water, and they are broken and cracked, and their water is absorbed in their cracks, these are two evils.
  to dig Heb. לחצב, lit. to hew.
  that do not hold (Tendront in O.F.) their water, for the water will make their edge and their walls muddy, and they cave in.
  
  Verse 14
  
  Is he a home born slave? The son of a maidservant.
  
  Verse 15
  
  roar roar, a present tense.
  young lions Symbolic of kings.
  were burnt were burnt with fire.
  
  Verse 16
  
  Also the children of Noph and Tahpanhes They are the Egyptians upon whom you trust for aid.
  will break your crown They will break your skull. ירעוּך is an expression of breaking (רציצה), as we translate ורצוץ, “and crushed” (Deut. 28:33), וּרעיע.
  
  Verse 17
  
  Is not this caused to you Is not this misfortune and this retribution caused to you by the guilt and the iniquity that you have forsaken the Lord your God?
  at the time He leads you by the way For He would teach you the good and the straight way.
  
  Verse 18
  
  what have you to do in the way of Egypt Why do you leave Me and trust in Egypt?
  to drink the water of the Shihor For they drowned your male children in the Nile. Shihor is the Nile, as it is said: “From the Shihor which is before Egypt,” in the Book of Joshua (13:3).
  and what have you to do to rebel against Me so that you should be exiled to the way of Assyria, to the other side of the Euphrates River?
  
  Verse 19
  
  Your evil will chastise you Eventually, your evil will bring suffering upon you.
  and your backslidings, Heb. ומשבותיך, an expression related to “backsliding children (שובבים)” (infra 3:22).
  will reprove you Heb. תוכחך, an expression of reproof.
  and the fear of Me was not My fear was not in your heart that you should fear Me.
  
  Verse 20
  
  I broke your yoke To the wooden yoke an expression of breaking applies, and to the yoke-bands which are of leather an expression of tearing open applies.
  yoke-bands [מוסרותיך are the] ropes used to shackle the yoke [to the animal].
  and you said, “I will not transgress.” your words.
  but on every lofty hill Put you did not keep your promise, for on every lofty hill you recline (צעה). This is an expression of a bed and a sheet (מצע). [The word] כי serves as an expression of ‘but.’
  
  Verse 21
  
  I planted you a noble vine stock Heb. שורק is the branches of a good vine, that is to say the children of pious and righteous fathers. Its midrashic interpretation is: I planted you שורק. I added for you to the seven commandments of the children of Noah, six hundred and six, as is the numerical value of שורק.
  degenerate Heb. סוּרי (Destoultours in O.F).
  wild vine that grows in the forests.
  
  Verse 22
  
  with natron A type of earth with which garments are cleansed and rubbed.
  soap Heb. בֹּרִית, cleanliness. Comp. “And pure (וּבַר) of heart” (Ps. 24:4). Some explain בֹּרִית as savon in French, soap.
  your iniquity is stained Jon. renders: Like the mark of a stain that is unclean, so have your sins increased before Me. 
  כתם is tka in O.F.
  your iniquity This is said concerning the iniquity of the ‘Golden Calf,’ which remains in existence forever, as it is stated: “And on the day of My visitation, I will visit upon them their sin” (Exodus 32:34). All visitations that come upon Israel have part of the iniquity of the Golden Calf in them.
  
  Verse 23
  
  See your way in the valley See what you have done opposite Beth-Peor, and until now you adhere to that way like a swift she camel clinging to her ways.
  young she-camel Heb. בכרה, a young female camel, that loves to wander. “The young camels (בכרי) of Midian” (Isa. 60:6) is translated “and they are young camels,” as we find in Sanhedrin 52a: There are many old camels laden with the skins of young camels (הוגני).
  clinging Adhering to the ways of her youth, an expression similar to: “it would have clung (מסריך סריך)” (Chullin 51a). This may be associated with “a shoe thong (שרוך נעל)” (Gen. 14:23). She binds the ways of her youth in her heart.
  
  Verse 24
  
  A wild donkey (salvatico in O.F.) wild, and some interpret it as poulain in O.F., a foal.
  accustomed to the desert Accustomed to be in the deserts, so she loves to wander.
  that snuffs up the wind She opens her mouth and snuffs up the wind, and he always returns to his place.
  her tendency like the sea creatures, who can hinder her? That trait of the sea creatures that she has, for also the sea creature snuffs up the wind, as it is said: “They snuff up the wind like sea creatures” (infra 14:6). Who can hinder her from that trait? So it is with you who can return you from your evil way?
  her tendency like a sea creature Son dagronemant in O.F., dragon nature. Jonathan rendered it in this manner, כערודה. Another explanation: It is an expression of wailing, comp. “moaning and wailing”. all who seek her will not weary For they will weary needlessly, for they will be unable to overtake her. What will her end be? In her month, they will find her. There is one month in the year that she sleeps for the whole month, and then she is captured. You, too, - one month (viz. Ab) was already prepared for you from the days of the spies, when your forefathers established it as a time of vain weeping, therein, you will be captured. (תּאניה ואניה) (Lam. 2:5). Another explanation: (sa contree in French,) her country, comp. Taanath Shiloh (Josh. 16:6).
  
  Verse 25
  
  Withhold your foot from going barefoot This your habit, like the wild donkey that loves to wander. My prophets say to you, “Withhold your foot from idolatry lest you go barefoot into exile and withhold your throat from dying of thirst.” but you said concerning the words of the prophets. I despair It is of no concern. I despair of your words. נואש is (nonkalajjr in O.F.) nonchalair in modern French.
  
  Verse 26
  
  when he is found out At the beginning, when he is found to be a thief, and he was presumed to be faithful. In this manner, Jonathan rendered it.
  
  Verse 27
  
  and at the time of their misfortune they say i.e., they say to Me, “Arise and save us.” Jonathan, too, translates in this manner: And at the time that misfortune befalls them, they deny their idols and confess before Me, and say. “Have mercy upon us and save us.”
  
  Verse 28
  
  as many as your cities were your gods In every city was another god.
  
  Verse 29
  
  Why do you contend How do you come to contend with the quarrel and say, “We do not sin”?
  All of you have rebelled against Me Even the righteous are meant. This is what people say, “With the thorn the cabbage suffers.”
  
  Verse 30
  
  In vain have I smitten For no purpose, for it did not avail that they should receive correction.
  Your sword devoured your prophets, Zechariah and Isaiah.
  
  Verse 31
  
  See the word of the Lord He took out to them the jar of manna. He said to them, “See here how helpful the word of the Lord is.” was I a desert to Israel Heb. המדבר. This is the interrogative form. Therefore, the ‘mem’ is punctuated ‘weak,’ i.e., without a ‘dagesh’ and the ‘heh’ with a ‘hataph- pattah.’ Did it seem to your forefathers that it was a desert when they traversed it? For I brought down for them this bread, the necessity of each day in its day.
  thick darkness מאפליה, an expression of darkness.
  Why have My people said, “We have been separated...”? Heb. רדנו, we have been separated from You. Like one who separates (רודֶה) bread from the oven. So is the midrash of Rabbi Tanhuma (Bamidbar 2). Menahem, however, explains רדנוּ as an expression of descending (ירידה) and also in other manners (Machbereth Menahem, p. 162).
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  How you adorn Heb. תיטבי. You adorn yourself to greet your adulterers. Comp. “And she adorned her head” (I Kings 9:30) concerning Jezebel in the section dealing with Jehu.
  even to the most evil you accustomed You searched throughout all the evil ways to learn the most corrupt of them all. גם is an expression of ‘even.’
  verily Heb. לכן, an expression of a true oath. Verily, to the most evil way of all the ways you accustomed yourself.
  you accustomed Heb. למדת, lit. you taught.
  
  Verse 34
  
  you did not find them breaking in You did not find them breaking in when you slew them.
  you did not find them So does Scripture say for a feminine second person singular, and there are many such examples in the Book of Ezekiel (16:58), “You bore them (נשאתים).”
  but for all these i.e., because they were reproving you for all these things.
  
  Verse 35
  
  And you said i.e., you said in your heart.
  But I am innocent That I have purified my soul.
  I contend with you I will come with you in judgment.
  
  Verse 36
  
  degrade yourself Heb. תזלי, an expression of degradation.
  to change your way To leave Me and to rely on Egypt for aid in the days of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah (infra 37).
  to change Heb. לשנות, an expression of change.
  as you were ashamed through Assyria Upon whom Ahaz relied and “he oppressed him and did not strengthen him” (II Chron. 28:20).
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  to say I have to say that you are no longer fit for me, for so is the way of one who sends away his wife and she goes away, etc.
  But you have played the harlot [with] many lovers With many lovers. Nevertheless, return to Me.
  yet return to me Heb. ושוב, lit. and to return to me, like עשות, to do, and to return to Me, I long for you.
  
  Verse 2
  
  rivulets rivulets of water.
  you were not lain with Heb. שלגת, an expression of a פילגש a concubine.
  you sat for them to be prepared to greet them.
  like an Arab A tent dweller, who is always found outside in the deserts, and because of this, he is called ערבי since he dwells in the ערבה, the plain.
  
  Verse 3
  
  and the latter rain The rain that falls in Nissan on the ears (מלילות) and the straws (קשים). מלקוש is (tardif in O.F.).
  
  Verse 4
  
  Will you not from now If only you repent of your evil and call me “My Father.” If you do so, will your Lord bear a grudge forever for what you have sinned? Will He keep it to eternity? He will not keep it.
  
  Verse 5
  
  Behold, you have spoken with your mouth, “We will no longer come to You,” and that evil you will do, and you will not give any thought of returning.
  and you were able And you prevailed in rebelling with a victorious and irrefutable reply.
  
  Verse 6
  
  In the days of King Josiah when He commanded me to bring back the Ten Tribes, “Have you seen what the backsliding Israel has done? משבה is the same as שובבה, (envejjsede in O.F).
  Israel The Ten Tribes.
  she goes i.e., when she was still on her land before she was exiled in the days of Hezekiah with Hoshea son of Elah.
  הלכה means, she would go on every lofty mountain.
  and she played the harlot there i.e., she played the harlot by worshipping idols. וַתִּזְנִי is the equivalent of וַתִּזֶן, the ‘yod’ being superfluous.
  
  Verse 7
  
  And I said through My prophets, Amos and Hosea son of Beeri and the other prophets, “You shall return to Me.”
  And her treacherous sister Judah saw it i.e., saw all this. The appellation “treacherous” is harsher than “backsliding.” Israel, since they were the first to sin, and they did not see any retribution from which to learn and to repent, are called “backsliding.” Judah, who saw that these went in exile and did not receive correction, are called “treacherous.”
  
  Verse 8
  
  And I saw, because of all that backsliding Israel had committed adultery The signs of the intonation of this verse teach us its explanation. ישראל is punctuated with a ‘zakef-katan,’ separated from שלחתיה, I sent her away. שלחתיה, I sent her away, is punctuated with a ‘zakef-gadol’ by itself. And this is its explanation: I saw; i.e., I contemplated her to exact punishment upon her. And why? Because of all that backsliding Israel had committed adultery. And what was My vengeance? I sent her away from before Me. And treacherous Judah did not fear when she saw the retribution of Samaria, to set her heart to repent.
  
  Verse 9
  
  and she committed adultery with the stones Jonathan paraphrases: And she strayed with the worshippers of stones and wood. And Jonathan renders מִקֹל as an expression of lightness, since her idols were light in her eyes.
  
  Verse 10
  
  And yet for all this that they saw the misfortune of the retribution of their companions.
  but falsely Josiah’s generation would show themselves as righteous although they were wicked. They would make forms of pagan deities on the inside of their doors, half on this door and half on this one, and when the destroyers of idols would inspect, the door would be open, and they would not notice it.
  
  Verse 11
  
  has proved herself more righteous She has been cleared and she has freed herself from an unfavorable verdict, for she had no one to learn from.
  
  Verse 12
  
  Go and proclaim, etc. Go, as the Targum renders, אזיל, the imperative form. Here he commanded him to go and bring back the Ten Tribes during the days of Josiah, as he states above that during the days of Josiah this prophecy was said to him and some of them returned in the eighteenth year of Josiah.
  to the north To the places where they were exiled there to Assyria.
  My anger My anger, so did Jonathan render it.
  
  Verse 13
  
  you have rebelled Heb. פשעת.
  and you have scattered your ways This is an expression of harlotry, spreading the legs to the woman’s private parts.
  
  Verse 14
  
  backsliding children (Envasec in O.F.) That you perverted your way because of much good, that you enjoyed tranquility and pleasure, as Scripture states: They hum snatches of song to the tune of the lute (Amos 6:5), those who drink from bowls of wine (v. 6).
  for I possessed you and you are called by My name, that I am your Master, and it is not honorable for Me to leave you in the hands of My enemies.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  they will no longer say, “The ark of the Lord’s covenant” For your entire assembly will be holy, and I will dwell therein as though it were an ark.
  nor shall they remember it Heb. יפקדו, like יזכרוּ, remember or mention.
  nor shall it be done anymore i.e., it shall not be done what was done with it already in Shiloh, that they brought it into the battle with the Philistines in the days of Eli.
  
  Verse 17
  
  shall gather Heb. ונקוו, an expression of: מקוה מים, a gathering of water.
  the idea of an expression of seeing. Comp. אשורנו “I see him” (Num. 24:17).
  
  Verse 18
  
  the house of Judah will go with the house of Israel They will join them and they will be added to them to be one kingdom.
  
  Verse 19
  
  And I said to Myself, etc. and therefore, I caused your forefathers to inherit them.
  How shall I place you among the sons? i.e., how shall I place you, my congregation and My nation, among the other sons, mingled with the heathens. I, therefore, selected a handsome portion, and I gave you a desirable land.
  the beauty of hosts of nations The beauty of all the hosts of nations.
  
  Verse 20
  
  Truly But you did not live up to My expectations [lit., do My thought], but like a woman who betrays her beloved because he cannot provide her sustenance, so did you betray Me, Who provides you with all good. So is the Midrash Aggadah (Tanhuma Mishpatim 17).
  
  Verse 21
  
  A voice on the rivulets is heard It is likely to be heard.
  
  Verse 22
  
  Here we are, we have come to You The prophet teaches them to confess and to say as follows, “Here we are, we have come to You... Truly, in vain... But the shameful thing has consumed, etc., Let us lie in our shame.” All this is the language of the prayer that the prophet teaches them to say. 
  We have come אתנו.
  
  Verse 23
  
  Truly, in vain we awaited from the hills and the multitude of mountains where we worshipped idols.
  Truly in truth.
  
  Verse 24
  
  But the shameful thing The idolatry with which we occupied ourselves, as Scripture states. “And they turned aside to the shameful thing” (Hosea 9:10).
  consumed the toil of our fathers Because of the iniquity of its worship, our toil was pillaged.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  If you return, O Israel with this repentance, to Me, you will return to your original glory and greatness.
  and if you remove your detestable things from My Presence Then you shall not wander to go out in exile.
  
  Verse 2
  
  And you will swear, “As the Lord lives,” in truth When you swear by My name, you will swear in truth, not as now, that it is written concerning you, “And if they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ surely they swear falsely” (5:2).
  nations will bless themselves with him If you do so, then nations will bless themselves with Israel. Every non-Jew will say to his son, “You shall be like So-and-so the Jew.”
  boast Heb. יתהללו, they will recite your praise. Another explanation of is יתהללו: Whoever is able to cleave to Israel will boast about the matter (porvanter in French).
  
  Verse 3
  
  For so said the Lord, etc. Plow for yourself a furrow Learn from the tillers of the soil, who plow it in the summer to kill the roots of the grasses, that it should not grow thorns at the time of sowing in the winter. You, too, improve your deeds before the evil befalls you, so that your prayer should not be rejected when you cry out.
  and do not sow upon thorns And let not your cry before Me be from amidst wickedness, but from amidst repentance, that you shall not resemble one sowing without plowing, and that turns into thorns (kardons in O.F., chardons in modern French).
  
  Verse 4
  
  Circumcise yourselves to the Lord Before My anger comes forth like fire. This is like plowing before the sowing.
  
  Verse 5
  
  and say, “Sound a shophar...” Warn the inhabitants of the land that they sound the shophar to flee.
  assemble Heb. מלאו. An expression of gathering, and there are many in the Scriptures: (Isaiah 31: 4) “Although a band of (מְלֹא) shepherds gather against him,” Also (infra 12:6) “They called after you a band (מָלֵא).” Also (Job 16:10) “Together they gather (יתמלאוּן) against me.”
  
  Verse 6
  
  Raise a standard to flee to Zion.
  assemble Heb. העיזו. Comp. “Send, gather (העז)” (Exodus 9:19).
  
  Verse 7
  
  A lion has come up That is Nebuchadnezzar.
  from his thicket It is customary for a lion to lie in wait in the thickets of the forest (espaises in O.F.).
  will be desolate Heb. תצינה, an expression of desolation.
  
  Verse 8
  
  Because of this What is “this?” “For the fierce anger etc.” Although he spoke above concerning Nebuchadnezzar in regards to the destruction, here he returns to speak of the death of Josiah.
  for the fierce anger of the Lord etc. Although Josiah repented wholeheartedly, it is stated concerning him. (II Kings 23:26)... “the Lord did not turn back from his great wrath...because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked Him.”
  
  Verse 9
  
  And it shall be on that day On the day of Josiah they will wonder why so much befell him, for they do not know that his generation did not repent properly. When he came to abolish idolatry, what did the scorners of the generation do? They would engrave an image of a pagan deity on their doors, half of it on this door and half of it on this door. When he would open it, it was not discernible, and when he went away from there, he would close it, and it would join together.
  
  Verse 10
  
  Surely You have misled Heb. השא השאת (fa)tenter in O.F.), tempting, an expression like (Gen. 3: 13) “The serpent misled me (השיאני),” for the false prophets prophesy for them, You will have peace.
  
  Verse 11
  
  of this people Concerning this people when they are all exiled.
  has swept the rivulets It sweeps even the fields with rivulets of water to make them into a desert. Another explanation: צח is an expression of thirst, which is translated צחותא.
  [on] the way of the daughter of My people That wind will come, and also, not to winnow the chaff from the threshing floor ([a]vanner in O.F.). Comp. (infra 15:7) “And I winnowed them with a sieve (ואזרם במזרה).”
  and not to cleanse And not to cleanse grain does it come. That is to say, not for good but for evil, to exile men [women], and children, and livestock.
  
  Verse 12
  
  A full spirit of these retributions shall come to me. A full spirit A full spirit, that I will not retract and not repent. spirit (talant in O.F.)
  debate Heb. משפטים, an expression of debating.
  
  Verse 13
  
  and like the whirlwind (comme tourbillon in O.F.)
  
  Verse 14
  
  your iniquitous thoughts Your injustice.
  
  Verse 15
  
  For a voice proclaims from Dan Jonathan paraphrases: “Behold the voice of the prophets prophesy about them that they will be exiled because they worshipped the calf that was in Dan, and people bringing bad tidings will come upon them because they subordinated themselves to the image that Micah erected on the mountain of the house of Ephraim.” Although the calves had already been exiled since the days of Sennacherib, their iniquity was still existing. Sin is harsh, for it destroys [lit. breaks] before it and after it; before it, since the days of Abraham, as it is stated (Gen. 14:14): “And he pursued until Dan.” As soon as he reached Dan, he grew faint [lit. his strength was weakened], for his children would, in the future, worship idols there, and after it, in the destruction of the Temple, as it is stated: “A voice proclaims from Dan.”
  and announces calamity Heb. און, a breach.
  
  Verse 16
  
  besiegers Heb. נצרים. Those who will make a siege upon them.
  
  Verse 17
  
  a field like שדה, a field.
  for she has rebelled against me She has provoked Me. Comp. (Deut. 9: 24) “You have been rebellious (ממרים),” provoking.
  
  Verse 18
  
  have done these to you To do these to you.
  
  Verse 19
  
  I writhe in pain Heb. אוחילה. An expression of writhing in pain (חיל) and shuddering.
  the walls of my heart! (ettancon in O.F.), blocking wall, perhaps from late Latin, intimus, innermost.
  you, my soul, have heard From behind the curtain of heaven the ridings of the sound of the alarm of war reached me.
  
  Verse 20
  
  Destruction upon destruction The destruction of Jerusalem upon the exile of Jeconiah.
  in a moment my curtains In a moment my curtains were plundered.
  
