ה' אֱלֹהַי אַתָּה — אֲרוֹמִמְךָ אוֹדֶה שִׁמְךָ כִּי עָשִׂיתָ פֶּלֶא עֵצוֹת מֵרָחוֹק — אֱמוּנָה אֹמֶן

In response to the divine reckoning with the whole world and God’s revealing His glory in Zion, the prophet offers a song of thanks: You are my Lord God; I will exalt You; I will give thanks to Your name, for You performed wonders; distant counsels, prophecies that You declared long ago and in which I always believed, have been fulfilled.

כִּי שַׂמְתָּ מֵעִיר לַגָּל קִרְיָה בְצוּרָה לְמַפֵּלָה אַרְמוֹן זָרִים מֵעִיר לְעוֹלָם לֹא יִבָּנֶה

For You made a city into a heap, a fortified city, a ruin, as described in the previous chapter. You made a palace of strangers out of a city You destroyed; it will never be rebuilt.

עַל כֵּן יְכַבְּדוּךָ עַם עָז קִרְיַת גּוֹיִם עָרִיצִים יִירָאוּךָ

Therefore, since everyone saw how You destroyed entire cities and fortresses, a mighty people will honor You, after witnessing Your power in action; a city of powerful nations will fear You.

כִּי הָיִיתָ מָעוֹז לַדָּל מָעוֹז לָאֶבְיוֹן בַּצַּר לוֹ מַחְסֶה מִזֶּרֶם צֵל מֵחֹרֶב כִּי רוּחַ עָרִיצִים כְּזֶרֶם קִיר

For in addition to destroying the stronghold of the wicked, You have also been a stronghold, a haven, for the poor, a stronghold for the destitute in his distress, refuge from the torrent, and shade from the heat, as the fury of the powerful is like a torrent upon a wall, threatening to knock it down. You protected the poor from this deluge of troubles.

כְּחֹרֶב בְּצָיוֹן שְׁאוֹן זָרִים תַּכְנִיעַ חֹרֶב בְּצֵל עָב זְמִיר עָרִיצִים יַעֲנֶה

Like heat in a wasteland, the desert which dries and withers all, so You will subdue the din of strangers; like heat dissipated in the shade of a cloud, so too He will respond with the pruning, overcoming, of the powerful. Alternatively, God will respond to the song of the powerful.

וְעָשָׂה ה' צְבָאוֹת לְכָל הָעַמִּים בָּהָר הַזֶּה מִשְׁתֵּה שְׁמָנִים מִשְׁתֵּה שְׁמָרִים שְׁמָנִים מְמֻחָיִם שְׁמָרִים מְזֻקָּקִים

The prophet continues to describe the wonders of the redemption: The Lord of hosts will make for all the peoples on this mountain, Mount Zion (24:23), a feast of fats, a feast of lees, a feast with rich foods and old wine, fats with marrow, refined lees. Some have understood the juxtaposition of fats to lees as a description of the nations’ downfall: They imagine that they are coming to Zion to conquer it, to feast on fats, but God will ensure that they are defeated and only feast on lees. Others understand the reference to lees as indicative of high-quality wine which will be consumed with rich foods by all seekers of truth due to the outporing of blessing from God’s revelation in Zion.

וּבִלַּע בָּהָר הַזֶּה פְּנֵי הַלּוֹט הַלּוֹט עַל כָּל הָעַמִּים וְהַמַּסֵּכָה הַנְּסוּכָה עַל כָּל הַגּוֹיִם

He, God, will eliminate on this mountain the surface of the veil that veils all the peoples, and the mask that is woven over all nations. The covering and the mask represent God’s presence being hidden from His creatures by His allowing the existence of evil, suffering, and destruction in the world. The redemption is characterized by a global revolution, the elimination of all forms of evil.

בִּלַּע הַמָּוֶת לָנֶצַח וּמָחָה ה' אֳלֹהִים דִּמְעָה מֵעַל כָּל פָּנִים וְחֶרְפַּת עַמּוֹ יָסִיר מֵעַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ כִּי ה' דִּבֵּר

He will eliminate death, which threatens all, forever, and the Lord God will wipe tears from all faces. And in addition to physical pain, the psychological aspects of suffering will be eliminated as well: He will remove the disgrace of His people from upon the entire earth, for the Lord has spoken.

וְאָמַר בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא הִנֵּה אֱלֹהֵינוּ זֶה קִוִּינוּ לוֹ וְיוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ זֶה ה'קִוִּינוּ לוֹ נָגִילָה וְנִשְׂמְחָה בִּישׁוּעָתוֹ

He, Israel, will say on that day: Behold, this is our God, who has now revealed Himself to us; we have always hoped for Him and anticipated that He will save us. This is the Lord; we have hoped for Him for some time. Let us exult and rejoice in His salvation.

כִּי תָנוּחַ יַד ה' בָּהָר הַזֶּה וְנָדוֹשׁ מוֹאָב תַּחְתָּיו כְּהִדּוּשׁ מַתְבֵּן בְּמוֹ מַדְמֵנָה

The prophet adds a comment with regard to Moav: For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain, Mount Zion, and Moav will be trampled under it, its neighbor Israel, as straw is trampled into mortar in the process of brickmaking. This will be the fate of the Moavites.

וּפֵרַשׂ יָדָיו בְּקִרְבּוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר יְפָרֵשׂ הַשֹּׂחֶה לִשְׂחוֹת וְהִשְׁפִּיל גַּאֲוָתוֹ עִם אָרְבּוֹת יָדָיו

He, God, will spread His hands in its, Moav’s, midst, as the swimmer spreads out his hands their full length to swim, and He will lower its pride with His forearms, as a swimmer with his stroke pushes aside anything in range.

ומִבְצַר מִשְׂגַּב חוֹמֹתֶיךָ הֵשַׁח הִשְׁפִּיל הִגִּיעַ לָאָרֶץ עַד עָפָר

The prophet addresses Moav: He will reduce the supposedly dependable fortification of your towering walls, lowering it, reaching the ground, to dust. Israel’s future salvation will transform the entire world, and its minor enemies will be eradicated, but not through war. After God’s revelation on earth, nothing will remain of the honor of these enemies.