1 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
3 Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
5 Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
6 Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
8 The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and with your children's children will I plead.
10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.
11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord.
13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?
18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.
20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.
21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.
23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets.
27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.
30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31 O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.
35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
<html><b>I remember to you</b> 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.</html>
<html><b>Israel is holy</b> like terumah. <b>the first of His grain</b> 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.</html>
<html><b>And they did not say, Where is the Lord</b> that we should follow other gods? <b>plains</b> Heb. ערבה (planure in O.F.), related to pianoro in Old Italian, meaning ‘a plateau.’ <b>and pits</b> Heb. ושוחה (enfosses in O.F.), pitted. <b>waste</b> Heb. ציה (degat in French). <b>and darkness</b> Heb. וצלמות. An expression of darkness.</html>
<html><b>to a forest land</b> To the land of Israel which is planted like כרמל, meaning: planted like a forest.</html>
<html><b>and those who hold onto the Torah</b> The Sanhedrin. <b>and the rulers</b> the kings. <b>prophesied by Baal</b> In the name of Baal.</html>
<html><b>Therefore, I will still contend</b> Before I bring misfortune upon you, I will still contend with you through My prophets, although I have already contended with you many days.</html>
<html><b>the isles of the Kittites</b> To the isles of the Kittites. איי is (isles in French). <b>and send to Kedar</b> And send to Kedar to see their custom. <b>and consider diligently</b> And put your heart to it to consider the matter diligently. <b>whether</b> 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.</html>
<html><b>for what does not avail</b> For an idol that does not avail.</html>
<html><b>O heavens, be astonished</b> 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) .” <b>and storm</b> Heb. ושערו, an expression of סער, a storm. <b>become very desolate</b> As though you are becoming desolate because of the Temple that is destined to be destroyed.</html>
<html><b>two evils</b> 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. <b>to dig</b> Heb. לחצב, lit. to hew. <b>that do not hold</b> (Tendront in O.F.) their water, for the water will make their edge and their walls muddy, and they cave in.</html>
<html><b>Is he a home born slave?</b> The son of a maidservant.</html>
<html><b>roar</b> roar, a present tense. <b>young lions</b> Symbolic of kings. <b>were burnt</b> were burnt with fire.</html>
<html><b>Also the children of Noph and Tahpanhes</b> They are the Egyptians upon whom you trust for aid. <b>will break your crown</b> They will break your skull. ירעוּך is an expression of breaking (רציצה), as we translate ורצוץ, “and crushed” (Deut. 28:33), וּרעיע.</html>
<html><b>Is not this caused to you</b> Is not this misfortune and this retribution caused to you by the guilt and the iniquity that you have forsaken the Lord your God? <b>at the time He leads you by the way</b> For He would teach you the good and the straight way.</html>
<html><b>what have you to do in the way of Egypt</b> Why do you leave Me and trust in Egypt? <b>to drink the water of the Shihor</b> 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). <b>and what have you to do</b> to rebel against Me so that you should be exiled to the way of Assyria, to the other side of the Euphrates River?</html>
<html><b>Your evil will chastise you</b> Eventually, your evil will bring suffering upon you. <b>and your backslidings</b>, Heb. ומשבותיך, an expression related to “backsliding children (שובבים)” (infra 3:22). <b>will reprove you</b> Heb. תוכחך, an expression of reproof. <b>and the fear of Me was not</b> My fear was not in your heart that you should fear Me.</html>
<html><b>I broke your yoke</b> To the wooden yoke an expression of breaking applies, and to the yoke-bands which are of leather an expression of tearing open applies. <b>yoke-bands</b> [מוסרותיך are the] ropes used to shackle the yoke [to the animal]. <b>and you said, “I will not transgress.”</b> your words. <b>but on every lofty hill</b> 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.’</html>
<html><b>I planted you a noble vine stock</b> 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. <b>degenerate</b> Heb. סוּרי (Destoultours in O.F). <b>wild vine</b> that grows in the forests.</html>
<html><b>with natron</b> A type of earth with which garments are cleansed and rubbed. <b>soap</b> Heb. בֹּרִית, cleanliness. Comp. “And pure (וּבַר) of heart” (Ps. 24:4). Some explain בֹּרִית as savon in French, soap. <b>your iniquity is stained</b> Jon. renders: Like the mark of a stain that is unclean, so have your sins increased before Me. כתם is tka in O.F. <b>your iniquity</b> 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.</html>
<html><b>See your way in the valley</b> 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. <b>young she-camel</b> 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). <b>clinging</b> 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.</html>
<html><b>A wild donkey</b> (salvatico in O.F.) wild, and some interpret it as poulain in O.F., a foal. <b>accustomed to the desert</b> Accustomed to be in the deserts, so she loves to wander. <b>that snuffs up the wind</b> She opens her mouth and snuffs up the wind, and he always returns to his place. <b>her tendency like the sea creatures, who can hinder her?</b> 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? <b>her tendency like a sea creature</b> 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”. <b>all who seek her will not weary</b> 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).</html>
<html><b>Withhold your foot from going barefoot</b> 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.” <b>but you said</b> concerning the words of the prophets. <b>I despair</b> It is of no concern. I despair of your words. נואש is (nonkalajjr in O.F.) nonchalair in modern French.</html>
<html><b>when he is found out</b> At the beginning, when he is found to be a thief, and he was presumed to be faithful. In this manner, Jonathan rendered it.</html>
<html><b>and at the time of their misfortune they say</b> 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.”</html>
<html><b>as many as your cities were your gods</b> In every city was another god.</html>
<html><b>Why do you contend</b> How do you come to contend with the quarrel and say, “We do not sin”? <b>All of you have rebelled against Me</b> Even the righteous are meant. This is what people say, “With the thorn the cabbage suffers.”</html>
<html><b>In vain have I smitten</b> For no purpose, for it did not avail that they should receive correction. <b>Your sword devoured</b> your prophets, Zechariah and Isaiah.</html>
<html><b>See the word of the Lord</b> He took out to them the jar of manna. He said to them, “See here how helpful the word of the Lord is.” <b>was I a desert to Israel</b> 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. <b>thick darkness</b> מאפליה, an expression of darkness. <b>Why have My people said, “We have been separated…”?</b> 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).</html>
<html><b>How you adorn</b> 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. <b>even to the most evil you accustomed</b> You searched throughout all the evil ways to learn the most corrupt of them all. גם is an expression of ‘even.’ <b>verily</b> Heb. לכן, an expression of a true oath. Verily, to the most evil way of all the ways you accustomed yourself. <b>you accustomed</b> Heb. למדת, lit. you taught.</html>
<html><b>you did not find them breaking in</b> You did not find them breaking in when you slew them. <b>you did not find them</b> 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).” <b>but for all these</b> i.e., because they were reproving you for all these things.</html>
<html><b>And you said</b> i.e., you said in your heart. <b>But I am innocent</b> That I have purified my soul. <b>I contend with you</b> I will come with you in judgment.</html>
<html><b>degrade yourself</b> Heb. תזלי, an expression of degradation. <b>to change your way</b> To leave Me and to rely on Egypt for aid in the days of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah (infra 37). <b>to change</b> Heb. לשנות, an expression of change. <b>as you were ashamed through Assyria</b> Upon whom Ahaz relied and “he oppressed him and did not strengthen him” (II Chron. 28:20).</html>