1 The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.
2 He shall enter into peace: they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness.
3 But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
4 Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood.
5 Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks?
6 Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured a drink offering, thou hast offered a meat offering. Should I receive comfort in these?
7 Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.
8 Behind the doors also and the posts hast thou set up thy remembrance: for thou hast discovered thyself to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them; thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.
9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
10 Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.
11 And of whom hast thou been afraid or feared, that thou hast lied, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of old, and thou fearest me not?
12 I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee.
13 When thou criest, let thy companies deliver thee; but the wind shall carry them all away; vanity shall take them: but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain;
14 And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
16 For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
17 For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
18 I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
19 I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.
20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
<html><b>The righteous man</b> such as Josiah. <b>but no one takes it to heart</b> why he departed. <b>with no one understanding</b> what the Holy One, blessed be He, saw to take him away. <b>that because of the evil</b> destined to befall the generation, the righteous man perished.</html>
<html><b>He shall come in peace</b> for so says the Holy One, blessed be He, Let this righteous man come to his forefathers in peace, and let him not see the evil. <b>they shall rest in their resting place</b> when the evil occurs, he who was walking נְכֹחוֹ, in his uprightness. Comp. (Amos 3:10) “To act rightly (נְכֹחָה).”</html>
<html><b>And you, draw near hither</b> The survivors after the righteous have departed, and receive your sentences. <b>children of sorcery</b> Heb. בְּנֵי עֹנְנָה, children of sorcery. <b>children who commit adultery</b> That the male commits adultery. <b>and played the whore</b> the female.</html>
<html><b>On whom will you [rely to] enjoy yourselves</b> Since you have turned away from following Me, on whom will you rely to enjoy yourselves with good. Had you merited, you would then enjoy yourselves with the Lord, but now, on whom will you rely to enjoy yourselves? <b>against whom do you open your mouth wide</b> when you scorned and mocked His prophets.</html>
<html><b>You who inflame yourselves among the terebinths</b> Who stimulate themselves with semen under the אֵלִים, they are the terebinth and the oak. <b>who slaughter the children</b> for a sacrifice to the idols. <b>clefts</b> Heb. סְעִפֵי, the clefts of the rocks. Comp. (Jud. 15:11) “to the cleft (סְעִיף) of the rock.”</html>
<html><b>Of the smooth [stones] of the valley</b> [Lit. of the smooth ones of the valley, i.e.,] among the smooth stones that are in the valley. <b>your portion</b> With them they will stone you. <b>they, they are your lot</b> to be saddened with them. Why? For to them too you have poured out libations. <b>in the face of these shall I relent</b> from doing harm to you?</html>
<html><b>you placed your couch</b> The couch of your adultery to idolatry on the high mountains.</html>
<html><b>And behind the door and the doorpost you have directed your thoughts</b> Since he compares her to an adulterous woman, for whom her paramours look and wait before the door of her house, while she, lying beside her husband, directs her heart and her thoughts to the door and the doorpost, how she will open the door and come out to them. <b>for while with Me, you uncovered [us] and went up</b> You were lying beside Me, and you removed the cover with which we were covered together, and you went up from beside Me. <b>you widened your couch</b> to accommodate many adulterers. <b>and made for yourself</b> a covenant with them. <b>you loved their couch</b> when you chose for yourself יָד, a place, to demonstrate to them your love. <b>a place</b> Heb. יָד, aise or ajjse in O.F., a side. Comp. (II Sam. 14: 30) “See Joab’s field is near mine (עַל יָדִי).”</html>
<html><b>And you brought a gift to the king with oil</b> Heb. וַתָּשֻׁרִי. Originally, I aggrandized you, and you would greet your king with all sorts of delights. וַתָּשֻׁרִי is an expression of an audience. Comp. (Num. 24:17) “I see him (אֲשׁוּרֶנוּ) but he is not near.” [Also] (I Sam. 9:7), “And there is no present (תְּשׁוּרָה) to bring,” [i.e.,] a gift for an audience. <b>and you sent your ambassadors</b> Your messenger afar to collect tribute from the heathen kings. ([Manuscripts and K’li Paz read:] the kings of the nations.) <b>and you humbled</b> the laws of the heathens (of the nations [Mss. and K’li Paz]) to the grave. Jonathan rendered it in this manner.</html>