  Verse 21
  
  How long will I see these groups carrying the standard to come to wage war.
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  moved to and fro Heb. התקלקלו, they were uprooted and cast out of their place. Menahem associates it with: “He shakes the arrows to and fro (קלקל)” (Ezek. 21:26).
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  and behold, the fruitful field The land, planted with all good like a forest, has become like a desert. The Midrash Aggadah states: “I saw the mountains”These are the Patriarchs. “And all the hills”These are the Matriarchs. That is to say that their merit was depleted. “There were no people”This refers to Moses, about whom it is said: “humbler than all the people” (Num. 12:3). “And behold the Karmel”This is Elijah.
  
  Verse 27
  
  but I will not make an end of its inhabitants, for I will leave over refugees who will go into exile.
  
  Verse 28
  
  shall mourn Shall be destroyed.
  I planned Heb. זמתי, an expression of thought.
  for that which I spoke i.e., this retribution, and I will fulfill it.
  and I will not turn back And I will not repent to think good thoughts about them.
  
  Verse 29
  
  archers Heb. רמה קשת, lit. bow shooters. Comp. “Cast (רמה) into the sea” (Exodus 15:1).
  they came into the thickets Into the thick forests, a place intertwined with thorns, to hide.
  and they ascended among the boulders Heb. ובכפים. סלע, a rock, is translated into Aramaic as בכפיא.
  
  Verse 30
  
  that you wear crimson to beautify yourself and to gain clemency before the plunderer.
  that you enlarge...with paint Heb. תקרעי. An expression of tearing, for the paint appears as widening the opening of the eye. So have I heard, and Menahem did not differentiate in the group of קרע.
  paint Heb. בפוך, an expression of a blue paint.
  lovers Heb. עגבים, those who jest with the women with various types of adultery. Comp. (Ezekiel 23:20) “She lusted (ותעגבה) for concubinage with them.”
  they seek your life They seek to kill you.
  
  Verse 31
  
  like a woman bearing her first child Heb. כמבכירה, like a woman bearing her first child, the beginning of her birth.
  who will wail Heb. תתיפח, she will wail and cry out with sighs (konpljjnt in O. F:). Comp. “who speak (ויפח) violence” (Psalms 27:12), an expression of speech.
  “Woe is to me...” This is what she says.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  O Lord, Your eyes are they not on people with faith, to do good to them? Now why have these betrayed You, and they do not seek faith?
  You smote them and they did not become ill because of the blow to lay it to their heart to repent of their evil.
  to receive Heb. קחת, equivalent to (לקחת), to receive.
  
  Verse 4
  
  And I said The prophet says so, “They are but impoverished of wisdom,” these with whom I speak.
  they have become foolish Heb. נואלו, an expression of אויל, a fool, as the Targum renders: אטפשו.
  
  Verse 5
  
  I will go to the great ones They will hearken. But I did not avail, and they too together broke the yoke of the Holy One, blessed be He, off them.
  
  Verse 6
  
  a lion The kingdom of Babylon.
  a wolf The kingdom of Media.
  a leopard The kingdom of Greece.
  shall be torn to pieces by Edom.
  a wolf of the deserts Heb. ערבות, an expression of (supra 2:6) ערבה ושוחה “plains and pits,” a wolf of the desert.
  hastens Heb. שקד. Menahem (p. 180) associates it with an expression of watching. Comp. (Prov. 8:34) “To watch (לשקוד) My doors daily.” And Jonathan rendered it as an expression of lying in wait.
  
  Verse 7
  
  Shall I forgive you for this? This is the rhetorical question, Shall I forgive you for this? And Menahem (p. 22) explains אי like אין, not. For this I will not forgive you, because your children have forsaken Me, when I sated them with all good.
  they banded together They gather in troops.
  
  Verse 8
  
  Like armed stallions they would arise early Like these stallions who are armed with erect membra, every morning they would arise at daybreak.
  they would neigh Heb. יצהלו. This too is an expression appropriate for horses. Comp. (8:16) “From the sound of the neighing (מצהלות) of his steeds,” an expression of shouting (esjodement in O.F.).
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  Ascend upon its rows Heb. בשרותיה, an expression of a plain. Menahem (p. 181) associates it as an expression of a wall with (II Sam. 22:30) “I scale a wall (שור),” but נטישותיה (cep in Prov.) do not fitfor they are the roots of the vineyard to be associated either with the walls or with the plain. I say, therefore, that בשרותיה is an expression of the rows of the vineyard. Jonathan, however, rendered בשרותיה, in her cities, and נטישותיה, her palaces.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  And [they] said, “It is not He” [The Targum renders:] Our good fortune does not come before Him.
  
  Verse 13
  
  And the prophets shall become wind As the Targum renders: And the false prophets shall become naught. That is to say, the prophecy that the false prophets prophesy for us in the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, their words shall turn to futility, and the speech of holiness that they say to us in the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not in them.
  So shall be done to them The prophet says to those who say this, “So shall be done to them as the Lord said to me, and what did the Lord say to me? “Because you have spoken this word, etc.”
  
  Verse 14
  
  and it shall consume them Heb. ואכלתם.
  
  Verse 15
  
  mighty Heb. איתן, strong.
  It is an ancient nation From days of yore it began to rebel against Me, in the generation of separation in the land of Shinar.
  
  Verse 16
  
  His quiver Heb. אשפתו. The place of the arrow case.
  
  Verse 17
  
  He will impoverish your fortified cities [upon which you rely, with the sword] This verse is in the wrong order [and should be arranged as follows:] He will impoverish with the sword your fortified cities upon which you rely.
  impoverish Heb. ירשש, he will impoverish.
  with the sword With troops. Comp. “And a sword will not pass in your land” (Lev. 26:6).
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  Will you not fear Me? Does not the sea, which is not concerned about retribution and does not look forward to receiving reward, fear Me and not cross the boundary that I set around it?
  do you not quake Heb. תחילו, an expression of fear.
  and toss themselves i.e., its waves, and they lift themselves to cross the border but cannot cross.
  and its waves roar A loud sound of roaring.
  but they do not pass it The waves do not pass the border.
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  the early rain and the latter rain Heb. יורה ומלקוש, as the Targum renders: בכיר ולקיש, the early rain and the latter rain.
  the weeks of the laws of harvest Seven weeks in which He ordained two ordinances of harvest, the ordinance of the omer, and the ordinance of the two breads.
  He keeps for us that the harvest should be in its time.
  
  Verse 25
  
  have brought about these Have brought about these laws. Have cast aside these laws from you, so they don’t guard you and you will be consumed from hunger.
  
  Verse 26
  
  they lie in wait Heb. ישור. Comp. למען שוררי because of those who lie in wait for me (Psalms 27: 11), an expression of “I see him (אשורנו) but not near” (Num. 24:17).
  as a trap bites As a trap that they make to catch deer in the forest, bites when his foot enters it and it bites him and holds onto his foot and he is caught, and the call this (piege in O. F.).
  they stationed an ambush (Canbel in O.F.) So do those who lie in wait make for a city or on the road.
  they station Heb. יציבו, like “the garrison (מצב) of the Philistines” (I Sam. 14:4).
  
  Verse 27
  
  As a cage That is a place where they fatten fowl, and so does Jonathan render it, like a fattening place, and in O.F. (frank).
  
  Verse 28
  
  they have become thick Heb. עשתו, an expression of “a block (עֶשֶת) of ivory” (Song 5:14), a thick body, and in O.F. enboeront.
  they transgressed in deeds of wickedness If evil or a sin came into their hand, they did not turn away from it, but transgressed it and committed it.
  they did not plead the cause of the orphan in order that they prosper.
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  An appalling...thing Heb. שמה, a wonder.
  and horrible thing Heb. ושערורה, a disgraceful thing to all, and what is the appalling thing? The prophets prophesy falsely and say, “Rob and plunder,” and the priests, who are the judges of the people and their overseers, govern the people on the hands of the prophets, that is to say, after them. Comp. (II Sam. 15) “And the king was crossing and all the people were crossing on his hand,” stated concerning David, meaning ‘after him.’ Here too, “on their hands” means ‘after them,’ to do according to the words of the prophets.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  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.
  
  Verse 2
  
  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).”
  
  Verse 3
  
  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.
  
  Verse 4
  
  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.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  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.
  
  Verse 7
  
  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.
  
  Verse 8
  
  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.
  
  Verse 9
  
  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).
  
  Verse 10
  
  and warn Heb. ואעידה, an expression of warning.
  clogged Heb. ערלה, clogged, and so is every expression of ערלה.
  a disgrace They deride it.
  
  Verse 11
  
  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.’
  
  Verse 12
  
  fields and wives together shall be turned over to others.
  
  Verse 13
  
  commit robbery rob money.
  
  Verse 14
  
  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.
  
  Verse 15
  
  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.
  
  Verse 16
  
  rest Heb. מרגוע.
  
  Verse 17
  
  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.).
  
  Verse 18
  
  what is within them i.e., the evil that is in their hands.
  
  Verse 19
  
  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.
  
  Verse 20
  
  Why do I need frankincense that you offer up to Me, that comes from Sheba?
  are not pleasant Heb. ערבוּ.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  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.”
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  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.
  
  Verse 26
  
  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.
  
  Verse 27
  
  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).”
  
  Verse 28
  
  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.”
  
  Verse 29
  
  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.
  
  Verse 30
  
  Refuse silver which cannot be refined with any toil.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, etc. Three times a year you appear before Me.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  Will you steal, murder, etc. This is a question. Will you do all these, and should the Temple of the Lord avail for you?
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  Has...a cave of profligate men? Was this house in your eyes? This is a question.
  behold I have seen that it is so in your eyes.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  as I did to Shiloh in the days of Eli.
  
  Verse 15
  
  as I cast, etc. the ten tribes.
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  star-shaped cakes Heb. כַּוָנִים, the shape of a star.
  to the queen of heaven The largest star they would call מלכתהשמים, an expression of a queen, (מלכּה), and so did Jonathan render it: לכוכבתשמיא, to the female star of heaven.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  reaches Heb. נתכת, falls and reaches. Comp. (Exodus 9:33) “and rain did not reach (נתּך) the earth”; did not reach.
  
  Verse 21
  
  your burnt offerings that you offer up completelyit would be better for you to add them to your peace-offerings and sacrifice them as peace-offerings and eat the flesh, for they are not acceptable before Me. Why, then, should you lose them?
  
  Verse 22
  
  on the day I brought them forth The beginning of the condition was only (Exodus 19:5): “If you hearken to My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me.”
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  in the view Heb. בשררות, in the view of their heart, an expression related to (Num. 24:17) “I see him אשורנו.”
  
  Verse 25
  
  sending them day [after day] every fresh morn Every day sending them early.
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  So tear off your diadem Heb. גזי נזרך, tear out your hair. Comp. (Num. 11:31) “And He caused quails to fly (ויגז)”; also (Job 1:20), “And he shaved (ויגז) his head.” Another explanation is that נזרך means ‘your diadem,’ an expression of greatness, and so did Jonathan render: רברביך your great ones, and so did Menahem classify it (p. 83).
  and abandoned Heb. ויטש.
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  the high places of Topheth That is Molech, which was of copper, and they would heat it up from underneath it with its hands spread out and heated. And they would place the child on his hands, and he would be burnt and moan, and the priests would beat drums so that the father should not hear his son’s voice and take pity. It is called Topheth because of the drum (תּוף), Hinnom because of the child’s moaning (נהמת).
  Hinnom Because of the child’s moaning.
  which I did not ordain with commandments that they offer up their children as sacrifices, and I did not speak to any of the prophets, and when I did speak to Abraham to slaughter his son, it did not enter My mind that he slaughter, but only to make his righteousness known.
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  and no one will frighten them i.e., no one will frighten the fowl from the carcasses.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  And spread them before the sun And the Chaldeans shall dwell when they besiege the city, in the graves of the princes, that were as beautiful as palaces.
  for dung For fertilizer.
  
  Verse 3
  
  And death shall be preferable to life Although they see the dead being subjected to disgrace, the distress of the living is worse than that, and they will choose death.
  
  Verse 4
  
  Shall they fall and not rise Is it good for them to cast themselves into a fall from which there is no rising?
  if he repents, will He not return? If they wish to repent of their wickedness, will the Holy One, blessed be He, not return from His decree? Another explanation: If they repent, the repentance will not be permanent, for they will quickly return to their wickedness, and in this manner Jonathan rendered it: If to repent, it is revealed before Me that they will not repent.
  
  Verse 5
  
  a perpetual backsliding Heb. משבה נצחת, a perpetual backsliding, like נצח, perpetual.
  They have held Heb. החזיקו.
  to deceit Heb. בתרמית.
  
  Verse 6
  
  not...properly Heb. לא כן, not right, cf. (Num. 27:7) “The daughters of Zelaphehad speak justly (כּן).
  Each one turns away in his course [lit. in their course.] In the first way. They sin and repeatedly sin. מרוצתם is korse in O.F.
  like a frightening effaye in French.
  
  Verse 7
  
  Even the stork (Cigogne in French).
  her seasons The time they pass to the islands of the sea because of the cold, and the time of their return.
  await Heb. שמרו.
  and the turtledove and the crane and the swallow Jonathan renders: ושפנינא וכורכיא וּסנוּניתא. כּורכיא is (grue in French), a crane. סנוּניתא is (hirondelle in French), a swallow.
  
  Verse 8
  
  Verily, behold it is in vain Behold your wisdom is in vain within you to heal you lightly.
  he made a false scribes’ pen i.e., your prophet.
  
  Verse 9
  
  Wise men were ashamed i.e., wise men like you. And what is the shame? Behold, they rejected the word of the Lord, now what wisdom have they?
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  And they healed Heb. וירפו, similar to וירפאו.
  
  Verse 12
  
  They shall be put to shame Shame and embarrassment shall come upon them.
  Neither are they ashamed They are not ashamed of their evil deeds to take heart to repent.
  
  Verse 13
  
  I will utterly consume them This is an expression of destruction. Comp. (Zeph. 1:2) “I will utterly consume (אסף אסף) everything from upon the face of the earth.”
  There shall be no grapes on the vine Nothing will be left over.
  even the leaves will be withered Heb. נבל, an expression of withering (fleirit in French). Comp. (Isa. 34:4) “and as a withered fig (וּכנבלת) from a fig tree.” Also (ibid. 1:30), “like an elm whose leaves are wilting (נבלת).”
  for what I gave them they transgressed All this shall befall them because I gave them statutes and they transgressed them.
  
  Verse 14
  
  and there let us sit in silence And let us be silent there. Let us sit there silent and mournful.
  poisoned water Jonathan renders: the cup of the curse, like the venom of serpents. The venom of the serpents is the poison that is in his teeth.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  From Dan is heard Because they worshipped the calf that was in Dan.
  the snorting of their horses The sneezing of his nostrils.
  the neighing of their stallions The neighing of joy of his horses, and we find elsewhere that horses are called אבּירים (Jud. 5:22) by reason of the prancings, “the prancings of their mighty ones (אבּיריו),” an expression of (Nahum 3:2) “a prancing horse.” And Jonathan renders: from the sound of the steps of their mighty ones.
  
  Verse 17
  
  serpents, adders After seventy years, the snake becomes a צפע, which shuts its ear so that it will not hear the voice of the charmer who charms him, as it is stated (Psalms 58:5), “Like a deaf asp that shuts up its ear.” That is the meaning of “that cannot be charmed.”
  
  Verse 18
  
  Were I to suppress my grief Heb. מבליגיתי, my suppression, and it is a noun, (mes estenimenc in O.F.). That is to say, if I said, I will suppress and keep in my grief.
  my heart is sick within me From the voice of the prophecies that are revealed to me of the coming retributions.
  
  Verse 19
  
  Hark the voice...the cry of the daughter of My people I hear that eventually they will cry from a distant land, but why is all this necessary? Is not the Lord in Zion? If they return to Him, He will allow Himself to be found by them.
  
  Verse 20
  
  The harvest is past, the summer is ended We looked forward to the aid of Egypt, but it did not come. We said, “Let the harvest pass, and they will be free, and they will come.” Now behold, the time of harvest has passed in Iyar, and the summer season in Tammuz, and they have not come.
  
  Verse 21
  
  I mourn lit. I am darkened, an expression of blackness and darkness.
  dismay Heb. שמה, wonder.
  has taken hold of me Has held me.
  
  Verse 22
  
  Is there no balm in Gilead For balm comes from there, as it is said (infra 46:11) “Go up to Gilead and take balm.” That is to say, Did they not have any righteous men from whom to learn so that they should improve their ways?
  the health of lit. the cure of, (emplatre in O.F.), plaster, dressing.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  a company of traitors Companies of traitors.
  
  Verse 2
  
  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.
  
  Verse 3
  
  forges plans He lays traps.
  
  Verse 4
  
  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.
  
  Verse 5
  
  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.
  
  Verse 6
  
  I will refine them with torments.
  because of the daughter of My people Because of the sins of the congregation of Israel.
  
  Verse 7
  
  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.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  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].
  
  Verse 10
  
  heaps Heb. דגורין heaps.
  
  Verse 11
  
  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?
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  with wormwood Bitter grass.
  poisonous water Snake venom.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  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.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  from the streets Heb. מחוץ, from the street. Comp. (I Kings 20:34) “And you shall make yourself streets in Damascus.”
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  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.
  
  Verse 23
  
  that he understands Heb. השכיל, like (Exod. 8:11) “making heavy (הכבד)” (Enteliant in O.F.).
  
  Verse 24
  
  every circumcised one for his uncircumcision Every circumcised one who has a foreskin, even an uncircumcised heart, and surely I will punish the heathens.
  
  Verse 25
  
  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.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  Of the way of the nations you shall not learn Of the way of the nations you shall not learnand then, from the signs of the heavens you will not be dismayed, from the eclipse of the sun or the eclipse of the luminaries.
  
  Verse 3
  
  a carpenter Heb. חרש, a craftsman.
  a small axe Dolodojjre in O.F.
  
  Verse 4
  
  with nails clous in French.
  and with sledge hammers A hammer, marteau in French.
  it does not bend Heb. יפיק, it does not kneel with its knees. Comp. (I Sam. 25:31) “a stumbling block (פוקה)”; (Nahum 2:11) “and tottering (ופיק) of the knees.”
  
  Verse 5
  
  Like a palm tree they are beaten He hammers them with a hammer until it has an upright stature like a palm tree.
  fear them not if you separate from them for they will not harm you.
  neither is it in them to do good If you worship them. היטיב is like להיטיב to do good.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  for it befits You It is proper for you.
  
  Verse 8
  
  But with one thing they are brutish i.e., the heathens, and what is that one thing? Their vanities of wood for which they will be punished, and they will be punished for it. יבערו is an expression of foolishness, so is ויכסלו.
  
  Verse 9
  
  Silver beaten into plates Heb. מרקע.
  
  Verse 10
  
  But the Lord God is true Why? Because He is a living God and the King of the world. Therefore, He can make His words come true. A mortal person, however, plans to do something and dies or becomes weak or loses his property, and has no ability to execute his plans.
  
  Verse 11
  
  So shall you say to them This is a letter that Jeremiah sent to Jeconiah and those exiled with him in exile, to reply to the Chaldees in Aramaic, a reply if they tell them to worship idols.
  
  Verse 12
  
  He stretched out Tendre in French.
  
  Verse 13
  
  At the sound of His giving At the time the sound comes that He is giving a multitude of water in the heavens.
  clouds Heb. נשאים, clouds.
  lightning plaindres in old French.
  
  Verse 14
  
  brutish Heb. נבער. Comp. (Psalms 92:7) “a brutish (בער) man”; also here (infra 10:21), “the shepherds have become brutish (נבערו).”
  his molten images Heb. נסכו. An expression of מסכה, a molten image.
  
  Verse 15
  
  at the time of their visitation When I will visit retribution upon them.
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  Gather in from the land your merchandise Heb. כנעתך. Hide, gather in from the land your merchandise. Comp. (Hos. 12:8) “The trafficker (כּנען) in his hand are deceitful scales.” Menahem explains כנעתך as an expression of humility (הכנעה) and lowliness. And אספי is an expression of bending down. Bend down and humble yourself more than the lowliness of the earth, you Jerusalem, that dwells now in a fortified city (Machbereth p. 107).
  
  Verse 18
  
  sling as one slings a stone with a slingshot.
  that they may find their just deserts.
  
  Verse 19
  
  grievous Heb. נחלה, an expression of sickness (חלי).
  and I will bear it Heb. ואשאנו. Jonathan renders. And I will bear it ([a]souffrir lui in O.F.).
  
  Verse 20
  
  have left me Heb. יצאוני, have left me, Jerusalem says this.
  
  Verse 21
  
  For the shepherds The kings.
  they have not prospered They have not prospered in their kingdom. Comp. (Prov. 17:8) “To all that he turns, he will prosper (ישכיל).
  their flocks Heb. מרעיתם, lit. their pasture, the flocks of their pasture.
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  man’s way is not his For the evil inclination that You created in him leads him astray from the way. Another explanation is: I know, O Lord, that man’s way is not his; not every man has the power to make his way prosper, and if it were not for Your command, the enemy would have no power to destroy Your Temple.
  
