מִי־יִתְּנֵנִי בַמִּדְבָּר מְלוֹן אֹרְחִים וְאֶעֶזְבָה אֶת־עַמִּי וְאֵלְכָה מֵאִתָּם כִּי כֻלָּם מְנָאֲפִים עֲצֶרֶת בֹּגְדִים

The prophet criticizes the people for transgressions involving speech and interpersonal relations. He states wistfully: Would that I would be in the wilderness and live in a wayfarers’ lodging place, outside of civilization, and I would leave my people and go from them, for they are all adulterers, an assembly of traitors. It would be better to live alone.

וַיַּדְרְכוּ אֶת־לְשׁוֹנָם קַשְׁתָּם שֶׁקֶר וְלֹא לֶאֱמוּנָה גָּבְרוּ בָאָרֶץ כִּי מֵרָעָה אֶל־רָעָה יָצָאוּ וְאֹתִי לֹא־יָדָעוּ נְאֻם־ה'

They drew their tongue, which no longer functions simply as a means of communication and has become their bow of falsehood, with which they shoot lies. And it was not for faithfulness that they grew strong in the land, for they depart from evil to even greater evil. Their strength did not lead them to act loyally and honestly, but the opposite: Although they are active and creative, their deeds are wicked in the eyes of God. And they do not know Me – the utterance of the Lord.

אִישׁ מֵרֵעֵהוּ הִשָּׁמֵרוּ וְעַל־כָּל־אָח אַל־תִּבְטָחוּ כִּי כָל־אָח עָקוֹב יַעְקֹב וְכָל־רֵעַ רָכִיל יַהֲלֹךְ

The prophet illustrates this social reality by means of a warning: Let each man beware of his friend, and do not trust in any brother as every brother acts deceitfully, and every friend goes as a gossip. People are deceitful and spread gossip even about those with whom they are supposedly closest.

וְאִישׁ בְּרֵעֵהוּ יְהָתֵלּוּ וֶאֱמֶת לֹא יְדַבֵּרוּ לִמְּדוּ לְשׁוֹנָם דַּבֶּר־שֶׁקֶר הַעֲוֵה נִלְאוּ

Each man mocks his friend, and truth they do not speak. They accustomed their tongue to speak falsehood; from iniquity they weary. They have grown weary of engaging in their corrupt activities, or alternatively, they are incapable of performing any more evil.

שִׁבְתְּךָ בְּתוֹךְ מִרְמָה בְּמִרְמָה מֵאֲנוּ דַעַת־אוֹתִי נְאֻם־ה'

God addresses the prophet: Even your dwelling is in the midst of deceit. Treachery is everywhere and you too are surrounded by it. Furthermore, this dishonesty is not limited to interpersonal relations. In deceit they refuse to know Me – the utterance of the Lord. Even their faith is deceitful, as deceit, in concept and in practice, has become a societal norm.

לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת הִנְנִי צוֹרְפָם וּבְחַנְתִּים כִּי־אֵיךְ אֶעֱשֶׂה מִפְּנֵי בַּת־עַמִּי

Therefore, so said the Lord of hosts: Behold, the time will come when I am refining them from their impurities, and test them, for how else shall I act, because of the daughter of My people? Their situation requires amelioration, painful though it may be.

חֵץ שָׁחוּט לְשׁוֹנָם מִרְמָה דִבֵּר בְּפִיו שָׁלוֹם אֶת רֵעֵהוּ יְדַבֵּר ובְקִרְבּוֹ יָשִׂים אָרְבּוֹ

A sharpened arrow is their tongue, causing damage and speaking deceit; one speaks peace to his neighbor with his mouth, but within him he lays his ambush, as he plans to harm his friend.

הַעַל־אֵלֶּה לֹא־אֶפְקָד בָּם! נְאֻם־ה' אִם בְּגוֹי אֲשֶׁר־כָּזֶה לֹא תִתְנַקֵּם נַפְשִׁי!

Will I not reckon with them for these? – the utterance of the Lord. Will My soul not be avenged on a nation like this? It is impossible to justify their despicable behavior.

עַל־הֶהָרִים אֶשָּׂא בְכִי וָנֶהִי וְעַל־נְאוֹת מִדְבָּר קִינָה כִּי נִצְּתוּ מִבְּלִי־אִישׁ עֹבֵר וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ קוֹל מִקְנֶה מֵעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וְעַד־בְּהֵמָה נָדְדוּ הָלָכוּ

The prophet speaks in his own voice: For the mountains I will take up weeping and wailing, and for the oases of the wilderness a lamentation, for they are burned and destroyed, with no man passing. And not only are they empty of people, but they did not hear the sound of livestock; from the birds of the heavens to the animals, they have wandered and gone. These locations are left desolate.