<html><b>With the length of your way you became wearied</b> You engaged in your necessities, in the filling of your lust, to increase your wealth. <b>you did not say, “Despair.”</b> I will despair of these and I will no longer care to engage in them, but I will pay my attention to Torah and precepts. <b>The power of your hand you found</b> Heb. חַיַּת, the necessity of your hand you have found; you have succeeded in your deeds. <b>therefore, you were not stricken ill</b> Your heart was not stricken ill to worry about My service, to engage in the Torah. חַיַּת is an Arabic word, meaning necessity.</html>
<html><b>And whom did you dread</b> Of whom were you afraid? <b>that you failed</b> Heb. תְּכַזֵּבִי, that you ceased to worship Me and you betrayed Me. Comp. (infra 58:11) “Whose water shall not fail (יְכַזְּבוּ).” Comp. also (Psalms 116:11) “Every man is a traitor (כֹּזֵב).” Falajjnc in O.F., to fail. Likewise, every expression of כָּזָב means one upon whom people rely, and he fails and betrays them. <b>Indeed, I am silent</b> I kept silent in the face of many transgressions that you transgressed against Me.</html>
<html><b>I tell your righteousness</b> Constantly, I tell you things to do, so that you will be righteous. <b>and your deeds</b> that you do against My will shall not avail you at the time of your distress.</html>
<html><b>When you cry out, let your collections save you</b> Let the collection of your idols and your graven images [and those who deny the Torah] that you collected, rise and save you when you cry out from your distress. Indeed, wind will carry all of them off, and they will not rise, neither will they be able to save.</html>
<html><b>And he shall say, “Pave, pave”</b> So will the prophet say in My name to My people, “Pave, pave a paved highway, clear away the evil inclination from your ways.” <b>remove the obstacle</b> Remove the stones upon which your feet stumble; they are wicked thoughts.</html>
<html><b>“With the lofty and the holy ones”</b> I dwell, and thence I am with the crushed and the humble in spirit, upon whom I lower My Presence. <b>humble…crushed</b> Suffering from poverty and illnesses.</html>
<html><b>For I will not contend forever</b> If I bring afflictions upon a person, My contention with him is not for a long time, neither is My anger forever. <b>when a spirit from before Me humbles itself</b> Heb. יַעֲטוֹף. When the spirit of man, which is from before Me, humbles itself, confesses and humbles itself because of its betrayal. Comp. (Lam. 2:19) “humbled (הָעֲטוּפִים) with hunger,” “when the small child and the suckling are humbled (בֵּעָטֵף).” And the souls which I made. <b>when a spirit from before Me</b> Heb. כִּי. This instance of the word כִּי is used as an expression of “when.” Comp. (infra 58:7) “When you see (כִּי תִרְאֶה)”; (Deut. 26:1) “When you come (כִּי תָבוֹא).” That is to say, when his spirit is humbled, and he is humbled, I terminate My quarrel and My anger from upon him.</html>
<html><b>For the iniquity of his thievery</b> Heb. בִּצְעוֹ, his thievery. <b>I became wroth</b> at the beginning and I smote him, always hiding My face from his distress and I was wroth for he went rebelliously in the way of his heart. Transpose the verse and explain it thus: For the iniquity of his thievery and the fact that he went rebelliously in the way of his heart, I became wroth and smote him.</html>
<html><b>I saw his ways</b> when he humbled himself before Me, when troubles befell him. <b>and I will heal him, and I will lead him</b> Heb. וְאַנְחֵהוּ. I will lead him in the way of healing. Alternatively, וְאַנְחֵהוּ is an expression of rest and tranquility. <b>him and his mourners</b> to those who are troubled over him.</html>
<html><b>[I] create the speech of the lips</b> I create for him a new manner of speech. In contrast to the trouble that befell him, and everyone was degrading him, they will call, “Peace, peace.” <b>to the far and to the near</b> Both are equal; he who aged and was accustomed to My Torah and My worship from his youth, and he who drew near now, just recently to repent of his evil way. Said the Lord, “I will heal him of his malady and of his sins.”</html>
<html><b>But the wicked</b> who do not give a thought to repent. <b>like the turbulent sea</b> This seaits waves raise themselves high and strive to go out of the boundary of sand that I made as a boundary for the sea, and when it reaches there, against its will it breaks. The next wave sees all this, yet does not turn back. Similarly, the wicked man sees his friend being punished for his wickedness; yet he does not turn back. Also, just as the sea has its mud and its offensive matter on its mouth, [i.e., on its surface,] so do the wicked have their offensive matter in their mouth; e.g., Pharaoh said, (Exodus 5:2) “Who is the Lord?” Sennacherib said (supra 36:20), “Who are they among all the Gods of the lands…?” Nebuchadnezzar said, (supra 14:14) “I will liken myself to the Most High.” <b>like the turbulent sea</b> Like the sea, which is turbulent, that casts up all day mud and dirt.</html>
<html><b>There is no peace</b> In contrast to what he said to the righteous and the repentant, “Peace, peace to the far, etc.,” he returned and said, “There is no peace for the wicked.”</html>