  Verse 24
  
  but with justice With chastisements.
  with justice (justice in French).
  but with justice Jonathan renders: but with mild judgment.
  not with Your wrath lest there be complete destruction.
  
  Verse 25
  
  they have devoured (devorerent in French). The same applies to “and consumed him” (ואכלהוּ).
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  “Amen, O Lord” that he be cursed.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  For I warned Heb. העידתי, an expression of warning.
  
  Verse 8
  
  And I brought upon them all the words of this covenant The curses stated in the covenant for the things that I commanded to do and they did not do.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  And they shall go the cities of Judah From the cities of Judah.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  cry nor prayer This follows the Targum.
  
  Verse 15
  
  What has my beloved to do in My house What reason has My treasured people to come anymore into My house?
  [seeing that]...perform evil design That she does the evil design of her sinful plans.
  the many of them.
  and the holy flesh they remove from you Even the circumcision through which they were hallowed to Me, they have abolished from their flesh.
  for [with] your evil, then you rejoice When you commit a transgression, you rejoice.
  
  Verse 16
  
  to the sound of a great tumult Heb. המולה, an expression of the tumult of a large multitude that will come upon them.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  And the Lord let me know So said the prophet, The Holy One, blessed be He, let me know their retribution.
  
  Verse 19
  
  And I was like a lamb [and] a bull that will be brought to the slaughter.
  brought Since I let them know of the evil, they plan to kill me.
  like a lamb [and] a bull Heb. ככבש אלוף. Dunash and Judah son of Kudish (Karish) interpreted it as a lamb and a bull, brought to the slaughter. And אלוף is like (Deut. 28:4) “the offspring of your cattle (אלפיך).” Although it was not stated ואלוף, we find similar cases, e.g., (Habukkuk 3:11) “The sun [and] the moon (ירח) stood on high”; (Isaiah 38:14) “Like a crane [and] a swallow (עגור) so I chirp.” And Menahem interpreted ככבש אלוף, a large lamb (see Psalms 58:9, Rashi ad loc.), and Jonathan supports him, since he renders like a choice lamb.
  Let us destroy his food with wood Let us put poison into his food.
  
  Verse 20
  
  Let me see Your vengeance against them He cursed the people of Anathoth.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  upon the men of Anathoth Heb. אל-אנשי ענתות, like על-אנשי ענתות, upon the men of Anathoth.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  You are right, O Lord, when I contend with You When I debate with You, I know that you will be right in Your words, but I wish to argue with You so that You will let me know Your way.
  Why has the way of the wicked prospered? That You have given greatness to Nebuchadnezzar the wicked, and you have made him succeed in destroying Your house? Another explanation is that he was crying and complaining about the men of Anathoth.
  have peace Heb. שלו, an expression of שלוה, peace.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  But You, O Lord, have known me Also, concerning the men of Anathoth You have aided me, for You have known me.
  Draw them out like sheep to the slaughter Draw them out of life to death (detache les in French, separate them, cut them off). Comp. (Joshua 8:6) “until we have drawn (התיקנו) them from the city.”
  and prepare them Heb. הקדישם, prepare them.
  
  Verse 4
  
  How long will the land mourn and the grass of all the field dry out? Up to here are the prophet’s words, and the Holy Spirit replies to him, “Because of the evil of its inhabitants, beasts and fowl are ended.”
  will...mourn Be waste.
  ended (finira in French, will terminate).
  for they said i.e., the inhabitants of this land have said.
  “He will not see our end.” It is not revealed to Him what will be at our end.
  
  Verse 5
  
  For if you have run with foot men and they wearied you Your kin, the priests like you and the men of your city come to kill you. with footmen Heb. רגלים (pieton in O.F), pedestrian.
  how will you compete with horses To run with the horses. That is to say, If even your brethren the priests come to kill you, surely the princes of Judah will rise up against you to kill you. This is the reason for My anger against them, and this is the reason for the success of the enemy. And so did Jonathan render: This is the reply, etc. And, according to the Midrash of our Rabbis (Sanhedrin 96a): If you are amazed about the reward for the three steps that Nebuchadnezzar ran in My honor in the days of Merodach-baladan, why I gave him so much greatness, how much more will you be amazed when you see the payment of reward that I will pay the righteous who ran before Me like horses!
  will you compete (aastir in O.F.).
  and in the peaceful land that you trust there they wearied you.
  how will you do in the heights The princes of Judah. The pride of the Jordan is symbolic since it is a place of lions and tigers, and Jonathan taught us this in many places. And here he paraphrased. And how do you expect to do against the wild beasts that are on the height of the Jordan? “And behold, as a lion ascends from the height of the Jordan,” Jonathan renders in two places (infra 49:19, 50:44): like a lion that ascends from the height of the Jordan.
  
  Verse 6
  
  have called a gang after you Heb. מלא, a group of men.
  
  Verse 7
  
  My soul’s beloved My treasured people.
  
  Verse 8
  
  she raised her voice against Me The cry of her violent deeds has ascended before Me.
  
  Verse 9
  
  Is...a speckled bird of prey? The ‘heh’ is that of the interrogative. Therefore, it is vowelized with a ‘pattah.’ Are they like a speckled bird of prey, stained with blood, around which other birds gather? Another explanation:
  Is...a speckled bird of prey One bird is speckled, and all the birds gather around it to eat it because they hate it.
  Are there birds of prey around her? Are these armies fowl of the heavens, the swift troops that are around her?
  
  Verse 10
  
  Many shepherds The commanders of the troops of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, as it is stated above (6:3): “Shepherds and their flocks shall come to her.”
  they have trampled Heb. בססו, an expression of trampling. Cf. (Zech. 10:5) “And they shall be like mighty men trampling (בוסים) the mire of the streets.”
  My field Heb. חלקתי, (campagne in French), countryside.
  
  Verse 11
  
  the wasted one mourns before Me Heb. עלי, lit. on Me.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  They sowed wheat, but they reaped thorns They prayed, but their prayer was not accepted. Why? Because they did not plow for themselves a furrow of repentance and good deeds. Therefore, they sowed seeds resulting in thorns. A book in which זרעו is vowelized with a ‘chirik’ under the ‘zayin,’ is erroneous.
  they have become ill Heb. נחלו, an expression of illness. They have become ill with their pain and their cry before Me, but they did not avail.
  of your increase Of your deeds.
  
  Verse 14
  
  My wicked neighbors Egypt, Ammon and Moab, Tyre and Sidon, who were neighbors of Eretz Israel and were inflicting harm upon them.
  
  Verse 15
  
  I will return and have pity on them They all suffered close to the destruction of the Temple, and concerning each one it is stated in this Book, “I will return the exile of...”
  
  Verse 16
  
  if they learn If they proselytize.
  they shall be built up an expression of building.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  a girdle (pourceint in O.F.).
  and do not put it in water to wash it when it will be soaked with sweat, in order that it hasten to decay.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  it was of no use for anything It was not fit for anything.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  and it shall be like this girdle Their pride shall be like this rotten girdle.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  bottle Heb. נבל. This is an earthenware vessel, and it is used to hold wine.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  And I will dash them one against the other I will dash one against the other until they break into small pieces. Cf (Psalms 2:9) “Like a potter’s vessel shall you shatter them (תנפצם)” (ibid. 137: 9). “And dash ונפץ your babes”; and so is every expression of נפוץ in Scripture.
  and the fathers and the sons I will dash one against the other.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  and before your feet stumble Heb. יתנגפו (achopper in French), to stumble.
  the dark mountains Heb. נשף, the dark mountains when they go into exile.
  and making it into a thick cloud Heb. ושית, like ולשית, and to make the light into a thick cloud.
  
  Verse 17
  
  because of your pride Because of your greatness which will be curtailed. Another explanation: Because of the pride of the kingdom of Heaven that will be given over to the idols of Babylon.
  
  Verse 18
  
  to the king and to the queen mother Jehoiachin and his mother.
  your greatness has come down Heb. מראשתיכם (vostremijevec in O.F.), your ascent, as it is stated: (II Kings 24:12) “And Jehoiachin... came out to him (sic), he and his mother and his servants,” and he led all of them in exile.
  
  Verse 19
  
  The cities of the South are shut up before those coming upon them from the north [i.e.,] the cities of Eretz Israel are shut up because of fear of Nebuchadnezzar.
  she was exiled peacefully Jehoiachin will not wage war, but he will come out peacefully, and he will exile them. Another interpretation. שלומים (gueredon in O.F.), reprisal. That is to say: she was exiled as the recompense for their iniquity. And Jonathan rendered in this manner: the recompense of their sins was received.
  
  Verse 20
  
  Lift your eyes and see those coming upon you from the North.
  Where is the flock that was given you After they are exiled, this will be said to Jerusalem.
  
  Verse 21
  
  What will you say when He visits i.e., when the Holy One, blessed be He, visits upon you?
  when you accustomed them to be princes at your head You sent emissaries to the Chaldees to bring their idols from there to worship them, as it is written in Ezekiel (23 16): “And she lusted for them to the sight of her eyes, and she sent emissaries to them, to the Chaldees.” Another explanation of “you accustomed them to be princes over you”: Hezekiah who showed the emissaries of Merodach-baladan his entire treasure house (Isaiah 39:2, II Kings 20:13).
  
  Verse 22
  
  your skirts The skirts of the garments (tes ourlets in French), your hems. When a woman is stripped in a humiliating way, they turn her chemise upside down.
  your steps cut off Your ways are cut off. נחמסו is like (Lam. 2:6) “And He cut off (ויחמֹס) like a garden His dwelling.”
  your steps (traces in O.F.) Travelers have stopped.
  
  Verse 23
  
  a Cushite Heb. כושי, the name of a black man, who is called Maure in French, a Moor.
  or a leopard leopard in French.
  his spots The leopard is spotted, and they are the spots (taches in French), and it is impossible for them to change.
  to do evil Heb. הרע, like להרע, to do evil.
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  the portion of your measures The portion of your measures, a measure for a measure.
  
  Verse 26
  
  have uncovered your skirts I have uncovered the hems of your garments upon your face.
  
  Verse 27
  
  your neighings like the neighing of adulterous horses.
  After when will you ever become purified?
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  concerning the droughts that He would bring famine upon them, and Menahem (Machbereth p. 47) classified it as an expression of fortification (מִבְצָר) like (Isaiah 25:12) “And the fortress of (וּמִבְצַר) the strength of your walls.”
  
  Verse 2
  
  and her cities Heb. וּשְעָרֶיהָ, lit., her gates.
  and the cry of Jerusalem Heb. צִוְחַת, the cry of Jerusalem. Comp. (Isaiah 42:11) “from the mountain peaks they shall shout (יִִִִִצְוָחוּ).
  
  Verse 3
  
  upon pits Pits in which the water is usually gathered.
  their vessels have returned empty for no rain has fallen.
  and have covered an expression of covering.
  
  Verse 4
  
  farmers bubirs [?] in O.F.
  
  Verse 5
  
  has borne and abandoned her offspring, to hunt for pastureland for herself.
  
  Verse 6
  
  by the rivulets rivulets of water (riveyres in O. F.).
  
  Verse 7
  
  have testified against us Heb. עָנוּ.
  do for Your name’s sake Do what You will do with us for the sake of the great name that has spread about You that You rule over all and that we are Your people and the flock of Your pasture, and it is not fitting that You give Your victorious name to the idols. And the Midrash Aggadah explains: for the sake of Your name that is inherent in our name.
  
  Verse 8
  
  hope מִקְוֵה
  
  Verse 9
  
  overcome (d’cru in O.F.) diminished, waned, who withdraws his hand from the battle, and some say (recroyant in O.F.), tiring out, resigned.
  and Your name is called upon us Therefore, by doing this, it is no longer honor for you.
  forsake us Its explanation is like תַעַזְבֵנוּ, forsake us.
  
  Verse 10
  
  So have they loved to wander So, just as I have decreed upon them exile (to Egypt and Babylon - Warsaw edition), they loved it there to go into exile to worship distant idols.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  a thing of naught an expression of אַל, not, a thing which is not.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  very grievous an expression of illness (חֹלִי).
  
  Verse 18
  
  have gone around They have gone around to seek rescue.
  to a land [which] they had not known To another land about which they did not know until then.
  
  Verse 19
  
  or has Your soul despised Zion with the intention of never returning, for, if You have in mind to return, why have You smitten us without a cure?
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  for Your name’s sake that you are called merciful.
  the throne of Your glory The Temple. And according to Midrash Aggadah, Israel who is engraved on the throne of Your glory.
  
  Verse 22
  
  Does the heaven give raindrops? by itself, except by Your command? This is the interrogative form. In every double question, the first question is preceded by a ‘heh’ and the second one with אִם, like (Num. 13:19) “Are they in open cities (הַבְּמַחֲנִים) or in fortresses (אִם בְּמִבְצָרִים)?”(Ibid. 13:19) “It is good (הֲטוֹבָה) or bad (אִם רָעָה)?” (verse 19) “Have You indeed rejected (הֲמָאֹס) Judah, or has Your soul despised (אִם...גָּעֲלָה) Zion?” Here, too, “are there among the vanities of the nations those who give rain? Does the heaven...?”
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  Moses and Samuel Both were needed to beg mercy for Israel, but first they induced them to repent, and afterwards they prayed on their behalf, but they had no idea of turning away My wrath until they had induced them to repent. Moses said (Exodus 32:27), “Let each man put his sword...” (v. 20) “and he scattered it on the surface of the water, etc.” And afterwards (v. 30), “I will ascend to the Lord, perhaps I will atone.” Samuel in Mizpah (I Samuel 7:4,5) “And the children of Israel removed the Baalim,” and afterwards, “‘Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I shall pray to the Lord on your behalf (sic).’” But you cannot bring them back to Me, therefore do not pray for them.
  desire Heb. נַפְֹשִי lit., My soul.
  
  Verse 2
  
  Such as are for death, to death Each calamity mentioned later in this verse is harsher than the one preceding it. The sword is harsher than death. Death by the sword is defacing, whereas death in bed is not defacing. And so he says (Psalms 116:15): “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His Saints.” Famine is harsher than the sword, for this one is agonizing whereas the other is not agonizing. And so Scripture states (Lam. 4:9): “Better are those who die from the sword than those who die from famine.” Captivity - all sorts of death are in it.
  
  Verse 3
  
  And I will appoint an expression of appointment and designation.
  to drag to drag. Cf. (infra. 49: 20) “If the young of the sheep do not drag them (יִסְחָבוּם).”
  
  Verse 4
  
  a horror from the same root as (Esther 5:9), “And he neither rose nor quaked (זָע).” Similarly, גַּאֲוָה pride, from the root (Isa. 16:6) “Have become very proud (גֵּא).”
  to all the kingdoms of the earth Anyone who hears the evil that has befallen you will shudder.
  
  Verse 5
  
  will lament Heb. יָנוּד.
  and who will turn aside to you, to turn aside from his road to you, to ask of your welfare?
  
  Verse 6
  
  I am weary of repenting Many times I planned to destroy but repented of the evil. Now I am weary of repenting. הִנָחֵם (Dporpnser in O.F.)
  
  Verse 7
  
  with a sieve A sieve called (van in French), like one who winnows barley, so that they should not all be exiled to one place.
  
  Verse 8
  
  are to Me more numerous His widows are more to Me.
  upon a mother Upon Jerusalem, which is a city and a mother in Israel.
  at midday Everything will be exposed before him, all their hidden treasures.
  I have cast upon her suddenly a city I caused the troops of a city and many terrors to rest upon her. Some interpret עִיר as ‘an enemy.’ Cf. (I Sam. 28:16), “And has become [the supporter of] your adversary (עָרֶךָ)” (see also Dan. 4:16).
  
  Verse 9
  
  She who bore seven Samaria and the nation of the Ten Tribes, from whom rose seven dynasties of wicked kings, has already been cut off and exiled.
  and their remnant These are Judah and part of Benjamin, who remained in Israel. I shall deliver them to the sword. These are the seven dynasties: Jeroboam son of Nebat and his dynasty, Baasha and his dynasty, Omri and his dynasty, Jehu and his dynasty, Menahem and his dynasty, Pekah and his dynasty, Hoshea and his dynasty.
  her soul grieves an expression of ‘her soul grieves.’ We translate (Deut. 28:65) “And grieving of the soul (וְדַאֲבוֹן נֶפֶֹש)” as וּמַפְּחַן נְפָֹש.
  when it is still day Before its time, they hastened to fall. In this manner it is expounded in Tractate Gittin. [See Gittin 88a]. And in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanhuma (Tanhuma Buber, Vayetze p. 153) it is expounded as referring to Jerusalem, and he counts seven wicked men: Jehoram, Jehoash, Ahaz, Manasseh, Amon, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. But there are yet to count Rehoboam, Abijah, Amaziah, and Ahaziah.
  and confounded an expression of shame.
  
  Verse 10
  
  Woe is to me, my mother Jeremiah was complaining about himself, that his townsmen hated him because of his castigations.
  and a man of contention a man of quarrel, Cf. (Gen. 6:3) “Let My spirit not contend (יָדוֹן).”
  I have not lent Cf. (Exodus 22:24) “You shall not be to him as a creditor (כְּנֹֹֹשֶה) .”
  they curse me I do not quarrel with them concerning matters of money that I claim from them, neither have they made any claim on me, yet all the people curse me.
  
  Verse 11
  
  1 leave you over I leave you over, an expression of a remnant. In this manner, Menahem (Machbereth p. 181) interpreted it, but Dunash (Teshuvoth Dunash p. 36) interpreted it as an expression of release. And שֵרִיתִיךָ is like (Dan. 5:12) “And untying (וּמְֹשָרֵא) knots,” and the interpretation of שֵרִיתִיךָ is so, as it is stated (below 40:4): “Behold I have released you from the chains that are on your hand.” That is to say, on that day that the Lord fulfilled His word, it was said to him, “And now, behold I have released you today from the chains that are on your hand, if it pleases you to come with me to Babylon.” And also, Israel begged him to pray for them, as it was said to him (below 42:4): “Pray on our behalf to the Lord our Cod, for we remain few from many.”
  Verily I will lit., if not, an expression of an oath.
  I will cause [them] to beg you in time of evil with the enemy. When evil befalls them, they will beg you to supplicate God for mercy upon them, for example, Zedekiah said to him, (below 21:2) “Beseech God now on our behalf, etc.” Another explanation. Nebuzaradan will beg you (below 40:4), “If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon.”
  
  Verse 12
  
  Will iron break iron from the north I say that iron that comes from the north is harder than other iron, and this is its interpretation: They were compared to iron (above 6:28), “Going tale bearing like copper and iron.” And concerning Jeremiah it is stated (above 1:18): “I have made you... into an iron pillar and into copper walls,” and his is stronger than theirs, for Nebuchadnezzar will come upon them according to his words.
  Will…break Will their iron break yours? Another explanation: Will Pharaoh who comes in your aid, who is as hard as iron, break Nebuchadnezzar, who is iron that comes from the north and copper? Targum Jonathan is inclined toward this direction.
  
  Verse 13
  
  Your wealth An expression of money.
  and your treasures He is addressing Israel.
  and for all your sins And because of all your sins, this will befall you.
  and throughout all your boundaries For you erected idols in all of them.
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  Take me not to Your long suffering Jonathan renders. Do not grant a reprieve for my humiliation. Do not take my cause to leave it for Your long suffering, but hasten and avenge me.
  I bore like סָבַלְתִּי bore.
  for Your sake for You.
  
  Verse 16
  
  Your words were found and I ate them eagerly at the beginning, and they were a joy for me, for I thought that now they would listen to me.
  
  Verse 17
  
  because of Your hand Because of the prophecy that came to me from You.
  I sat alone and bewildered by mourning, for You filled me with a prophecy of fury concerning the destruction of Your House.
  
  Verse 18
  
  grievous sick. Comp. (II Sam. 12:15) “And he became mortally ill (וַיֵּאָנַֹש).” mentioned concerning Bath-sheba’s son.
  You are to me Heb. הָיוֹ תִהְיֶה. as a failing spring Like a man whose trust has been cut off from him, for you allow me to suffer at their hands. אַכְזָב is a spring that stops (faylayne in O. F:), failing.
  water that is not faithful to rely upon it.
  