וְנָתַתִּי אֶת־יְרוּשָׁלַם לְגַלִּים מְעוֹן תַּנִּים וְאֶת־עָרֵי יְהוּדָה אֶתֵּן שְׁמָמָה מִבְּלִי יוֹשֵׁב

I will render Jerusalem heaps of stones and dirt, a lair of jackals, and I will render the cities of Judah desolation without inhabitants.

מִי־הָאִישׁ הֶחָכָם וְיָבֵן אֶת־זֹאת ואֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר פִּי־ה' אֵלָיו וְיַגִּדָהּ עַל־מָה אָבְדָה הָאָרֶץ נִצְּתָה כַמִּדְבָּר מִבְּלִי עֹבֵר!

Here, a discussion of sorts with God about the reason for Israel’s downfall is presented: Who is the wise man who will understand this and to whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken that he will tell and explain it? Due to what was the land lost in war and conquest, and why was it destroyed like a wilderness with no one passing?

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' עַל־עָזְבָם אֶת־תּוֹרָתִי אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לִפְנֵיהֶם וְלֹא־שָׁמְעוּ בְקוֹלִי וְלֹא־הָלְכוּ בָהּ

Since people do not state the true reasons for this destruction, the Lord said: It is due to their abandonment of My Torah that I placed before them, and because they did not heed My voice and did not follow it, My Torah.

וַיֵּלְכוּ אַחֲרֵי שְׁרִרוּת לִבָּם וְאַחֲרֵי הַבְּעָלִים אֲשֶׁר לִמְּדוּם אֲבוֹתָם

And they followed after the desire of their heart and after the Be’alim as their fathers taught them. Worship of the Baal is not new to them, as it has been passed down to them from their fathers, but regardless, sin leads to punishment.

לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִנְנִי מַאֲכִילָם אֶת־הָעָם הַזֶּה לַעֲנָה וְהִשְׁקִיתִים מֵי־רֹאשׁ

Therefore, so said the Lord of hosts, God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, this people, wormwood, a bitter herb, and I will give them gall water, also made from a bitter, poisonous herb (see commentary on 8:14), to drink. In addition to their bitter taste, these herbs are intoxicating and overpowering.

וַהֲפִצוֹתִים בַּגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדְעוּ הֵמָּה וַאֲבוֹתָם וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי אַחֲרֵיהֶם אֶת־הַחֶרֶב עַד כַּלּוֹתִי אוֹתָם

I will scatter them among the distant nations, whom they and their fathers did not know, and furthermore, I will send the sword after them until I annihilate them in those places.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' צְבָאוֹת הִתְבּוֹנְנוּ וְקִרְאוּ לַמְקוֹנְנוֹת וּתְבוֹאֶינָה וְאֶל־הַחֲכָמוֹת שִׁלְחוּ וְתָבוֹאנָה

So said the Lord of hosts: Attend, and call for the lamenting women who would lead assemblies in lamentation, as their function was to stimulate crying and wailing at funerals and other gatherings of mourning, and they will come, and send for the wise women, experts in delivering rebuke, and they will come.

וּתְמַהֵרְנָה וְתִשֶּׂנָה עָלֵינוּ נֶהִי וְתֵרַדְנָה עֵינֵינוּ דִּמְעָה וְעַפְעַפֵּינוּ יִזְּלוּ־מָיִם

Let them, the lamenting women and wise women, hasten and take up wailing for us, and our eyes will shed tears, and our eyelids will flow with water.

כִּי קוֹל נְהִי נִשְׁמַע מִצִּיּוֹן אֵיךְ שֻׁדָּדְנוּ ! בֹּשְׁנוּ מְאֹד כִּי־עָזַבְנוּ אָרֶץ כִּי הִשְׁלִיכוּ מִשְׁכְּנוֹתֵינוּ

For the sound of wailing is heard from Zion: How have we been plundered and defeated? We are greatly ashamed, for we abandoned the land, for they, our enemies, have cast down our dwellings. Alternatively, our enemies have cast our dwellings to the ground, and we are left without any land of our own. It is as though we have been rejected by our own houses.

כִּי־שְׁמַעְנָה נָשִׁים דְּבַר־ה' וְתִקַּח אָזְנְכֶם דְּבַר־פִּיו וְלַמֵּדְנָה בְנוֹתֵיכֶם נֶהִי וְאִשָּׁה רְעוּתָהּ קִינָה

So hear the word of the Lord, women, and let your ear receive the word of His mouth; teach your daughters wailing, and each woman should teach her neighbor lamentation.

כִּי־עָלָה מָוֶת בְּחַלּוֹנֵינוּ בָּא בְּאַרְמְנוֹתֵינוּ לְהַכְרִית עוֹלָל מִחוּץ בַּחוּרִים מרְחֹבוֹת

The calamity is imminent, for death has come up through our windows and entered our palaces, our fortresses and mansions; it comes to eradicate a toddler from playing in the street and to remove young men from walking along the thoroughfares.

דַּבֵּר כֹּה נְאֻם־ה' וְנָפְלָה נִבְלַת הָאָדָם כְּדֹמֶן עַל־פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה וּכְעָמִיר מֵאַחֲרֵי הַקֹּצֵר וְאֵין מְאַסֵּף

Speak – this is the utterance of the Lord: The human carcasses will fall like dung on the open field and like a sheaf from behind the harvester, and there is no one gathering it. This is not a harvest of blessing that comes to sustain life, but a harvest that leaves behind only death.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' אַל־יִתְהַלֵּל חָכָם בְּחָכְמָתוֹ וְאַל־יִתְהַלֵּל הַגִּבּוֹר בִּגְבוּרָתוֹ אַל־יִתְהַלֵּל עָשִׁיר בְּעָשְׁרוֹ

Alongside his harsh prophecy of retribution, the prophet adds a moral message: So said the Lord: Let the wise not glory in his wisdom, as although wisdom is important, one should not take pride in it, and let the valiant not glory in his valor, and let the rich not glory in his riches. One should not boast even of these worthy attributes, since the wise, mighty, and wealthy among the children of Israel failed to act properly, and these qualities did not save them.

כִּי אִם־בְּזֹאת יִתְהַלֵּל הַמִּתְהַלֵּל – הַשְׂכֵּל וְיָדֹעַ אוֹתִי כִּי אֲנִי ה' עֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד מִשְׁפָּט וּצְדָקָה בָּאָרֶץ כִּי־ב אֵלֶּה חָפַצְתִּי נְאֻם־ה'

Rather, let the one who glories glory in this: Perceiving and knowing Me. True praise should go only to those who know God. Although they are beneficial, those other attributes are merely temporary, for a stable, lasting, and truthful existence can be founded only upon the understanding that I am the Lord who performs kindness, justice, and righteousness in the land. And you must follow My example, for it is the performance of these deeds that I desire – the utterance of the Lord.

הִנֵּה יָמִים בָּאִים נְאֻם־ה' וּפָקַדְתִּי עַל כָּל־מוּל בְּעָרְלָה

Behold, days are coming – the utterance of the Lord – and I will reckon with all who are circumcised yet act as though they are with foreskin. I will punish all those who are uncircumcised, as well as those who are circumcised but do not behave accordingly.

עַל־מִצְרַיִם וְעַל־יְהוּדָה וְעַל־אֱדוֹם וְעַל־בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וְעַל־מוֹאָב וְעַל כָּל־קְצוּצֵי פֵאָה הַיֹּשְׁבִים בַּמִּדְבָּר כִּי כָל־הַגּוֹיִם עֲרֵלִים וְכָל־בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל עַרְלֵי־לֵב

I will reckon with Egypt, with Judah, with Edom, with the children of Amon, and with Moav. The men of Judah were circumcised, as were most of the men of the other nations mentioned here. And I will reckon with all that have the corners of their hair cropped who dwell in the wilderness. Cropping the corners of one’s hair or beard was characteristic of tribes who dwelled in the wilderness. It is also possible that this is a general reference to gentiles, as Jews are prohibited from cropping the corners of their heads. If so, this is similar to the term “uncircumcised,” which is used as a synonym for non-Jews, as all the nations are considered uncircumcised, regardless of whether or not they have undergone the physical procedure of circumcision, and the entire house of Israel, even if their flesh is circumcised, is uncircumcised of heart. Israel’s heart is blocked and sealed, and therefore it is metaphorically considered uncircumcised.