  Verse 19
  
  Therefore Because I suffer from these troubles.
  so said the Lord to me.
  If you return You, Israel, through me, and I will return you to Him, He said to Me, “You will stand before Me.”
  and if you take precious out of the vile If you take a pious man from a wicked man, i.e., if you bring him to repentance.
  You shall be as my mouth For I make a decree and you annul it.
  Let them return to you, but you shall not return to them Let them return to your word, but you shall not return to stray after them.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  house of mourning feasting. In Sifrei, in the section dealing with Beth-peor (Balak), I saw. They returned to make feasts (מַרְזֵיחִין) for them, but our Rabbis explained מַרְזֵחַ as ‘a mourner.’
  you bemoan you shall lament.
  for I have gathered in My peace, etc. When their father Abraham performed charity and justice, I gave his children loving-kindness and mercy, as in Deut. 7:12: “And the Lord your God shall keep for you the covenant and the loving-kindness, etc.” Also (Deut. 13:18), “And He shall give you mercy.” They turned “justice into wormwood, and cast righteousness to the ground” (Amos 5:7). I, too, have returned and gathered in to Me My loving-kindness and My mercies.
  I have gathered in (ote in O.F.), taken off. Comp. (Gen. 30:23) “God has gathered (אסף) in my disgrace.”
  
  Verse 6
  
  And large and small shall die And since everyone will die, why should you lament?
  and they shall not cut their flesh nor shall they tear their hair for them It is the custom of mourners to cut and tear their flesh and to tear their hair our of their head. In any case, it is forbidden for Jews, but he mentions it here only as an example of mourning.
  
  Verse 7
  
  And they shall not break [bread] for them an expression of breaking. Comp. (Dan. 5:25) “Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin, (divided).” This alludes to the practice of giving a meal to the mourners in the city square and they break for them the bread upon reciting the blessing of ‘hamotzi.’ (I Sam. 9: 13) “For he will bless the sacrifices,” Jonathan renders: He will break (פָרִיס) bread.
  neither will they give them to drink etc This is the reason for what I said, “Neither go to lament.”
  
  Verse 8
  
  And to a house of feasting that I said to you above, “You shall not go,” this is the reason: Behold, I will cut off from this place, etc.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  and you will serve there other gods Jonathan paraphrases: And you will serve there nations that worship idols day and night.
  
  Verse 14
  
  Therefore An expression of an oath. Although you betrayed Me, I have an oath that I will redeem you.
  and it shall no longer be said Our Rabbis expounded: Not that the departure from Egypt shall be uprooted from its place, but the final redemption will be the most important and the departure from Egypt secondary to it.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  and they will fish them Just as the fisher takes - it i.e., - the fish from its habitat, so will these capture them within the city, and just as the manner of a fish, that when he is caught he dies, so will I bring killers upon them, and afterwards I will send hunters for the survivors and for those who flee from the sword to the mountains and the hills, and they will hunt them to exile them in captivity.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  the doubling of their iniquity Because they repeated their iniquity to do the iniquities of their fathers. And Jonathan renders in this manner: And I will recompense the second ones like the first ones double.
  
  Verse 19
  
  and my refuge (mon vantement in French), my boast. And Menahem (Machbereth p. 123) classified it as an expression of a wonder. Cf. (Psalms 60:6) “You have given those who fear You a wonder to be wondrous (נֵס לְהִתְנוֹסֵס).”
  to You nations will come Eventually, the heathens will come to you and worship You of one accord, and they will say, “How did they make gods for themselves, and they are no gods?”
  from the ends of Like מִקְצֵה, from the end of.
  handed down an expression of an inheritance.
  avail an expression of use (תּוֹעֶלֶת).
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  that My name is the Lord As its apparent meaning, a ruler and a sovereign to fulfill My decree.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  with a pen of iron This is an allegory. That is to say that it is deeply engraved, and cannot be erased. And the Midrash Aggadah explains: with a pen of iron, with a diamond point, preserved by Jeremiah, called ‘an iron wall,’ and by Ezekiel, to whom it was said (3:9): “As a diamond, harder than flint have I made your forehead.”
  engraved Engraved like one who plows deeply.
  on the tablet of their heart that they do not forget their idolatry.
  
  Verse 2
  
  As they remember their children, [so do they remember] their altars Like the remembrance of their children, so was the remembrance of their altars to them, like a man who longs for his son.
  and their asherim which are by the green trees. by...trees like אֵצֶּל, by. And Jonathan renders in this manner. under every green tree.
  
  Verse 3
  
  You, who sit upon the mountain in the field Jerusalem that is situated on the mountain of the plain. All around the city is a fielded plain. The structure of הֲרָרִי is like עֲרָבִי, called so because he dwells in the plain (עֲרָבָה) (montanyers in O.F), mountain dwellers (other versions: a mountain dweller).
  your substance like מָמוֹנְךָ, your money.
  Your high places are made for sin Your high places are made in sin for the purpose of idolatry within all your borders.
  
  Verse 4
  
  And you shall release Perforce you will release your land for the time that it did not rest on your Sabbaths, which I said to you (Lev. 25:2), “And the land shall rest a Sabbath for the Lord.”
  of you I will avenge Myself of you because of your heritage that I gave you, that you did not perform My will to release it. Another explanation: even of you, from your heritage; I will avenge Myself of you from your heritage, that I will exile you from it.
  for you have kindled fire in My nostrils Heb. קְדַכְתֶּם.
  
  Verse 5
  
  who trusts in man In his plowing and his harvest, saying, “I will sow during the seventh year and I will eat.”
  his arm Like ‘his help,’ and so did Jonathan render: his trust.
  and whose heart turns away from the Lord Who promised him (Lev. 25:21), “And I will command My blessing to you.” This is what I heard.
  
  Verse 6
  
  like a lonely tree like a lonely tree, an expression of (Gen. 15:2) “Childless (עֲרִירִי),” and some say (degat in O.F) laid waste, and Menahem (Machbereth Menahem p. 137) explained: The name of a tree of the forest trees, and its name is ar’ar, and this is the explanation of (infra 48.6) “Like an ‘aroer’ in the desert,” one of the trees of the forest.
  in the plain an expression of a plain.
  parched land aridness. Comp. (Job 30:30) “Became dry (חָרָה) from heat.”
  salt-sodden soil Land that is salty and will not be settled.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  and will not see The tree will not see when heat comes.
  drought an expression of hunger, (famine in French). Another interpretation: בַּצֹרֶת is an expression of fortification (מִבְצָר), and in this manner, Menahem (Machbereth Menahem p. 47) classified it.
  will not be anxious will not be afraid.
  
  Verse 9
  
  The heart is deceitful Full of pretext and deceit of all evil.
  and when it is sick an expression of sickness, and this is its sickness.
  who recognizes it? He thinks, “Who recognizes it?” I, the Lord, search it.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  The cuckoo calls (Coucou glousse in French).
  but has not laid This cuckoo draws after it chicks that it did not lay. דָגָר - This is the chirping which the bird chirps with its voice to draw the chicks after it, but those whom the cuckoo called will not follow it when they grow up for they are not of its kind. So is one who gathers riches but not by right.
  he stands dishonored He is called wicked.
  
  Verse 12
  
  As a Throne of Glory Since he wishes to state: All that forsake You shall be shamed, he commences with the praise of the Omnipresent, and says before Him, “You, Whose Throne of Glory is exalted from the beginning of the Creation of the world and is directed opposite our Sanctuary.”
  
  Verse 13
  
  The Lord Who is the source of the hopes of Israel sits upon it. Therefore, all that forsake You shall be shamed.
  and they that turn away from me shall be marked on the earth Those who turn away from my words, who do not hearken to my message, will be marked out in the nether graves of the earth.
  
  Verse 14
  
  for You are my praise I praise myself and boast with You, saying that You are my Savior.
  my praise (vantance in O.F.), boast.
  
  Verse 15
  
  “Where is the word of the Lord? The retribution which you prophesy.
  
  Verse 16
  
  But I did not hasten I did not hasten to urge You to bring them because I am a good shepherd, who goes after You to beg mercy for them.
  and...the woeful day The illness of their retribution I did not desire. Jonathan renders: And I did not hamper Your word from prophesying concerning them to return them to fear You. According to the Targum, אַצְתִּי is an expression of hampering. That is to say, I did not hesitate from telling them Your message and to return them to you if they would hearken to me.
  What came out of my lips was before Your face to return Your wrath from them.
  
  Verse 17
  
  Let it not be to me for a ruin Let not Your mission be to me for a ruin.
  
  Verse 18
  
  May my pursuers be shamed i.e., the men of Anathoth alone.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  But they did not hearken i.e., your forefathers did not hearken to what I commanded them.
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  and to come like וְלָבֹא.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  on the wheels Jonathan renders: on the wheel. (Formes in French.)
  
  Verse 4
  
  that he was making of clay That he was making of the clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand while it was still wet, and this is an inverted verse.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  of its evil for which I spoke concerning it Of its sins for which I spoke concerning it. to uproot and to demolish (depayser [?] in French).
  I will repent And I will think another thought.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  But they shall say, We despair I know that they will say to you regarding your words that they do not heed them.
  
  Verse 13
  
  disgraceful thing Heb. שַעֲרֻרִת.
  
  Verse 14
  
  Shall one abandon from rocks of the field the snow of Lebanon Shall a man who needs to drink abandon water that flows from the rock in the fields that comes from the snow of the Lebanon, which is clean?
  Shall strange cold... water be abandoned? Or shall flowing spring water, which was strange to all people until now, and it is cold, be abandoned? זָרִים means flowing, and this proves it (2 Kings 19:24): “I dug and drank strange water (זָרִים).” Menahem, however, classified with (Isaiah 1:6) “they have not been sprinkled (זֹרוּ), neither have they been bandaged,” an expression of curative water, and he gave a reason for his statement, and he said that if he wished to speak with an expression of זֶרֶם, a stream, he would double the ‘mem,’ and he would add ‘yud’ ‘mem,’ and he would say זְרוּמִים because of the plural number of מַיִם water, and because they are streams (זְרָמִים).
  the field like שָדֶה, a field
  cold (froids in French).
  flowing (courants in French). And we can also interpret it: “Shall it be abandoned to be strange rejected water, the water that is cold running water?”
  Heb. זרים According to the first interpretation, it is an expression of a stream [זֶרֶם]. According to the second interpretation, it is an expression of strangeness, i.e., rejected water.)
  
  Verse 15
  
  For so have My people done, that they have forgotten Me and burnt incense to vanity.
  ancient paths The proper paths they said that they are a stumbling block, in order to go...[on] a way that is not trodden down Heb. סְלוּלָה.
  
  Verse 16
  
  hissing One who passes by ruins that he already saw with good buildings is accustomed to whistle.
  will be astonished will wonder.
  
  Verse 17
  
  upon their back and not their face when they flee from before the enemy, I will look upon them and I will not save them.
  I will look but I will not save them.
  
  Verse 18
  
  And they said, “Come, etc.” Jeremiah was complaining about the men of Anathoth and saying that they say this.
  Torah...from the priest For it is incumbent upon the priests to teach the Torah, as it is stated (Deut. 33:10): “They shall teach Your ordinances to Jacob.”
  not speech from the prophet I. e., words of prophecy.
  Come, let us strike him with the tongue Let us testify falsely against him.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  and spill their blood (Bring them down by the sword,) an expression of (Lam. 3:49) “My eye runs (נִגְרָה)”; (Micah 1:4) “Like water that runs (מֻגָרִים).”
  by the sword by troops.
  and their husbands i.e., the husbands of the widows shall be slain by the angel of death.
  
  Verse 22
  
  for they dug a pit to seize me that they suspected him of intimacy with a married woman, as it is stated (Prov. 23:27): “For a harlot is a deep pit (ֹשוּחָה).”
  
  Verse 23
  
  let not be erased let it not be erased. And because it is a feminine gender, he placed a ‘yud’ therein. This too is superfluous, as the ‘yud’ of (Ezekiel 16:17) “And you played the harlot (וַתִּזְנִי) with them.”
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  a jug Heb. בַּקְבֻּק.
  potter’s earthen That is to say, of a potter, which is of earthenware.
  and some of the elders of the people take along with you. “And of the elders of the people” refers back to ‘Go,’ and some of the elders of the people with you.
  
  Verse 2
  
  the Harsith Gate The Dung Gate, where broken pottery is cast, and Jonathan rendered in this manner תְרַע קִלְקַלְתָּא.
  
  Verse 3
  
  his ears will tingle (tinter in French), an expression similar to “cymbals” (מְצִלְתַּיִם) (Neh. 12: 27), “with loud sounding cymbals (בְּצִלְצְלֵי ֹשָמַע)” (Psalms 150:5).
  
  Verse 4
  
  and they estranged They made it strange before Me.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  And I will frustrate and I will empty, an expression similar to (Nahum 2:11), “She is empty and void (בּוּקָה וּמְבוּקָה),” and because of the jug (בַּקְבֻּק) about which he is speaking, he adopted this expression.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  the straits An expression of pain, like צוקה.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  (which can no longer be repaired This refers to the people, but the city I will make like the Topheth and purify it in the future.)
  
  Verse 12
  
  this city like the Topheth All of it will be full of the slain just as the Topheth, where they slay the children for Molech.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  and placed him in the prison the name of a place of a prison, and Jonathan rendered: לכיפתא (arvolud in O.F.), a vault.
  
  Verse 3
  
  Magor Terror.
  Not Passhur did the Lord call your name, etc. Your name was not called Pashhur except for this matter, that is to say: פָֹשַח ֹשָחוֹר, cut off and black like “a tree that was cut off (נִפְֹשַח)” (Shevi’ith 4:6, Orlah 1:5). Also (Lam. 3:11), “And He cut me off (וַיִפַֹשְחֵנִי).” And so he said to him, Not Pashhur did He call your name, for the expression of Pashhur means a great man and the son of nobles, Pashhur. ‘Pash’ denotes expansion and ‘hur’ nobility. But for this reason your name was called Pashhur, Pashah shahor. ‘Pashah’ means ‘cut off,’ and ‘shahor’ means ‘black.’ Another explanation. ‘Pashah sehor.’ Many will be around you to slay you. Now according to this explanation, מָגוֹר is an expression of gathering, like (Ezekiel 21:17) “Gathered (מְגוּרֵי) to the sword.”
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  the wealth money.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  You enticed me to go on your mission.
  You overcame me You made Your strong hand heavy upon me to go against my will.
  and You prevailed And You were victorious.
  everyone All the people mock me.
  
  Verse 8
  
  Whenever I speak Every time I speak to them, I must cry out and raise my voice, and I do not proclaim good for them but prophecies of violence and spoil.
  for the word of the Lord has been...for me Therefore, they spoke to me with scorn, for they scorn me.
  and mockery for speech. Comp. (Ezekiel 22:4) “and mockery (וְקַלָּסָה).”
  
  Verse 9
  
  Should I say: I will not mention Him If my heart said to me not to go on Your mission anymore.
  it would be in my heart i.e., the prophecy, like a burning fire And against my will I must go.
  confined in my bones And as if the fire were confined in my bones.
  to contain To endure the fire.
  
  Verse 10
  
  For I heard I said that I would not mention Him because I heard the speech of many, those who whisper about me.
  a gathering an expression of gathering, and so did Jonathan render it.
  tell false testimony against him.
  and let us tell about him and let us testify against him. And Menahem (Machbereth p. 53) explained ונגידֶנוּ like (Deut. 14:1) “You shall not cut yourselves (לא תתגודדוּ).” He also joined (Job 17:5) “For the sake of flattering, he destroys (יגיד) his friends.” This is an expression of destruction. Comp. (Dan. 4:11) “Cut down (גֹדוּ) the trees.” But Dunash (Teshuvoth p. 54) interpreted it as an actual expression of telling, and this is its interpretation: “Tell false things about him and we will tell about him to the king.” And we have like נַגִידֶנוּ, we will tell about him, many words in the Scriptures that cannot be interpreted unless they are divided into two words or three. Comp. (Gen. 37: 4) “And they could not speak with him (דַבְּרוֹ) peacefully.” Also (supra 10:20), “My children have left me (יצאני).”
  await my destruction Heb. צַלְעֵי 
  Perhaps he will be enticed. to listen to us and to stray after us. and we will prevail against him to bring him to commit idolatry.
  
  Verse 11
  
  for they did not succeed They did not succeed with their plan.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  Cursed be the day in which I was begotten (engendrer or engenrer in O.F.). That is the time of conception, and through compulsion Hilkiah his father performed the marriage act by day, for he was fleeing from before Manasseh, who was slaying the prophets, and he performed the marriage act and fled.
  
  Verse 15
  
  making him glad The ‘mem’ is punctuated with a ‘dagesh,’ which is an expression of making others glad, for he made his father glad with his news.
  
  Verse 16
  
  like the cities that...overturned Namely Sodom and Gemorrah.
  and did not repent Since He decreed destruction upon them, he did not think another thought to rescind His decree.
  
  Verse 17
  
  That he did not put me to death I.e., that the angel of death did not put me to death from the womb, and this is one of the verses with brief language.
  a perpetual pregnancy a pregnancy of eternity.
  
  Verse 18
  
  toil and grief The destruction of the Temple.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  Behold I turn back the weapons of war There are some among you who know how to adjure the heavenly princes in charge of retribution, that each one save them from the evil he is in charge of, and you rely on that. Behold, I will transfer one’s authority to another one, and you will not know whom to adjure.
  and I will gather them i.e., the weapons of war, into this city, that I will destroy you with pestilence through the angel of death, who is one of the heavenly princes. And in this manner it is explained in the chapter (v. 6): “with a great pestilence they shall die.”
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  and he will have his life as a prey As a man who plunders booty, and he seizes and goes away, so will his life be plundered from death by the slayers.
  
  Verse 10
  
  My anger as the Targum, רוּגְזִי My anger.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  from the hand of the robber Its accent is below for it is not a noun but a noun denoting the robber who robs others.
  with no one to extinguish [it] that no one of you will escape as a survivor.
  
  Verse 13
  
  O dweller of the valley Jerusalem is in the midst of a valley. Another explanation. That the Holy One, blessed be He, devised a deep plot against you to destroy you.
  rock of the plain Mountain, entirely surrounded by plain.
  Who will encamp upon us who will encamp upon us. Comp. (II Kings 6: 9) “For there the Arameans are encamped (נְחִתִּים).”
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  do no wrong This means taunting with words.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  You are [as] Gilead to Me, etc. Even if you are as dear to Me as the Temple, which is high on the mountain peaks, I swear that I will make you a desert.
  You are [as] Gilead The Temple from which balm and healing emanate to the whole world.
  
  Verse 7
  
  And I will prepare and I will prepare.
  and they will cut your choice cedars Since he compares him to the Lebanon, this expression is appropriate.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  Weep not for the dead Namely, for Jehoiakim, who will die before the gate, when they drag him into exile.
  weep for him who goes For Jehoiachin and for Zedekiah. Deduce from here that Jehoiakim’s death, concerning which it is stated (infra 36:30): “And his carcass shall be cast to the heat by day and to the cold at night,” is preferable to the life of Jehoiachin, about whom it is stated (52:34): “And his meals, regular meals, etc.”
  
  Verse 11
  
  concerning Shallum That is Zedekiah, and that is what he was called in I Chron. (3:14): “the fourth Shallum.” And he called him the Fourth, meaning the fourth to assume the kingship of Josiah’s sons, for first Jehoaha, reigned, then Jehoiakim, and after him Jehoiachin, and after him Zedekiah.
  who left Even though he hadn’t left yet, he prophesied as if he had already left.
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  Woe to him who builds his house He is saying this about Jehoiakim, who was a wicked man, and the end of the section proves this: “Therefore, so said the Lord about Jehoiakim.”
  
  Verse 14
  
  a wide house a large house. Cf. (Num. 13:32) “Men of great stature (אַנְֹשֵי מִדּוֹת),” who have what to measure.
  and he cuts out...for himself And he widens for himself (Some emend: And he opens for himself) Comp. (supra 4:30) “that you enlarge (וַתִּקְרְעִי)...with paint.” Also (Isaiah 63:19), “Had You rent (קָרַעְתְּ) the heavens, had You descended.” They are all an expression of opening.
  and ceiled with cedar He covers the roof with cedars.
  and painted with vermilion painted with dyes, so does Jonathan render. בּשָּׁשַּׁר is a color of a type used for painting. Another explanation: וּמָשּׁוֹחַ בִּשָּׁשַּׁר is like a cord used for measuring (חוּט הַמִּשְּׁחָה) ([a] lignant en sinople in O.F.), drawing green lines, delineate with a green color.
  
  Verse 15
  
  Shall you reign Will you live long that you contend to make your rule oppressive to let all know that you are a king?
  your father Josiah, who demeaned himself with humility, did he not eat and drink and enjoy pleasure all the days of his life?
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  on your gain to steal money.
  the crushing the crushing of the poor, and עֹשֶק, oppression proves it, for ‘oppressed’ and ‘crushed’ are always juxtaposed in the language of the Scriptures. Cf. (I Sam. 12: 3) “Whom did I oppress or whom did I crush?”
  
  Verse 18
  
  Hoe, his glory! Woe for his glory.
  
  Verse 19
  
  A donkey’s burial As they drag the carcass of a donkey, so will they drag his carcass. The word יְֹשַגְּרוּן used by Targum Jonathan means, they will drag.
  
  Verse 20
  
  Ascend the Lebanon and cry Go up to the Temple and cry.
  and on Bashan give forth your voice On Bashan which will be destroyed. And Jonathan paraphrased: And in the gates of the Temple Mount. And I do not know how to explain how the expression ‘Bashan’ fits to the gates of the Temple Mount, unless it is because of the doors which they make from the terebinths of Bashan, and that is the name of a place, or the expression, ‘Bashan’ denotes a place of a wide valley. So is the area of the Temple Mount an open area around the Temple.
  and cry for Avarim And cry for Megizatha. They are place names.
  
  Verse 21
  
  in your peaceful times when you lived in peace.
  
  Verse 22
  
  All your shepherds All your kings.
  shall be broken by the wind The east wind shall break them.
  
  Verse 23
  
  who nest in the cedars For you placed your nest in the towers of the cedar houses to build wide houses.
  how gracious shall you be What grace have you found because of the height of your towers, in the eyes of your plunderers, when birth pangs come upon you. And Menahem interpreted נֵחַנְתְּ as an expression of camping, but Dunash interpreted it as an expression of grace.
  
  Verse 24
  
  a signet Engraved and sealed in the flesh of My arm.
  I will remove you Cf. (supra 12:3) “Draw them out (התִקֵם) like sheep to the slaughter” (Jos. 8:6) “Until we have drawn (התִקֵינוּ) them.” And the ‘nun’ is superfluous. And, according to the Midrash Aggadah (Pesikta d’Rav Kahana, p. 163a): In the place to which he was removed (נִתַּק), there he was rectified (נִתְקַן), for he repented in Babylon, and the Holy One, blessed be He, applied for absolution of the oath He had sworn, “Inscribe this man childless.” and Zerubbabel was born to him in Babylon, and it was said to him through the prophet (Haggai 2:23), “On that day...I will take you, Zerubbabel, and I will make you as a signet,” directed toward what He said to his father, “Though...be a signet on My right arm,...I will remove him (sic).”
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  And I will cast an expression of throwing.
  
  Verse 27
  
  they long This is an expression of consolation, that their soul lifts itself to console itself and to say, “We will again return to our land.”
  
  Verse 28
  
  Is...a despised... image It is a rhetorical question. Is this man a broken and despised image, that he was cast away from My face like a vessel in which there is no use?
  shattered broken. Cf. (Psalms 2: 8) “Like a potter’s vessel you shall shatter them (תְּנַפְּצֵם).” [Others annotated: הַעֶצֶב is like the idols (הָעֲצַבִּים). “We may swathe (מְעַצְּבִין) an infant” in Tractate Shabbath 22:6. That is to say, “Are you despised and broken in your eyes like a small infant who is being swathed (emmailloter in French)? This one is not worthy.”
  cast away thrown, an expression of throwing that has no restoration. Comp. (Psalms 37:24), “If he falls, he will not be cast off (יוּטָל).”
  
  Verse 29
  
  O land, land, land A land that is a land among lands, the most esteemed of all of them. Another explanation: Eretz Israel had three lands in it. Judea, Transjordania, and Galilee.
  
  Verse 30
  
  a man who will not prosper in his days Inscribe him.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  Woe to the shepherds The kings of Judah.
  
  Verse 2
  
  and have not taken care of them You were not careful to watch them.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  nor shall [any of them] be missing and they shall not be missing. (Cf. Num. 31:49) “And no one of us was missing (נפקד).”
  
  Verse 5
  
  and prosper Heb. והשכּיל.
  
  Verse 6
  
  The Lord is our righteousness The Lord will vindicate us during this one’s days.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  Because of the prophets my heart is broken within me Because of the words of the prophets who say, “You shall have peace,” my heart is broken. shake sway like the wings of a bird who hovers over his nest, (trenblent in O.F.) tremble.
  because of the Lord For I heard from Him this evil decree.
  
  Verse 10
  
  because of oaths False oaths.
  mourns i.e., is destroyed.
  their eagerness (course in French,) their course, their running. But Jonathan renders it as an expression of desire.
  not right Not according to the law.
  
  Verse 11
  
  both prophet and priest Even these, from whom everyone learns.
  even in My house have I found their evil For they placed an image in the Temple.
  
  Verse 12
  
  like slippery places Smooth ground upon which the foot slips and the person falls.
  like slippery places in the dark Stumbling upon stumbling. On slippery places in the light there is stumbling. In the dark without slippery places, there is stumbling.
  
  Verse 13
  
  And in the prophets of Samaria I saw unseemliness before they were exiled.
  
  Verse 14
  
  And in the prophets of Jerusalem I now see. a horrible thing a shameful thing.
  and they encouraged evil doers They say to the wicked, “You shall have peace.”
  that none returns So that the evildoers would not return each one from his evil.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  and everyone who follows the view of his heart And to everyone who follows the view of his heart, etc.
  
  Verse 18
  
  For who stood in the council of the Lord and will hear what is decreed by Him? He who hearkened to the word of His Torah and listened to His commandments, but not these wicked men. The first expression of ֹשְמִיעָה in the verse is actual hearing; the latter expression of ֹשְמִיעָה is an expression of acceptance.
  
  Verse 19
  
  a whirling A resting storm, a storm which seeks to rest, and it shall rest on the heads of the wicked.
  
  Verse 20
  
  the plans of an expression of thought.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  And if they stood in My council, they should have let My people hear My word, etc. They should have let My people hear My words and My Torah, rather than cause them to stray away from Me.
  
  Verse 23
  
  Am I a God from near that I do not see but what is close to Me and have I no power to judge the lower creatures that are far from Me and do I not know of their deeds?
  
  Verse 24
  
  Can a man hide in secret places This is a repetition of the question, ‘Am I a God from near,’ according to the manner of all double questions.
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  How long [will this be]? That they will prophesy falsely? Do these prophets who prophesy falsely have in their heart to execute their thoughts that they are thinking to cause My people to forget My name, etc.?
  deceit an expression of מִרְמָה, deceit.
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  let him tell a dream Let him tell it as vain talk like other dreams, and let him not presume it as words of prophecy.
  What has the straw to do with the wheat? What has falsehood to do with truth?
  with the wheat like עִם-הַבָּר.
  
  Verse 29
  
  Is not My word so like fire? They should not have erred to compare their dreams to say that they are prophecy, for the prophetic word, when it comes to a prophet, it comes into him with force like a burning fire, as the matter is stated (supra 20:9): “And it was in my heart like a burning fire,” and (Ezekiel 3:14): “And the hand of the Lord became strong upon me.”
  and as a hammer (pic in French), a pick. And some say (marteau in French), a hammer.
  
  Verse 30
  
  those who steal My wards from one another They have spies who spy upon the true prophets, who listen to their expression with which they prophesy and say false prophecies with that same expression, as Hananiah son of Azzur did. He heard Jeremiah prophesying in the upper marketplace, “Behold I break the bow of Elam,” and he prophesied in the lower marketplace, “I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon” (28:2), as our Rabbis wrote in Sanhedrin 89a.
  
  Verse 31
  
  those who train their tongues who teach their tongues to say their falsehoods with the expression, “Says the Lord,” like the true prophets, so that they should believe them.
  
  Verse 32
  
  with their bewilderment an expression of wonder (estordisoun in O. F.).
  
  Verse 33
  
  “What is the burden of the Lord?” This is an expression of derision, for his prophecy is a burden to them.
  you shall say to them, “What burden? And I will forsake you, etc.” They say to you (sic), “What is the burden?” You are the burden of the Holy One, blessed be He, and He says that He will forsake you and cast you off His arms from heaven to earth. So I heard.
  and I will forsake Heb. וְעָזַבְתִּי.
  
  Verse 34
  
  
  
  Verse 35
  
  
  
  Verse 36
  
  For the burden shall be to the man of His word Although you pervert the massa into a pejorative, the prophecy (משא) of the word of the Lord shall be to the man of His word, and to the man of His counsel He reveals it, but you pervert it to an expression of a burden. This interpretation I did not hear, but it is the main interpretation. But this is how I heard it, namely that the burden shall be a burden of retribution for the one who says it, who asks, “What is the burden?” Another interpretation: משא is an expression of prophecy, and the false prophet would ask the true prophet to tell him the word of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the language in which the expression came to him, and the expression did not explain the speech adequately. Therefore, the false prophet would pervert it to another meaning and would speak after the fashion of the true prophet in order that they should believe him. And so did Hananiah son of Azzur do. Therefore, he says, “Do not ask the prophecy of the Lord,” the language of the expression, but “What did He speak?” or “What did He reply?” The explanation of the words you shall ask the true prophet to tell you what the Holy One, blessed be He, says, and to what His words are inclined.
  for the prophecy shall be for the man of His word The unexplained expression the Holy One, blessed be He, said unexplained to the man of His counsel, who is not suspected of perverting it, but you ask it in order to pervert it, and you pervert the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, and that is what is stated above (v. 30): “those who steal My words from one another.” This too is a correct explanation.
  
  Verse 37
  
  So shall you say to the prophet when you come to ask My words of the prophet.
  
  Verse 38
  
  
  
  Verse 39
  
  and I will exile an expression of “the sinew that was dislocated (גִיד הַנָֹּשֶה)” (Gen. 32:33), and an expression of “their might has failed (נָֹשְתָה),” it jumps and moves from place to place.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  pots Heb. דּוּדָאֵי.
  prepared Heb. מוּעדים.
  the craftsmen and the sentries of the gates Torah scholars who were exiled with Jeconiah, and I already explained in the Book of Kings (II 24:14) הֶחָרָש וְהַמַּסְגֵּר (les maitres, les portiers in French) the masters, the sentries of the gates. Another explanation: הֶחָרָש וְהַמַּסְגֵּר: הֶחָרָש is an expression of silence, וְהַמַּסְגֵּר is an expression of closing. That is to say, great sages in Torah, to the extent that when one of them would speak, everyone would remain silent. מַסְגֵּר means that when they would close the discussion, no one would reopen it.
  
  Verse 2
  
  like the first ripe figs that have ripened completely in the beginning of the ripening of the figs which are dear to all those who find them in their beginning.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  so will I recognize the exile of, etc. This is an inverted verse: So will I recognize for good the exile of Judah which I have already exiled, viz., Jeconiah and his exile.
  
  Verse 6
  
  and not pluck them an expression of uprooting.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  for a horror [and] for evil for all the kingdoms of the earth For they will hear the evil that came upon them and quake.
  and for a conversation piece That everyone will repeat and discuss their retribution.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  in the fourth year The year that their decree was sealed that they be exiled and that they drink the cup of wrath, as he says in this section (v. 15): “Take the cup, etc.,” and before the decree He commanded the prophet to reprove them, perhaps they would repent, and their decree would not be sealed.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  twenty-three years Josiah reigned thirty-one years (II Kings 22:1). Subtract twelve years from them (Jer. 1:2). This leaves nineteen, and four of his son amount to twenty-three.
  arising early This is a present tense. I would arise early and speak constantly.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  the sound of a mill That is an indication of a circumcision feast, since they would grind and crush ingredients for healing the wound.
  the light of a candle An indication of a feast. So we learned in Sanhedrin (32b).
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  all that is written concerning Babylon.
  in this Book at its end.
  
  Verse 14
  
  For... will enslave them Like ‘For... shall enslave them,’ i.e., shall enslave the people of Babylon.
  many nations...too Viz. Media and Persia.
  
  Verse 15
  
  cup of the wine of fury The prophecy of retribution
  and you shall give...to drink it Prophesy to them that it will no longer be retracted for any repentance.
  
  Verse 16
  
  and reel to and fro Jonathan renders: and they shall be confused.
  and be like madmen an expression of madness, they shall be mad.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  as of this day As they are today. Jeremiah wrote his Book after the destruction.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  And all the allies All the supports (סוּמְכְוָתָא) which are Pharaoh’s guarantee, and he leans upon them for aid. the allies Garantie in French.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  and the kings of the isle All these that he counts (ֹשֶמוֹנֶה) until here are neighbors of Eretz Israel.
  
  Verse 23
  
  and all those separated in that corner those separated at the end of that corner.
  
  Verse 24
  
  the kings of Arabia Heb. עֲרָב, Arabia.
  and all the kings of the allies The allies of the Arabs.
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  Sheshach That is ‘Babylon’ in א"תב"ש.
  
  Verse 27
  
  and vomit Like a person who drinks too much, who vomits.
  the sword the strife of war.
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  commence מֵחֵל.
  
  Verse 30
  
  over His habitation He mourns over the destruction of His house.
  “Hedad!” A cry of “Ha!” that those engaged in hard work cry out aloud to urge each other on to strengthen themselves, and those who tread the winepresses are accustomed to it.
  He shall call out Every expression of עֲנִיָה, is an expression of a cry with a loud voice.
  
  Verse 31
  
  He contends He contends in judgment.
  
  Verse 32
  
  from nation to nation whom I incite against one another.
  from the ends as the Targum renders it: מִסְיָפֵי, from the ends of.
  
  Verse 33
  
  
  
  Verse 34
  
  Howl an expression of יְלָלָה, howling.
  and roll i.e., roll in the dust (se vautrer in French).
  and your scatterings This is a short verse; i.e., to say: and your scatterings shall come near.
  like a precious vessel That is to say: If you say, “We are important,” there are many precious glass vessels that fall, break, and are lost.
  
  Verse 35
  
  
  
  Verse 36
  
  
  
  Verse 37
  
  shall be destroyed an expression of destruction, an expression related to ‘has silenced us (הֲדִמָּנוּ) .’ ‘and there let us sit in silence (וְנִדְּמָה).’
  
  Verse 38
  
  He has left his hut like a young lion The king has gone in exile from his city like a young lion that leaves his hut.
  because of the wrath of the oppressing sword drunk from wine. So did Jonathan translate. Another explanation: It is an expression of oppression (אוֹנָאָה).
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  In the beginning of the reign This chapter below preceded the above chapter by four years.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  And the princes of Judah heard that the false prophets and the priests had seized Jeremiah.
  at the entrance of the new gate of the Lord Others annotated: When Jehoiachin went in exile and some of the vessels of the house of our God went with him, Nebuchadnezzar’s army breached the eastern gate, and Zedekiah subsequently repaired it and renewed it. It is therefore called ‘new.’
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  Micah the Morashtite Who was from Maresha.
  heaps עִיִּים, heaps.
  
  Verse 19
  
  and he entreated Heb. וַיְחַל, an expression of prayer.
  but we are doing great harm to ourselves if we kill him.
  
  Verse 20
  
  Also a man was prophesying The one who said this did not say this. I.e., those who related the incident of Micah did not relate the incident concerning Uriah. Up to here are the words of the righteous. Now the wicked who were there arose and said, “Also a man was prophesying, etc.” Just as Uriah was killed, so shall Jeremiah be killed. In this way it is explained in Sifrei (Num. 11:7).
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim Three years prior to Nebuchadnezzar’s ascent to the throne, he prophesied about him that he would reign.
  
  Verse 2
  
  thongs They are the thongs of the yoke that are called kongoijli (cojongles).
  
  Verse 3
  
  And you shall send them to the king of Edom In the days of Zedekiah in the fourth year of his reign, when Nebuchadnezzar made him ruler over five kings.
  the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the children of Ammon, etc. These five kings Nebuchadnezzar placed under the authority of Zedekiah. Fifteen years they (the bars and thongs) were on his neck, from the first year of Jehoiakim until the fourth year of Zedekiah, when Hananiah son of Azzur broke them off him.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  My servant Who will perform My will to requite My enemies.
  
  Verse 7
  
  and his son Evil-Merodach.
  and his son’s son Belshazzar.
  until the time of his own land come When Darius the Mede and Cyrus come and slay Belshazzar.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  And to Zedekiah the king of Judah have I spoken, etc. All this Jeremiah said to the ambassadors of the kings.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  “Behold the vessels of the house of the Lord” That were exiled with Jeconiah.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  the bases Jonathan renders: בְּסִיסַיָּא Cf. “the washbasin and its stand” (Exodus 35:16).
  
  Verse 20
  
  when he exiled Heb. בַּגְּלוֹתוֹ like בְּהַגְלוֹתוֹ.
  the nobles of חֹרֵי, like שָֹרֵי the princes of.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  until the day I remember them In the days of Cyrus, as is explained in the Book of Ezra (1:7 11).
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  And it came to pass in that year When that time arrived that Nebuchadnezzar gave Zedekiah dominion over the five kings to whom Jeremiah stated his message and sent the thongs and the bars to the kings by the hand of their ambassadors.
  in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah In the beginning of his dominion over the five kings. But it is impossible to say that it means at the beginning of his reign, since it says, “in the fourth year.” In that year, he went down to greet Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, and Seraiah the receptionist was with him, as is stated at the end of the Book (51:59), and he gave him dominion over the kings.
  said to me Our Sages state: Who misled Hananiah? He heard Jeremiah prophesying in the upper street, “Behold I am breaking the bow of Elam” (49:35). And this prophecy was said in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, as is explained there, and since Elam is adjacent to Babylon, he stood in the lower street, and expounded. And he derived a major case from a minor one. If Elam, who came only to aid the Chaldeans, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Behold I am breaking the bow of Elam,” how much more is this so with the Chaldeans themselves? He came into the lower street and said: So said the Lord: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon, as it is in Sanhedrin (89a).
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  may...do Fasse in French.
  May...fulfill An expression of prayer. (These three lines up to “and he brought him to the prison” were not arranged by the author.) Amen! So may the Lord do, etc.Amen! The scholars of Aggadah say: So did he say to him: If only your words were fulfilled! I gain and you lose. I am a priest, and I eat the food hallowed in the name of Heaven if the Temple remains standing. But you are a Gibeonite, as it is written [here], “who was from Gibeon.” And you will be a slave to me, chopping wood and drawing water (Pesikta Rabbathi 27:4, Yalkut Shimoni ad loc.). But Moreh Zedek who did not explain, adopted the reason of our Sages (Sotah 41b) who learned from here that whoever flatters a wicked man will ultimately fall into his hands or into the hands of his son or into the hands of his son’s son, for Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah seized him and brought him to prison.
  
  Verse 7
  
  But, hearken now... The prophet who would prophesy for peace. He said: I prophesy retribution. If it does not come, I am not a liar, for the Holy One, blessed be He, renounces the evil, but the prophet who prophesies for peace, etc., when the word of the prophet comes, etc., but if his word does not come, he is a liar, as it is said, “God is not a man that He should lie, etc.” (Num. 23:19). In this manner Rabbi Tanhuma (Vayera 13) expounded.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  the beasts of the field have I given to him He rode on a lion and tied a serpent on its head.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  this year you shall die And next year you shall be buried.
  
  Verse 17
  
  in that year, in the seventh month Is it not so that the seventh month is not of the year? Rather, he died on the day preceding Rosh Hashanah and commanded his children to hurry him after Rosh Hashanah, but not before, and they should conceal his death on that day in order to make Jeremiah’s prophecy appear false.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  and the queen mother The mother of the king.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  mislead An expression of enticing. Cf: “The snake misled me (הִֹשִיאַנִי)” (Gen. 3:13).
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  And you shall call Me and go In My ways. This is an ellipsis.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  concerning the king Zedekiah, who has not been exiled.
  
  Verse 17
  
  as the loathsome figs Heb. הַֹשֹּעָרִים, an expression of, ֹשַעֲרוּרִיָּה, “a disgraceful thing” (Hos. 6:10).
  
  Verse 18
  
  and for a reproach That they will reproach them, and so is every expression of ירפה in Scripture.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  whom...burnt an expression of “roasted with fire” (Lev. 2:14).
  
  Verse 23
  
  and they committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors As is explained in Sanhedrin (93a), “So said the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘Lie with my friend.’”
  and a witness an expression of testimony (עֵדוּת).
  
  Verse 24
  
  the Nehelamite A place name.
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  made you a priest He wrote this to Zephaniah.
  officers appointees. 
  the prison כִּפָה
  the stocks a tree trunk (ceps in French).
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  Forasmuch as For you should rebuke him since he sent to us to Babylon saying, “Your exile there is long.”
  Forasmuch as like עַל-אֲֹשֶר because of which.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  For, behold, days are coming And you shall not say, Why should I write it, since they all will perish, and no one will read it, neither will anyone remember it anymore, for, “behold, days are coming, etc.”
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  A sound of quaking we have heard Some interpret this as alluding to the tidings of Babylon, from which those exiled there quaked. But the Midrash Aggadah explains it as an allusion to the war of Gog and Magog.
  
  Verse 6
  
  whether a male gives birth Whether it is customary for males to give birth, so that labor pains should seize them like a woman in confinement.
  his loins like מָתְנָיו.
  
  Verse 7
  
  that day The day of the assassination of Belshazzar and the downfall of Babylon. Another explanation: the day of the downfall of Gog.
  
  Verse 8
  
  I will break his yoke The yoke of the heathens will be removed from Israel.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  And you, fear not Because of all the evils that you will see befalling Babylon in whose midst you are.
  and at ease like וְֹשָקֵט.
  
  Verse 11
  
  but I will chasten you in measure according to the law of the Torah.
  and I will not completely destroy you an expression of a sweeping destruction.
  
  Verse 12
  
  Your injury is painful, your wound grievous (Enfers in Old French).
  
  Verse 13
  
  to be healed cure. No one thinks that you will have salvation.
  healing a cure, an expression of availing.
  
  Verse 14
  
  cruel chastisement chastisements of cruelty. The chastisement is cruel.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  Therefore This is an expression denoting an oath.
  those who plunder you an expression of spoil, and so did Jonathan render it: וִיהוֹן עָדַיִךְ לַעֲדִי.
  
  Verse 17
  
  healing Heb. ארכה.
  
  Verse 18
  
  and the palace The Temple.
  
  Verse 19
  
  and I will increase them I will make them a numerous nation.
  and they shall not become few in number like יִמְעָטוּ.
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  their prince lit., his mighty one.
  pledged his heart an expression of a pledge (fermaille, aatine in French).
  to approach Me to war, to stop Me.
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  settling storm camping and dwelling an expression of “the land of the sojournings of (מְגוּרֵי)” (Gen. 37:1), and a similar case is “and a whirling (מִתְחוֹלֵל) storm” (supra 23:19) stated in the other verse is the same as this for both of them are expressions of camping.
  on the head[s] of the wicked On the heads of the heathens.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  found favor The generation of the wilderness found favor in My eyes.
  who had escaped the sword of the Egyptians the Amalekites and the Canaanites.
  He [therefore] went to give Israel their resting place When He led them to take possession of the land of their rest.
  
  Verse 3
  
  From long ago In the merit of the Patriarchs.
  appeared to me I, the prophet, and told me to say to the congregation of Israel, “With everlasting love have I loved you.”
  
  Verse 4
  
  Yet again will I rebuild you, then you shall be built You had two buildings made by men. Therefore, they were destroyed. Yet again will I rebuild you, I by Myself, a third building, and you shall be built forever. shall you be adorned Heb. תַּעְדִּי.
  
  Verse 5
  
  and redeem [them] in the fourth year, they shall profane their produce by redeeming it with money.
  
  Verse 6
  
  the watchers shall call The lookouts at the tops of the lofty towers to announce with a voice heard a distance away. Another explanation: נֹצְרִים is like “He keeps (נֹצֵר) lovingkindness” (Exod. 34:7), an expression of keeping. That is to say: There is a day when they will call those who kept the Torah and say, “Rise...” And so did Jonathan render: There are many days and much goodness that is destined to come to the righteous who kept My Torah from days of old.
  
  Verse 7
  
  and shout at the head of the nations On the lofty towers, so that they should hear from afar.
  
  Verse 8
  
  the blind and the lame amongst them Even the staggering ones among them I will not reject.
  
  Verse 9
  
  With weeping will they come Through prayer and repentance.
  
  Verse 10
  
  “He Who scattered” (separant in French, separating.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  and they will stream They will gather like a river.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  fat Heb. דָשֶן.
  
  Verse 15
  
  A voice is heard on high A voice is heard in the height of the world, the voice of the house of Israel weeping over Jeremiah the prophet when Nebuzaradan sent him from Ramah to return after the exiles to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, as is stated in this Book (below ch. 39).
  Rachel weeping for her children The Midrash Aggadah states (see Lam. Rabbah Proem 24) that the Patriarchs and the Matriarchs went to appease the Holy One blessed be He concerning the sin of Manasseh who placed an image in the Temple but He was not appeased. Rachel entered and stated before Him “O Lord of the Universe, whose mercy is greater, Your mercy or the mercy of a flesh and blood person? You must admit that Your mercy is greater. Now did I not bring my rival into my house? For all the work that Jacob worked for my father he worked only for me. When I came to enter the nuptial canopy, they brought my sister, and it was not enough that I kept my silence, but I gave her my password. You, too, if Your children have brought Your rival into Your house, keep Your silence for them.” He said to her, “You have defended them well. There is reward for your deed and for your righteousness, that you gave over your password to your sister.”
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  complaining (Konpljjet in O.F.), an expression of “who will lament for you (יָנוּד)?” (above 15:5).
  “You have chastised me” With pains, You, the Holy One, blessed be He.
  like an ungoaded calf (fut aiguillones in O.F.), was goaded, an expression of “an ox-goad (מַלְמַד הַבָּקָר)” (Judges 3:31). I was like an ungoaded calf in the beginning. Therefore, I sinned against You.
  
  Verse 19
  
  I have completely changed my mind I regret my abominations.
  I had been brought to know myself That I thought of myself that I was treacherous, (aparsoujjge in O. F.).
  the reproach of my youth That my enemies can reproach me for the sins of my youth.
  
  Verse 20
  
  “Is Ephraim a son who is dear to me?” These are the words of the Shechinah. That is to say, He is complaining, “And as for Me, I have a change of heart to have pity. Is he My dear son (as one who has but one son, whose every wish he grants him)?” dandled (Esbaniement in O.F.)
  whenever I speak of him Every time that I speak of him. And the Midrash Leviticus Rabbah (2:3) explains: It is enough My speech (דַּי דִבּוּרִי) with which I endowed him, that I taught him My Torah, for Me to have mercy on him.
  
  Verse 21
  
  Set up markers for yourself Signs in the good ways of your ancestors.
  small palms small palms (תְּמָרִים) planted for a sign on the way. And the simple interpretation of the verse is. Make signs to know the way you traversed from Eretz Israel to Babylon, so that you will return by that road; that is to say that you will surely return from there.
  the road upon which you went The “kethib” is הָלָכְתִּי, “I went,” and everywhere that you went I went with you Jonathan, however, renders. place “tamrurim” for yourself: Pray with embittered spirit, deriving תַּמְרוּרִים from מַר bitter. (And Menahem [Machbereth p. 119] explained תַּמְרוּרִים as an expression of raising up, and so he explained וְתִמְרוֹת “raising of smoke” (Joel 3:3). In some editions, this is missing.)
  
  Verse 22
  
  will you hide will you hide from Me, that you are ashamed to return to Me because of your way? Behold, something new has been created on earth, that a woman shall go after a man to seek him that he should marry her. This is an expression of “and I will go around (וַאֲסוֹבְבָה) in the city; I will seek, etc.” (Song 3:2). And in the name of Rabbi Judah the Preacher I heard: A woman shall turn around to become a man. I gave you like a daughter, who receives a tenth of the property of her father, seven nations out of seventy. Ultimately, you shall take everything like a son, a male, who inherits everything.
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  Thereupon, I awoke So said Jeremiah, “All this time I was sleeping deeply while perceiving the prophecy of retribution, but with this prophecy I awoke from my deep sleep.”
  was pleasant Heb. עָרְבָה .
  
  Verse 27
  
  seed of man and seed of beasts The good and the foolish of them, I will sow all of them to be My seed. Seed of man and seed of beasts. Jonathan renders. I will set them up (our edition: I will increase them) like people and I will make them succeed like a beast, whose iniquities are not visited upon her.
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  unripe grapes A fruit that is not yet ripe, and it sets the teeth on edge.
  And the teeth of the children shall be set on edge... The children for the fathers’ iniquity.
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  
  
  Verse 34
  
  
  
  Verse 35
  
  to illuminate (esclarzir in Prov. or eclaircir in O.F., eclairer in Modern French), to brighten, and so did Jonathan render: לְאַנְהָרָא, to illuminate.
  Who stirs up the sea He breaks the sea, moves it and “boils” it, and it becomes wrinkles. Cf. “my skin became wrinkled (רָגַע)” (Job 7:5).
  
  Verse 36
  
  depart “He would not move away (יָמִיש)” (Exod. 13:22).
  
  Verse 37
  
  If the heavens... will be measured How much is their altitude.
  I too will reject...Israel That is to say that just as they can neither be measured nor fathomed so will Israel not be rejected because of all that they sinned.
  
  Verse 38
  
  
  
  Verse 39
  
  
  
  Verse 40
  
  valley of the dead bodies The valley where the bodies of the camp of Sennacherib fell.
  and the ash The place where the ashes are poured out, which was outside Jerusalem, they will add to the city and include all this within its walls. Now this prophecy relates to the future, to the final redemption, since it did not take place in the time of the Second Temple.
  the fields (Kanpanjje in O.F.) (campagne in Modern French, open country.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  was besieging an expression of a siege (מָצוֹר).
  in the prison yard an expression of “the prison” (בֵּיתהַמִֹּשְמָר).
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  until I remember him The remembrance of all mankind. That is death.
  
  Verse 6
  
  And Jeremiah said, etc. He did not say this to Zedekiah but Scripture explained why he imprisoned him and then returned to its first statement to explain what the word was that came to Jeremiah.
  
  Verse 7
  
  is coming By Divine command.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  the deed of the purchase The deed of the sale.
  that which was signed, etc. With its signature as it was signed according so the law and the statute.
  and that which was open Which was confirmed in the court by word of its witnesses, and the judges wrote and signed a judicial confirmation. This is the confirmation of the deeds to make the matter open and publicized lest the witnesses die, and our Rabbis explained this concerning a plain, open document and a folded one in Baba Bathra (160b).
  
  Verse 12
  
  in the presence of Hanamel my uncle And until now, he calls him “my uncle’s son.” Perhaps there were two. Otherwise, I do not know what it means. Some are inclined to say that Hanamel was both Jeremiah’s uncle and his uncle’s son; e.g. Reuben married the daughter of his brother Simon, and she bore him Jemuel, and Simon had already begotten Jamin. Hence, Jamin is Jemuel’s uncle, since he is his mother’s brother, and also his uncle’s son, since he is the son of Simon, Jemuel’s father’s brother. This is, however, not the method of expression, for we do not find anywhere in the Bible, that the mother’s brother is called an uncle.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  So said, etc. Do not say that I am concealing them for nothing since everyone is going into exile.
  
  Verse 15
  
  For so says the Lord They will ultimately purchase houses.
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  nothing is hidden from You Nothing is hidden; hence You know that we are destined to be exiled, so why did You tell me to buy a field?
  
  Verse 18
  
  and requites the iniquity of the fathers in the bosom Of this generation who follow their ancestors in their evil way.
  Great and Mighty But he did not say, “and awesome.” He said. Heathens are dancing in His Temple. Where then are His awesome deeds? In Tractate Yoma (69b).
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  and in mankind And in other people. Another explanation: Signs that were equal for Israel and for the Egyptians. How so? “And there was the cloud and the darkness, and it illuminated the night” (Exodus 14:20). That guardian angel that served darkness for the Egyptians, served light for the Israelites Midrash Aggadah (source unknown). And Jonathan renders: And for Israel You performed wonders among people.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  then You caused...to come upon them You caused to happen to them, an expression of a happening (מִקְרֶה).
  
  Verse 24
  
  and what You have proclaimed Evil upon it has come to pass (lit., has been and has come).
  
  Verse 25
  
  Yet the city is given Of what avail is the field to me?
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  Is...concealed from Me? Are future events concealed from Me?
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  since the day they built it On the day that the Temple was founded, Solomon married Pharaoh’s daughter.
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  I taught them lit., and teaching them. This is a participle, (apprenant in French).
  
  Verse 34
  
  
  
  Verse 35
  
  
  
  Verse 36
  
  
  
  Verse 37
  
  Behold I will gather them with mercy from wherever I have driven them with My anger.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  confined in the prison.
  
  Verse 2
  
  So said the Lord, the Maker thereof Who makes this.
  
  Verse 3
  
  Call Me and I will answer you to inform you of future events.
  and strong things laid up in My heart to perform them.
  
  Verse 4
  
  that are demolished for the mounds To make mounds of them, mounds piled up high which the city dwellers build to ascend the mounds to wage war from upon them with the Chaldeans.
  and for the sword To strengthen the wall against those who slay with the sword.
  
  Verse 5
  
  and to fill them with the corpses of the men And the houses that they demolished they make into graves for the corpses of those killed within the city.
  and that which I have hidden, etc. So said the Lord: Behold, I will bring it, etc.
  
  Verse 6
  
  a greeting of peace a blessing (salud in O.F., salut in modern French), a greeting.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  a dwelling of shepherds Heb. נְוֵה רֹעִים.
  
  Verse 13
  
  flocks shall again pass, etc. Israel will come and go under the hands of a king who walks at their head.
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  There shall not be cut off permanently, but if it is discontinued, it will ultimately be reinstated.
  
  Verse 18
  
  for all time There shall not be cut off from them seed fit to offer up a burnt-offering or to burn a meal-offering.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  If you break My covenant with the day If you can break My covenant that I formed with the day and with the night to be in their time, which I formed with Noah and his sons, “And day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22).
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  The two families Viz. royalty and the priesthood.
  and they make My people despise And with these words, they cause My people to despise being a nation to Me.
  before them According to these words of theirs, that they teach them to say that the Holy One, blessed be He, will no longer return from His anger, and repentance will not avail them.
  
  Verse 25
  
  If not My covenant, etc. If it is possible that the covenant that I formed with day and night to be in their time should be abolished, and if it is possible for the statutes of heaven and earth to be abolished as though I had not placed them, also the seed of Jacob, etc. Our Sages, however, expounded it in regard to the covenant of the Torah and circumcision, to derive from here that because of them heaven and earth were created. But this Midrash does not fit the sequence of the verses.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
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  Verse 5
  
  You shall die in peace Our Sages stated that Nebuchadnezzar died during his lifetime (Moed Katan 28b), for all the days of Nebuchadnezzar his prisoners were not freed from their imprisonment, and when Nebuchadnezzar died, Zedekiah emerged from the prison. He died the next day and was buried with pomp.
  and with the burnings of your forefathers So was their custom, to burn for the kings their bier and the utensils they used.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  after King Zedekiah had made a covenant In the seventh year of his reign. So we learned it in Seder Olam (ch. 26): “And it came to pass in the seventh year...men came of the elders of Judah (sic) to inquire of the Lord” (Ezekiel 20:1). They said to Ezekiel, ‘The slave of a priest whom his owner soldwhat is the ruling regarding whether he may eat of the priest’s due?’ That is to say, because they wanted to say that they should not be punished for infracting the commandment by returning the slaves.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  behold I proclaim freedom to you from Me, that I am not your master to save you, and you shall be free to the sword and to the famine.
  
  Verse 18
  
  when they cut the calf in two Whey they returned and forced them to be slaves, they all made a covenant to rebel against the Omnipresent and cut a calf in two and passed between its parts to rebel against Him, and that was a strong covenant and a final one, saying, So shall the one who transgresses be cut and divided.
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  who have gone up away from you because of the army of Pharaoh that came out of Egypt, as is explained in this Book (37:5).
  
  Verse 22
  
  Behold I command that Pharaoh’s army return to his land, and the Chaldeans return upon you.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  to the house of the Rechabites The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab, and they were of the sons of Jethro.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  the man of God The prophet of the Lord.
  the keeper of the vessels Heb. שמר הסף. Jonathan renders: אמרכּלא (tresorier in French,) a treasurer.
  
  Verse 5
  
  
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  but you shall dwell in tents in the deserts where you dwell. They had no share in the land since they were the children of proselytes.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  And it came to pass when Nebuchadrezzar...came up Perforce we came to the city. Therefore, we are now dwelling in houses.
  
  
  
  
  
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  imprisoned in the jail.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  the new gate That is the Eastern Gate; so did Jonathan translate.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
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  “We will surely tell the king” Perhaps he will hear.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  to the court Heb. חצרה, equivalent to אל החצר. Every word that requires a ‘lammed’ in the beginning Scripture placed a ‘heh’ at its end.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  and the brazier Heb. האח. Our Rabbis (Shabbath 21a) defined it as wood, called so because they burn with brotherhood. (That is to say that they are ignited one from the other, like brothers, who benefit each other. Omitted in other editions.) And according to its simple meaning, it appears that it is a vessel upon which they kindle fire before the princes.
  
  Verse 23
  
  three...verses Our Rabbis (Moed Katan 26a) stated. This was the Scroll of Lamentations. They read before him, (1:1) “How...(:2) She weeps...(ibid. 3) Judah has been exiled...(ibid. 4) The roads of Zion are mournful.” Despite all this, he was not troubled. He said, “I am the king over the survivors.” As soon as he read (ibid. 5), Her adversaries have become the head,” he said, “From now on, I am [no longer] the king.” Immediately, he rent it with a scribe’s razor.
  he rent Heb. יקרעה, like קְרָעָה.
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  entreated Heb. הפגעו, supplicated.
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  many words like those At first, there were three alphabetical acrostics: (Lam. ch. 1) “O how... remained,” (2) “How...brought darkness,” (4) “How dim...has become.” And he added to it, (3) “I am the man,” in which every letter is tripled.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  reigned as king Since from now on, i.e., from this point, he comes to tell and to say that the retributions that he prophesied until now were fulfilled, he started to tell in this manner, that when the time of the visitation, when the days drew near that the words should be fulfilled, another king reigned over Judah instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, etc.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  And Jeremiah was coming and going among the people When Zedekiah assumed the throne, he gave an order and they freed him from the jail where Jehoiakim had imprisoned him, for Zedekiah was a righteous man and the people of his generation were wicked, whereas Jehoiakim was a wicked man and the people of his generation were righteous.
  
  Verse 5
  
  Now Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt to aid Judah.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  is returning to his land Egypt They were coming in ships, and the Holy One, blessed be He, signaled to the sea and caused a type of bottles and flasks (i.e., inflated) resembling human skins to float on it. They said to each other, What is this? They replied, These are our forefathers, whom the forefathers of these whom we are going to aid, drowned. They immediately returned to their land.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  to share [land] from there among the people Jonathan [renders]: To share his inheritance among the people, and as long as the Chaldeans were besieging it, he did not leave it, for he prayed that it should not be taken.
  
  Verse 13
  
  and there was the captain of the guard Appointed to guard so that no man should leave the city to make peace with the Chaldeans.
  the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah That is Hananiah the son of Azzur. He was his grandson, and for the following reason Scripture traced his lineage, [viz.] to teach that whoever flatters a wicked man eventually falls into his hands or into the hands of his son or into the hands of his grandson, and Jeremiah flattered him, for he said to him, “Amen! (28:6) [So may the Lord do.] May the Lord fulfil your words” (Sotah 41b). And [according to] the Midrash Aggadah, Hananiah commanded his son, “See that I am dying because of Jeremiah, and he made me a liar in my prophecy. If you can cause him to stumble, cause him to stumble. And his son commanded his son also in that manner, and when the time came, he caused him to stumble.
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  and to the cells Jonathan renders: within the cells. There were cells before that prison.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  from the street of the bakers Heb. מחוץ, from the street of the bakers. Cf: “And you shall make streets (וחצות) for yourself in Damascus” (I Kings 20:34).
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  and he shall have his life as prey His life shall be saved, as if had “plundered” his soul; just as a man profits from plundering booty, so this person will profit [by saving] his life.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  since he weakens (a lacher in O.F.), an expression of weakness.
  
  Verse 5
  
  cannot Heb. יוּכַל, like יָכוֹל, since he is weakening the hands of, etc.
  
  Verse 6
  
  the pit of Malchiah lit. the pit Malchiah.
  
  Verse 7
  
  Ebed-melech Baruch the son of Neriah.
  the Cushite Zedekiah. Just as a Cushite is different in his skin, so was Zedekiah different in his righteousness, from all his generation (Moed Katan 16b). And there is a Midrash that expounds “the Cushite,” as referring to Baruch (Sifrei ibid.).
  an officer Heb. סריס, a great man.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  He would have died in his place, etc. If they had left him in his place, he would have died by himself in the famine, but they have done harm to bring his death closer.
  
  Verse 10
  
  thirty men Since they were weakened by the famine, all of them were required.
  
  Verse 11
  
  worn clouts Heb. בלוי סחבות, worn out garments, that are dragged.
  
  Verse 12
  
  and the rags Heb. והמלחים, an expression of decay. Cf. “shall vanish (נמלחוּ) like smoke” (Isa. 51: 6).
  under your armpits So that the ropes should not harm you.
  armpits Heb. אצילות, aisseles in French.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  the third entrance I do not know where it is. Perhaps it is in the Israelites’ Court. The appellation “third” is to say that the hel [the wall surrounding the Temple Court], and the Women’s Court are before it.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
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  Verse 19
  
  “I fear” Heb. דֹאֵג.
  lest they deliver me [Lest] the Chaldeans [deliver me] into the hands of the Jews, saying, Your king shall be your slave since you have made peace with us first.
  and mock me [i. e.,] the Jews [will mock me] (engregier in O.F.), complain.
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  “Your cohorts” [lit. the men of your peace,] the false prophets, who told you that you would not be caught.
  into the mire Heb. בבץ, mire, an expression as in (Job 8:11): “Can the rush shoot up without mire (בצה)?”
  
  Verse 23
  
  and this city you shall burn with fire It is as though you are burning it with your hands for you are causing it.
  
  
  
  
  
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  And all the officers of the king of Babylon came and sat in the middle gate, etc. [This] tells [us] that here the above prophecy, “And they will come and place, each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, etc.” (1:15) was fulfilled.
  in the middle gate Heb. בשער התוך. Jonathan renders: in the middle gate, the gate of the Temple court, the Nicanor Gate, the Eastern Gate, and it is between the gate of the Women’s Court and the gate of the Temple proper. And our Rabbis (Sanh. 103a) said: The gate where the halachoth were decided (מחתכים). Concerning them, Scripture says. “The place of judgment there is wickedness” (Ecc. 3:16).
  
  Verse 4
  
  by way of the king’s garden He had a cave from his house to the plains of Jericho, and he went out at night by way of the cave. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do to fulfill “And I will spread My net over him” (Ezek. 12:13)? He prepared a deer before the Chaldeans walking on the roof the cave outside the city, and they ran after it to seize it, and it ran up to the entrance of the cave, and they saw Zedekiah going out of the cave.
  
  Verse 5
  
  he called him to account Why did you transgress the oath?
  
  Verse 6
  
  and...all the nobles of Judah These are the Sanhedrin, because they had annulled the oath.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  the houses of the people The synagogues.
  
  Verse 9
  
  
  
  Verse 10
  
  vineyards and fields Heb. ויגבים, fields to till. Every יגיבה is an expression of digging (a fosser in French), to dig.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  
  
  Verse 13
  
  the officers of Heb. רבי, like שָּׂרֵי.
  
  Verse 14
  
  to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam who defected to the Chaldeans in compliance with Jeremiah’s orders, and when the city was taken, he appointed him governor over those remaining there.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  and they shall be before you on that day And the words shall be before you, for you shall see them fulfilled.
  
  Verse 17
  
  into the hand[s] of the men into the hand[s] of the Chaldeans.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  The word that came What is stated at the end of the section (42:7): “And it was at the end of ten days that the word of the Lord came etc.,” but he first wrote on account of what it was said to him. And the Midrash Aggadah in Lamentations Rabbah (Proem 34): What was the word? “And return to Gedaliah.” He said to him: Either you go down with them and I will remain (?) here, or you remain here and I will go down with them. He replied: If I go down with them, what will I help them? Rather, let their Creator go down with them, for He will help them exceedingly.
  from Ramah Where he went into exile by himself with them. He would see a group [of youths] joined by a collar and would put his neck between them, etc., as is stated in Pesikta of the Haftarah Divrei Yirmiyahu (p. 113). For it is impossible to say that Nebuzaradan put him in chains since Nebuchadnezzar commanded him, “Do him no harm” (above 39:12).
  in fetters Heb. באזקים, ceps in French, fetters.
  
  Verse 2
  
  “The Lord your God spoke” Why are you troubled about them? Did you not prophesy to them and they did not hearken? As it is stated in Pesikta d’Rav Kahana (p. 113a).
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  I have released you Heb. פתחתיך, an expression related to “And he untied (ויפתח) the camels” (Gen. 24.32). And so did Jonathan render: Behold, now I have untied you. But Menahem (p. 147) interpreted all of them as an expression of actual opening (פתיחה).
  
  Verse 5
  
  But he would still not return Despite this, he did not wish to return. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “And return to Gedaliah,” who was appointed over the remaining poor people. They, too, need you, like the rest of the exiles.
  an allowance and a present Heb. ארחה ומשאת. Jonathan renders: מתנן וּנבזבן.
  
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  and dried figs Heb. וקיץ, dried figs.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  and officers of the king They were jealous of him that he took a high position.
  
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  to bring to the house of the Lord When they left home, they were unaware of the destruction of the Temple, and en route, they heard of it, and rent their clothing and shaved their beards.
  and having cut themselves An expression [denoting] laceration.
  
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  Verse 9
  
  through Gedaliah Heb. ביד, [lit. by the hand of Gedaliah]. Since he should have heeded the counsel of Johanan the son of Kareah, and he did not heed, Scripture accounts it for him as though they had been slain by him.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
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  Verse 12
  
  by the great waters [By the pool of great waters.]
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
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  Verse 17
  
  in Geruth Chimham In the sojourning place that David gave to Chimham the son of Barzilai the Gileadite when he returned from the war of Absalom, as it is stated in the Book of Samuel (II 19: 39): “Chimham shall go over with me.”
  
  
  
  
  
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  the sound of the horn which the lookouts sound to warn the people.
  
  
  
  
  
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  and hide them in the mortar Heb. במלט. This ‘mem’ is a defective radical in the word, like מקום, a place, מעמד, a stand, מעשה, a deed, and its root is לט, cf. “he wrapped (וילט) his face” (I Kings 19:13). Envelop them in the mortar in the framework. in the mortar (Envolopemant in O.F)
  
  Verse 10
  
  his pavilion Heb. שפרירו, his tent, and a similar case is [found] in Job 26:13: “By His breath, He made the heavens a tent (שפרה).”
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  and he shall wrap up the land of Egypt He shall wrap up all its plunder and leave, as a shepherd wraps up and rolls his garment and casts it over his shoulder when he leads his flock before him.
  
  Verse 13
  
  the monuments of Beth-shemesh The altars that those who proselytized in the days of Hezekiah had made there Sennacherib’s captives whom he brought from Cush and from Egypt before Jerusalem on the day of his downfall, as it is stated “On that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan and swearing to the Lord of Hosts one of which will be called ‘the city of Heres’” (Isa. 19.18). Jonathan renders: The city of Beth-shemesh, which is destined to be destroyed, will be said to be one of them.
  
  
  
  
  
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  They were not crushed Their hearts were not crushed because of their evil.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
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  only fugitives Jeremiah and Baruch returned from there, for Nebuchadnezzar exiled them when the land of Egypt was delivered into his hand in the twenty-seventh year of his reign (Ezek. 29:17). So we learned in Seder Olam (ch. 26).
  
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  without our husbands Without their knowledge.
  cakes in her image Heb. כונים להעצבה, molds in the shape of idols (idols in the shape of a young lady as above ch. 22:28).
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
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  And He could no longer bear Heb. ולא יוּכַל, like ולא יָכוֹל, and He could not.
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
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  Pharaoh Hophra Heb. פרעה חפרע, rendered by Jonathan as פרעֹה תבירה, the broken Pharaoh, and this ‘heth’ serves instead of a ‘heh.’
  
  
  
  
  
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  but I have found no rest Heb. ומנוחה. The Shechinah has not rested upon me to prophesy. Cf. “And the spirit rested (ותנח) upon them” (Num. 12:26). “Why am I different from the disciples of the prophets? Joshua served Moses and the Holy Spirit rested upon him. Elisha served Elijah and the Holy Spirit rested upon him. Why am I different?”
  
  Verse 4
  
  and it is all the land that is being judged with this uprooting and tearing down.
  
  Verse 5
  
  And you seek great things for yourself? [“Great things” means] prophecies. Cf. “Please tell me all the great things etc.” (II Kings 8:4). “Call to me...and I will tell you great, etc,” (above 33:3). The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: If there is no vineyard, there is no fence, and if there are no sheep, there is no shepherd. I reveal Myself to the prophets only in the merit of Israel. We learned this in the Mechilta, in the beginning.
  
  
  
  
  
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  shield Heb. מגן. It is made of leather, and it is boiled, and when he goes forth to battle, he anoints it with oil.
  and buckler Heb. וצנה, [made] of wood, in the likeness of our shields.
  
  Verse 4
  
  polish the spears Heb. מרקו. Cf. “It shall be scoured (וּמֹרַק) and rinsed” (Lev. 6:21), (forbir in O.F., to furbish).
  
  Verse 5
  
  them breaking The Egyptians.
  and were not freed? [They were] no longer freed to stand in battle; they had no free time.
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  Who...would come up like the Nile Who was wont to bring up troops around him like the waters of a river, to flood its environs.
  
  Verse 8
  
  would come up like the Nile Was accustomed to coming up.
  I will destroy Heb. אֹבִידָה, like אֲאַבֵּד.
  
  Verse 9
  
  and rush madly Heb. והתהללו, an expression of folly.
  
  Verse 10
  
  and its thirst shall be quenched Heb. ורותה, an expression of satiety. [Another interpretation: It] is an expression of drunkenness; cf. שֵּׁכַר, strong drink, which we translate מְרַוֵי.
  in the north land For Pharaoh marched on Nebuchadnezzar in Carchemish, and there he fell and his mighty men were slain, and he fled from the battle.
  
  Verse 11
  
  
  
  Verse 12
  
  a mighty man has stumbled upon a mighty man When they were fleeing they would stumble over each other.
  
  Verse 13
  
  concerning the coming of Nebuchadnezzar This was a second blow, [viz.] that Nebuchadnezzar laid Egypt waste in the twenty-seventh year of his reign (Ezek. 29:17), as we learned in Seder Olam (ch. 26).
  
  Verse 14
  
  “Stand fast and prepare yourself” for the war. והכן means “and prepare.”
  
  Verse 15
  
  been swept away? Heb. נסחף. Your mighty men have been swept away and have slid. Cf. “sweeping (סֹחֵף) rain” (Prov. 28:3); “His field has been inundated (נסתחפה)” (Kethuboth 1:6). Menahem (Machbereth p. 126) classified it as an expression of complete destruction, and so did he classify מטר סחף. Dunash, however, interprets מטר סחף like מטר סועף, cutting rain. Cf. “Lops off (מְסָעֵף) the branches with a saw” (Isa. 10:33).
  
  Verse 16
  
  He made many stumbling blocks The Holy One, blessed be He, Who pushed him down, made many stumbling blocks for him.
  yea, they joined Heb. נפל [lit. fell]. They joined one another, saying, Arise and let us go back to our own people, whence we came to wage war.
  the oppressing sword Heb. חרב. Jonathan renders: The sword of the enemy, which is like intoxicating wine. היונה. An expression of wine (יין). Another interpretation: It is an expression of oppression (אונאה).
  
  Verse 17
  
  There they called out In the battle, they proclaimed publicly a reproachful byword.
  “Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made a lot of noise” Who would raise the sound of his noise, the noises to boast with his armies.
  has allowed the appointed time to pass by For he had appointed a set time to go forth and wage war, and he did not go forth, and the day of the appointed time passed by.
  
  Verse 18
  
  that as sure as Tabor is among the mountains Just as it is a true fact that Tabor is fast among the mountains and Mount Carmel is by the sea, so is it true that this thing shall come upon Egypt.
  
  Verse 19
  
  equipment for exile When a person embarks on a journey, he prepares for himself a flask and an earthenware cup with which to drink.
  desolate Heb. ונצחה, an expression of desolation (ציה).
  
  Verse 20
  
  a fair heifer A beautiful kingdom.
  destruction peoples that kill [acc. to Jonathan]. קֶרֶץ is an expression of cutting. Cf. “I...was cut (קֹרצתי) out of clay” (Job 33:6).
  from the north From Babylon.
  
  Verse 21
  
  Also her princes Heb. שְׂכִרֶיהָ, her princes. Cf. “with the great razor (הַשְׂכִירָה)” (Isa. 7:20).
  fattened (kopla in O.F., couple in modern French).
  turn around Turned their back to seek to flee.
  
  Verse 22
  
  Its voice shall go like [that of] the snake The “snake” comes to teach us about Egypt but ends by learning. For we learn from here that when the Holy One, blessed be He, said to the serpent, “You shall walk on your belly” (Gen. 3:14), He severed his feet, and his voice went to the end of the world. So we learned in the ‘Thirty-two Methods of Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Jose the Galilean’ (Method 12).
  for they will march with an army against her.
  
  Verse 23
  
  They will cut down her forest They have power to cut down her forest.
  for they are innumerable [lit. it shall not be fathomed, i.e.,] the number of their host.
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  upon Amon Heb. אל אמון, [lit. to Amon,] upon Amon, upon the prince Amon. There are some that are an expression of greatness. Cf. “Are you greater than the greatness of No (מִנֹא אָמוֹן)?” (Nahum 3: 8).
  of No The great Alexandria (les seigneurs d’Alexandria in O.F.).
  
  Verse 26
  
  and after that At the end of forty years, as Ezekiel stated (29:1 3ff.).
  
  Verse 27
  
  You fear not The righteous men who were in Egypt, who were exiled there against their will.
  
  Verse 28
  
  justly With sparing justice, little by little.
  completely destroy Heb. ונקה [lit. clean,] an expression of sweeping and destroying, and Jonathan too rendered it an expression of destroying.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  concerning the Philistines Heb. אל פלישתים [lit.] to the Philistines.
  before Pharaoh struck Gaza When Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem in the tenth year of Zedekiah, Pharaoh’s army came forth from Egypt, and the Chaldeans withdrew from Jerusalem. Pharaoh heard, invaded Gaza and returned to his land. In Seder Olam (ch. 26).
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  the stamping Heb. שעטת. There is no similar [word in Scripture]. And Jonathan rendered it: from the steps.
  from the noise of his chariots Heb. מרעש לרכבו [lit.] from the noise to his chariots.
  his wheels The wheels of his chariots.
  fathers did not turn to sons to save them.
  
  Verse 4
  
  to cut off from Tyre and Zidon The Philistines were aiding them against their enemies.
  the island of Caphtor (Isls in O.F.)
  
  Verse 5
  
  has become a waste Heb. נדמתה.
  will you tear your flesh Will you tear your flesh in mourning and in weeping?
  
  Verse 6
  
  sword of the Lord Which the Holy One, Blessed be He, brings to the world.
  rest Heb. הרגעי, an expression of מרגועַ rest.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  Misgab A place name.
  
  Verse 2
  
  in Heshbon...Madmen These are place names, and according to their names he mentions their retribution.
  you shall be a waste Heb. תִּדֹּמִי.
  
  Verse 3
  
  
  
  Verse 4
  
  her youths Jonathan [renders]: Her governors, younger than the kings.
  
  Verse 5
  
  the ascent of Luhith It is a place name, the ascent of a mountain.
  
  Verse 6
  
  like Aro’er The tower of Aro’er that is made in the desert, and there is no civilization around it except tent dwellers, and a tower standing without an inhabited region appears as ruins. So did Jonathan render it. (See Isaiah 17:2, Commentary Digest.) But Menahem (Machbereth Menahem p. 137) explained כּערוער as the name of a tree of the forest trees.
  
  Verse 7
  
  
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  Give wings to Moab Heb. ציץ. Give wings to Moab. Every appendage that hangs or protrudes from man or beast is called ציץ. Cf. “And it shall be to you for fringes (לציצית)” (Num. 15:39); “And He took me by the locks (בציצית) of my head” (Ezek. 8:3).
  for she shall fly away Heb. נצא תצא. For with flight and haste you shall go forth into exile, and נָצֹא will be of the conjugation of נוֹצָה, a feather. So did Menahem (Machbereth Menahem p. 151) classify it, and so “Yea, they fled away (נָצוּ) and wandered” (Lam. 4:15). Jonathan renders: Remove the crown from Moab. Give others the crown of Moab.
  
  Verse 10
  
  the Lord’s work The work of the destruction of Moab, which is the mission of the Omnipresent.
  
  Verse 11
  
  did not change Heb. נָמָר.
  
  Verse 12
  
  men to pour Heb. ציעים, those who pour. Cf. “What must be poured out (צֹעֶה) hastened to be opened” (Isa. 51:14). That is the moving of the bowels by pouring.
  his jars Heb. נבליהם [lit. their jars], the Moabites’ flasks.
  smash Heb. ינפצו, they shall break. Cf. “How were they regarded as earthen jars (לְנִבְלֵי) (Lam. 4:2). Also, “Every bottle (נֵבֶל) will be filled with wine” (supra 13.12).
  
  Verse 13
  
  of Chemosh in whom they trusted.
  of Beth-el The golden calf.
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  Lament for them Heb. נדו, an expression of lamentation. Cf. “and do not lament (תָּנוּד) for him.”
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  ask those who have fled and escaped Ask those who flee and escape from Moab, what transpired, if anyone escaped from being destroyed
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  and judgment has come Retribution has come.
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  Make him drunk Give him to drink [the cup of] weakness until he is drunk.
  he too Just as Israel was derided by him [i.e., Moab].
  
  Verse 27
  
  you shake your head Heb. תתנודד. You would shake your head and scoff at their destruction. Another interpretation: For because of your words about him, that you would sing about his destruction, you are going to wander (מתנודד) to go out into exile. And so did Jonathan render: Because you spoke many words about them, therefore you shall wander.
  
  Verse 28
  
  in the sides of the mouth of a pit The place where the water passes under the high embankments of the bank of a wadi, and when the wadi is diminished, the pit is found to be empty, and the dove nests in one of the sides of the pit. And when the wadi increases, it inundates the nest and she wanders from there. So I heard, but Jonathan did not render in that manner, [but:] Be like a dove, that leaves the opening of the dovecote and goes down and rests at the bottom of a pit.
  
  Verse 29
  
  
  
  Verse 30
  
  his wrath, and it is not so His hatred of Israel is not in truth or in justice.
  his mighty men Heb. בדיו [lit.] his branches.
  have not dealt properly They did not recompense justly the seed of Abraham, who fought with the kings and saved Lot, their ancestor.
  
  Verse 31
  
  Kir-heres A city of the land of Moab.
  they shall moan Moaning like moaning doves.
  
  Verse 32
  
  From the weeping of Jazar I will weep for you When this prophecy was said, Jazer had already been destroyed, and that was near Moab.
  I will weep for you I will weep for you, similar to that other weeping [i.e., for Jazer], for you will be destroyed just like [Jazer].
  O grape vine of Sibmah It was a land of vineyards.
  your tendrils Since he compared them to a grape vine, he compared their mighty men to the tendrils of the vine.
  crossed the sea i.e., they went into exile.
  your dried figs Heb. קיצך, an expression of dried figs, but קִצֵךְ (51:13), an expression of (קץ), an end, has no ‘yud’ and its ‘tzaddi’ has a ‘dagesh.’
  
  Verse 33
  
  shall be taken away Heb. ונאספה, shall be ended that it shall not be seen.
  one shall not tread grapes with a voice of shouting, “Hedad!” with joy as they were wont to do.
  The shouting shall be no shouting The shouting that they will cry will not be the first shouting, but the shouting of fleeing the sword.
  
  Verse 34
  
  O third born heifer Heb. עגלתשלישיה, mighty province.
  
  Verse 35
  
  
  
  Verse 36
  
  because they dealt haughtily יתרתעשה. Because they dealt haughtily, they perished.
  
  Verse 37
  
  scratches Heb. גדדת.
  
  Verse 38
  
  
  
  Verse 39
  
  Wail, “How was she dismayed?” Wail about her and say, “How was she dismayed?”
  
  Verse 40
  
  like an eagle he shall soar [i.e.,] the enemy [shall swoop] upon Moab.
  shall soar Heb. ידאה, shall fly.
  
  Verse 41
  
  Kerioth Heb. הקריות, the name of the city.
  
  Verse 42
  
  
  
  Verse 43
  
  Fright and a pit These are two hard things, one next to the other, for fright causes him to flee, and the pit is ready to fall into.
  פַּחַת is (fosse in French) a pit.
  
  Verse 44
  
  
  
  Verse 45
  
  In the shadow of Heshbon which is high and has a shadow.
  stood Those who were fleeing [stood] to rest in the shadow since they had no more strength to flee.
  from the city of Sihon Heb. מבין, from the city of Sihon. Cf. “the city of (בֶּן) Reuben” in Joshua (15:6).
  and the crown of the head Heb. וקדקד, (estrit in Provencal or estrif in O.F. [to fight]) and Menahem (Machbereth Menahem p. 158) classified it as an expression of a spring (מָקוֹר) and Jonathan rendered: יַקִּירֵי the esteemed ones, an expression of יְקָר, esteem.
  the tumultuous ones Heb. בני שאון, those who would raise their voice with boasting.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  Has Israel no sons? The ‘beth’ is weak [without a ‘dagesh’], and the ‘heh’ is vowelized with a ‘hataph-pattah,’ which is an expression of wonder [interrogative].
  Malcam The deity of the children of Ammon is named Malcam, as it is stated: “And to Milcom, the abomination of the children of Ammon” (II Kings 23:13), an expression of מֶלֶךְ, a king.
  
  Verse 2
  
  
  
  Verse 3
  
  for Ai has been spoiled Ai, that is near it, [has been spoiled,] and it is of the land of Ammon.
  O villages of Rabbah Rabbah of the children of Ammon.
  and mobilize in companies Heb. והתשוטטנה בגדרות. Jonathan renders: ואתהמכוּן בסיעָן, mobilize in companies. He interprets והתשוטטנה as an expression of armies that run to and fro (משוטטים) ; and גדרות is an expression of sheepcotes full of flocks, and can be interpreted as “and roll in the dung of the sheepcotes,” an expression of contempt. [Onkelos translates:] “And Esau despised” (Gen. 25:34), ושט עשו.
  
  Verse 4
  
  You boast Heb. תתהללי (vanter in French).
  about the valleys? That your land is a land of valleys and lack of rainfall is not harmful to it since the sun does not penetrate into it.
  Your valley is flowing A misfortune of an overabundance of rain shall come upon it until the water will flow in the valley and inundate the roots of the grain So did Menahem [Machbereth Menahem p. 77] explain it.
  
  Verse 5
  
  each man forward Anyone who can hurry and flee.
  the wanderer The term [לנדד] derives from נע ונד, “a wanderer and an exile” (Gen. 4:14).
  
  Verse 6
  
  
  
  Verse 7
  
  in the south? Edom is in the south of Eretz Israel, as it is stated. “And your south side shall be from the desert of Zin close by the side of Edom” (Num. 34:3).
  from the sons Heb. מבנים, from this generation.
  has spoiled Heb. נסרחה.
  
  Verse 8
  
  Clear out! Heb. הפנו. Vacate this place. This is an expression of “And they shall clear out (וּפְּנוּ) the house” (Lev. 14:36).
  Dwell deep to hide in the secret valleys. נֻסוּ הָפְנוּ הֶעְמִקוּ are all in the imperative form.
  
  Verse 9
  
  If vintagers have come upon you, etc. I have exposed Esau, etc. I have heard tidings, etc. On this order, Obadiah prophesied concerning Edom, but since one watchword is passed to many prophets, but no two prophets prophesy under the same watchword, they differ in several words.
  will they not leave over gleaning grapes? This is the interrogative. Yet the spoilers who came upon you left over nothing for you.
  
  Verse 10
  
  I exposed Heb. חשפתי, uncovered. Cf. “the exposure (מַחְשֹף) of the white” (Gen. 30:37). And you delivered the survivors of Israel in order that no one remain of them, as it is stated: “Neither should you have delivered his survivors” (Obadiah 1:14).
  and he could not hide He will seek to hide but will be unable.
  
  Verse 11
  
  Leave your orphans whom you have orphaned of Israel.
  
  Verse 12
  
  those who do not deserve to drink For they were not brothers to Israel, and if they harmed them, they do not deserve the death sentence like you.
  
  Verse 13
  
  that Bozrah shall become desolation, reproach, waste, and a curse Bozrah was one of the cities of Moab, but because it raised up a king for Edom, as the matter is stated, “And Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah” (Gen. 36:33), it will suffer with them.
  
  Verse 14
  
  
  
  Verse 15
  
  I have made you small For they have no king who is the son of a king. It was not their custom to set up a king the son of a king.
  
  Verse 16
  
  Your hastiness Heb. תפלצתך, an expression of haste, for you hurried and were hasty to arouse your hatred for your brother. And there are some who translate this as an expression of fright (פַּלָצוּת), and there are some who translate it as an expression of an image (מפלצת).
  has enticed you to harm them.
  you who dwell Heb. שכני, like שׁוֹכֵן.
  who hold תפשי, like תּופֵשׂ, and the ‘yud’ is superfluous in it.
  
  Verse 17
  
  
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  as a lion that ascends from the heights of the Jordan, which is a place frequented by lions, as Jonathan renders, so shall the enemy ascend upon the strong dwelling place.
  for I will bring the moment Heb. ארגיעה.
  I will hasten him away from her Suddenly and successfully he shall destroy her and return in a brief movement to his place. But I say that אריצנוּ מעליה means: I will hasten him over her, that he shall overpower her and be over her. Cf. “Above (ממעל) the expanse” (Gen. 1: 7); “Above (ממעל) for Him” (Isa. 6:2); “Over (מֵעַל) his garments” (I Sam. 17:39).
  and he who is chosen He whom I have chosen to wreak My vengeance, I will appoint over her. 7
  and who will appoint Me a time For bartle, to wage war with Me?
  a shepherd A king.
  
  Verse 20
  
  if...not An expression of ‘indeed.’
  drag them Heb. יסחבום.
  the young of the flock. The despised of the nations, and our Rabbis [Yoma 10] expounded that it refers to Persia, who was the youngest of Japheth’s sons.
  make desolate Heb. ישים, an expression of desolation (שממה).
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  Hamath and Arpad are shamed [Hamath and Arpad,] cities of Aram, [are shamed,] for they heard bad news concerning Damascus, which is the head of Aram, as it is stated. “For the head of Aram is Damascus” (Isa. 7:8). Therefore, they melted.
  there is worry in the sea He compares her worry to the worry of the sea, which cannot be quiet. Every instance of דאגה, worry, is an expression of fear.
  
  Verse 24
  
  Damascus become feeble Her hands have become too feeble to wage war.
  trembling Heb. רֶטֶט.
  
  Verse 25
  
  “How was...not fortified” It was not filled with earth around its wall to strengthen the wall. Cf. “And they fortified (ויעזבוּ) Jerusalem up to the wall” (Neh. 3:8). It can also be interpreted: Why was it not forsaken by this evil, that the evil should not come upon it?
  the city of my joy So shall her king mourn over her.
  
  Verse 26
  
  Therefore This is an expression of an oath.
  shall be destroyed Heb. ידמו, [lit. shall be silent,] shall be destroyed, but it does not deviate from being an expression of silence, for in every ruined city, no voice is heard.
  
  Verse 27
  
  
  
  Verse 28
  
  Concerning Kedar They were desert dwellers, with neither wall nor city.
  
  Verse 29
  
  terror Heb. מגור (amassment in French). Another explanation: an expression of fear.
  
  Verse 30
  
  has taken counsel against you And what was that counsel? “Rise and go up to a peaceful nation.”
  
  Verse 31
  
  they dwell alone Confidently alone. They need not gather and dwell among people, for they fear not that an enemy will come upon them.
  
  Verse 32
  
  cast to the ends Separated from one end to the other end of the directions.
  
  Verse 33
  
  
  
  Verse 34
  
  
  
  Verse 35
  
  the bow of Elam The might of Elam (other editions: the strength of Elam).
  the chief of their might The best of their might.
  
  Verse 36
  
  
  
  Verse 37
  
  
  
  Verse 38
  
  And I will place My throne My siege (מָצוֹר).
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  
  
  Verse 2
  
  and raise a standard (Perche in French.) That is a signal for gathering.
  Bel...Merodach The names of the Babylonian deities.
  
  Verse 3
  
  a nation...from the north [viz.] Persia and Media.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  are directed hitherward Toward this place, Jerusalem, they shall direct their faces when Babylon will be destroyed and they will leave it with the sanction of Cyrus, king of Persia.
  
  Verse 6
  
  their shepherds caused them to stray Their kings caused them to stray away from Me.
  mountains...led them astray To the mountains, to the idol worship that was on the mountains. שׁוֹבְבוּם (esvayent in O.F.), led astray, their kings led them astray. And Jonathan rendered: their governors plundered them.
  
  Verse 7
  
  and the hope of their forefathers Jonathan renders: וְסִבּוּר אֲבָהָתְהוֹן, and the hope of their forefathers.
  
  Verse 8
  
  Wander out of Babylon Accordingly, go out of there.
  like the he goats before the flocks It is customary for the he-goats to go before the flock, at the head of the she-goats.
  
  Verse 9
  
  and they shall set themselves in array against her They shall array themselves in battle against her.
  
  Verse 10
  
  
  
  Verse 11
  
  O spoilers of My heritage Heb. שֹּׁסֵי.
  as you become fat Heb. תפושו, an expression of fat.
  a threshing heifer Heb. דשא, a heifer that threshes the grain and eats constantly.
  
  Verse 12
  
  Your mother Your nation.
  the end of the nations Although your beginning was great, your end will be a desert.
  
  Verse 13
  
  
  
  Verse 14
  
  shoot at her Heb. ידו, cast stones at her. Cf. “And they cast (וידוּ) stones at me” (Lam. 3:53).
  
  Verse 15
  
  she gave her hand like a person who has no strength and stretches forth his hand to whomever he sees, to beg mercy and aid. Cf. We gave our hand to Egypt” (Lam. 5:6).
  her foundations have fallen Heb. אשיותיה. The strength of her foundations. Cf. “And the foundations (וְאֻשַּׁיָא) shall be fastened” (Ezra 4:12). And in the language of the Mishnah: Those who dig for foundations (לְאֻשִׁין) [Baba Kamma 50a]. Cf. “And strengthen yourselves (והתאוששוּ)” (Isa. 46:8), equivalent to והתחזקוּ, and strengthen yourselves.
  as she did to the city of the Lord.
  
  Verse 16
  
  Cut off a sower Destroy a king from Babylon and one who grasps a sword in time of slaughter.
  
  Verse 17
  
  First...devoured him For he exiled the Ten Tribes.
  broke his bones He broke his bones, for he finished the leftovers, Judah and Benjamin. עִצְמוֹ (desossa in French), [broke the bones].
  
  Verse 18
  
  
  
  Verse 19
  
  and he shall pasture in the Carmel An expression of pasture.
  
  Verse 20
  
  
  
  Verse 21
  
  the rebellious land Heb. מרתים, which rebelled against Me and provoked Me.
  Pekod The name of a province. Cf. “Pekod and Shoa and Koa” (Ezekiel 23:23). Jonathan renders [them as] names of provinces.
  and do according to all that I have commanded you You, Cyrus, through Isaiah the prophet.
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  the hammer of the whole earth which would shatter and crush everyone.
  
  Verse 24
  
  I laid a snare for you Heb. יקשתי, an expression of a snare (מוֹקֵש).
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  Come against her from her border From the end of the city, commence upon her, that she not know, and she will be taken suddenly.
  open her gates Jonathan renders: אִבּוּלָהָא, her gates, but it has no similar instance [in Scripture]. Menahem (Machbereth p. 14) classifies it as an expression of a manger.
  thresh her Heb. סלוה.
  stacks Granaries.
  
  Verse 27
  
  all her bulls Her princes. So is the custom of the prophets to compare the princes to mighty bulls and to he-goats.
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  Gather archers against Babylon Heb. השמיעו, an expression similar to: “And Saul called the people together (וַיְשַׁמַע)” (I Sam. 15:4). Call out that archers assemble against Babylon. Cf. “His archers (רַבָּיו) surround me” (Job 16:13).
  
  Verse 30
  
  Therefore An expression of an oath.
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  
  
  Verse 34
  
  in order to give rest to the earth When Babylon falls, there will be rest and peace for all.
  
  Verse 35
  
  
  
  Verse 36
  
  upon the imposters Heb. הבדים, to her diviners.
  and they shall become foolish with their divining. Similar to this is: “Who frustrates the signs of imposters” (Isa. 44:25), and so did Jonathan render. They are called בּדים because they fabricate (בּוֹדִים) and say false things.
  
  Verse 37
  
  the allies Heb. הערב. Jonathan renders: סוּמְכותא (garantie in French).
  
  Verse 38
  
  and they are mad upon things of horror Heb. יתהללו, they shall become mad. Another interpretation: (Pour vanter in French) in order to boast. And so did Jonathan render: משתבּחין, they boast, [i.e.,] with the gods of the giants that they had.
  
  Verse 39
  
  martens...with cats Jonathan [renders]: And martens shall meet cats. [These are] species of animals found in ruins.
  
  Verse 40
  
  
  
  Verse 41
  
  
  
  Verse 42
  
  
  
  Verse 43
  
  
  
  Verse 44
  
  Behold, as a lion that ascends from the heights of the Jordan, so will the spoiler come to the strong dwelling. So did Jonathan paraphrase: Behold a king with his camp shall ascend upon them like a lion that ascends from the height of the Jordan. We learn that the height of the Jordan is a place of lions. Also, in this manner Jonathan renders: “How will you do in the heights of the Jordan” (12:5): Against the wild beasts of the heights of the Jordan.
  when I bring the moment Heb. ארגיעה, when I bring the time.
  over her Heb. מעליה.
  and who will appoint Me a time for war?
  
  Verse 45
  
  the young of the flock Persia, the youngest of the sons of Japheth.
  
  
  
  
  
  Verse 1
  
  Leb-kamai Casdim (Chaldeans) according to cypher of ‘At-bash’ (א"תב"ש). the desire of a destroyer The desire of the king of Persia and Media, who is a destroyer. Heb. רוּחַ (talent in O.F.).
  
  Verse 2
  
  and they shall scatter her Heb. וְזֵרוּהָ.
  and empty her land Heb. וִיבֹקְקוּ.
  
  Verse 3
  
  To...the archer shall bend This is an elliptical verse. [The meaning is:] To wherever I say, there the archer shall bend his bow.
  and he shall not be healed with his coat of mail Heb. וְאַל יִתְעַל.
  
  Verse 4
  
  
  
  Verse 5
  
  For Israel is not widowed He has not forgotten him to avenge him.
  for their land of the Chaldeans.
  
  Verse 6
  
  Flee Israel, from within Babylon.
  
  Verse 7
  
  a golden cup Until now, Babylon was [a golden cup] in the Lord’s hand with which to intoxicate the whole earth with the wine of wrath.
  therefore, nations are mad They have become drunk and have become mad.
  
  Verse 8
  
  
  
  Verse 9
  
  her judgment has touched the sky Their retribution has reached high up to the sky.
  
  Verse 10
  
  “The Lord has brought forth our merits” We have been remembered by Him favorably, and the merits of our forefathers have come before Him.
  
  Verse 11
  
  Polish Heb. הברו, an expression of cleaning.
  the quivers Heb. השלטים, the quivers into which the arrows are placed.
  
  Verse 12
  
  for the Lord both planned already many days.
  and did His plan. It is customary for Scripture to speak with the word גַם twice, one after the other, and following the latter, comes the former.
  
  Verse 13
  
  your end has come Heb. קצך, your end.
  the measure of your violence Heb. אַמַתבִּצְעֵךְ, the measure of your violence. Another explanation: אַמַתבִּצְעֵךְ means: the measure of your end. Cf. “When... completes (יִבַצַע)” (Isa. 10:12).
  
  Verse 14
  
  by Himself (en soi meme in French.)
  indeed Heb. כי אם, an expression of ‘in truth.’
  I have...filled you with men I will fill you with camps of peoples, as many as locusts.
  and they shall raise a battle- cry against you And they shall raise their voice against you.
  
  Verse 15
  
  
  
  Verse 16
  
  
  
  Verse 17
  
  Every man is brutish [i.e.,] whoever makes a graven image for a god.
  molten images [As translated], an expression [denoting] molten images.
  
  Verse 18
  
  at the time of their visitation When the Holy One, blessed be He, visits retribution upon them and upon their worshippers.
  
  Verse 19
  
  and the tribe of His inheritance Jacob mentioned above at the beginning of the verse.
  
  Verse 20
  
  for Me a shatterer Heb. מפץ. Until now, I have appointed you as a destroyer and a shatterer of the nations upon whom I decreed exile.
  
  Verse 21
  
  
  
  Verse 22
  
  
  
  Verse 23
  
  
  
  Verse 24
  
  And I will recompense Babylon After all this, when I complete My vengeance upon the nations through him.
  
  Verse 25
  
  
  
  Verse 26
  
  
  
  Verse 27
  
  prepare Heb. קַדְשוֹ.
  a marshal Heb. טפסר, an expression of an army [or an expression of a lord].
  bristling Heb. סמר. (Herisse in French), covered with spikes. Cf. “It made the hair of my flesh stand up like spikes (תְּסַּמֵר)” (Job 4:15).
  
  Verse 28
  
  
  
  Verse 29
  
  and was in pain Heb. ותחל, an expression of חַלְחָלָה pain.
  
  Verse 30
  
  failed Heb. נשתה, [lit.] jumped. Compare “the hip sinew (הנשה)” (Gen. 33:32), so called because it jumped [was dislocated] from its place.
  
  Verse 31
  
  
  
  Verse 32
  
  
  
  Verse 33
  
  is like a granary at the time it is threshed Behold, now it is full, like a granary at the time they have threshed its grain, when it is full of wheat.
  A little more time and she shall he emptied and shall resemble a granary at the time of the beginning of the harvest, when it is empty.
  
  Verse 34
  
  
  
  Verse 35
  
  the plundering done me and my food The cry of violence done me and my food, for they have eaten my food.
  
  Verse 36
  
  
  
  Verse 37
  
  
  
  Verse 38
  
  they growl Heb. נערו, an expression of a braying (נוֹעֵר) donkey.
  
  Verse 39
  
  in their heat, I will place their wine feasts I will intend that their wine feasts shall be in the hot season so that they become drunk.
  in order that they become joyful and sleep Heb. וישנו, and sleep soundly.
  a perpetual sleep Heb. שנתעולם, a perpetual sleep, and so it happened to them; out of their wine feast and drunkenness they were destroyed and slain, and the city was captured, as it is written in Daniel (5:2): “Belshazzar said while he tasted the wine, etc.”; (5:4), “They drank wine, etc.”; (5: 30), “On that night, Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, was slain”; (6:1), “And Darius the Mede received the kingship.”
  
  Verse 40
  
  like lambs Heb. כברים, lambs (and Jonathan renders:) like bulls.
  
  Verse 41
  
  Sheshach Babylon in the ‘At-bash’ (א"תב"ש), cipher.
  
  Verse 42
  
  The sea has ascended upon Babylon A huge army, like the waters of [the sea].
  
  Verse 43
  
  
  
  Verse 44
  
  on Bel On the deity of Babylon.
  what he has swallowed That all the inhabitants of the land were humbled under him.
  shall no longer stream Heb. יהרו, and shall not gather. Cf. “And all the nations shall stream (ונהרוּ) to it” (Isa. 2:2). Like the waters of the river, all of which go to the sea.
  
  Verse 45
  
  
  
  Verse 46
  
  because of the rumor that is heard in the land This rumor concerning Belshazzar that he was slain.
  for a rumor shall come one year In that very year there will come a rumor that Babylon has been destroyed by itself from heaven as it is stated: “And Babylon, the beauty of the kingdoms the glory of the pride of the Chaldee, shall be like God’s overturning of Sodom and Gemorrah” (Isa. 13: 19).
  and after it in a year [In] the second [year].
  a rumor that is good for you [viz.] “So said Cyrus, the king of Persia..., Whoever among you of all His people...” (Ezra 1:2f).
  and one ruler upon another ruler Darius the Mede reigned one year, and in the second year Cyrus the Persian.
  
  Verse 47
  
  
  
  Verse 48
  
  
  
  Verse 49
  
  As Babylon was [a cause] for the slain of Israel to fall therein.
  so in Babylon shall fall the slain of all her land.
  
  Verse 50
  
  Fugitives from the sword Israel, who was exiled into her midst, who escaped the sword of Nebuzaradan.
  
  Verse 51
  
  for we have heard reproach For the Chaldeans were saying and reproaching us, saying, “The hand of our god is exalted for we have destroyed His house.”
  
  Verse 52
  
  the mortally wounded shall groan Heb. יאנק. The mortally wounded shall cry. When they kill a person with an arrow or with a spear, and he groans when they remove the spear, that is אנקה.
  
  Verse 53
  
  and should she fortify Heb. תבצר, an expression of a strong fortress.
  from Me shall spoilers come upon her From Me, from the heavens that are higher than she, shall the spoilers come upon her.
  
  Verse 54
  
  
  
  Verse 55
  
  the stirring of their voice was uttered The sound of their cry is heard.
  
  Verse 56
  
  
  
  Verse 57
  
  
  
  Verse 58
  
  shall be overthrown Heb. תתערער, an expression of digging. An expression like “Dig under it, dig under it (עָרוּ), until its foundation” (Psalms 137:7).
  for much futility For much futility which it will bring upon them.