1 Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.
2 And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
3 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this time is evil.
4 In that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a doleful lamentation, and say, We be utterly spoiled: he hath changed the portion of my people: how hath he removed it from me! turning away he hath divided our fields.
5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot in the congregation of the Lord.
6 Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame.
7 O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the spirit of the Lord straitened? are these his doings? do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?
8 Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye pull off the robe with the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war.
9 The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.
10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.
11 If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.
12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold: they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.
13 The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of them.
<html><b>and work evil on their bed</b>—All night they decide in their hearts how they will perform evil in the morning.</html>
<html><b>and houses, and they take</b>—This refers back to “and they covet.” They covet houses. <b>and they take</b> Heb. וְנָשָׂאוּ, like וְלָקָחוּ, and they take.</html>
<html><b>and you shall not walk erect</b>—You shall not walk with an upright stature.</html>
<html><b>and he shall lament, “A lamentation has come about…”</b> Heb. וְנָהָה נְהִי נִהְיָה. וְנָהָה is a future tense, like וְעָשָה, and he shall make, and וּפָנָה, and he shall turn. The lamenting one shall lament and say, “A lamentation has come about in the world. Now what is the lamentation that has come about?…” <b>They have robbed us!</b> Heb. שָׁדוֹד נְשַׁדֻּנוּ. Our enemies have robbed us, The prophet uses the expression נְשַׁדֻּנוּ, in which there is a “nun” in the beginning, and does not use שַׁדוּנוּ, because נְשַׁדֻּנוּ serves in two voices, the passive voice and the active voice. Had the prophet written נְשַדֹנוּ, in the passive voice, the expression would refer to the robbed and not to the robbers. Had he written שַדוּנוּ, in the active voice, the expression would refer to the robbers and not to the robbed. This way, it refers to both: we were given into the hand of those who robbed us. In Old French, there is the expression <i>somes degatert nous</i>, we were ravaged. Another explanation: נְשַׁדֻּנוּ means we brought upon ourselves that they robbed us. <b>He changes the portion of my people</b>—The inheritance of the portion of my people has been exchanged to the enemy. <b>How will He turn to me to return our fields, which he divides</b>—How will He turn again to me, to return our fields to us, which this enemy divides for himself? How is it possible to return them to me anymore? All these are the words of the lamenting one who takes up the parable. <b>How will He turn to me</b>—<i>Kome se destornera amois</i>? As in (Jud. 4:18) “Turn to me…. And he turned to her.”</html>
<html><b>who casts a line</b> Divides a heritage. It is customary to divide a heritage with a measuring line.</html>
<html><b>“Preach not, those who preach”</b>—Do not prophesy to reprove them. To you, the prophets who constantly preach, I say this. <b>they shall not take shame</b>—Lest disgraces from them overtake them, as the matter is stated (Prov. 9:8): “Reprove not a scorner.” Every instance of טִיף is an expression of prophecy, as in (Amos 7:16) “And do not prophesy (תַטִיף) concerning the house of Isaac” and (Ezek. 21:2) “And prophesy (וְהַטֵף) to the south.”</html>
<html><b>Is that what is said by the house of Jacob?</b>—Do (the people of) the house of Jacob say this when they hear the evil that my prophets prophesy for them? <b>Has the Lord’s patience grown short?</b>—Is He now unable to do good, or does He not (now) have the patience that He had in the early days to do good? <b>Are these His deeds?</b>—I.e., to do evil? <b>Do not My words benefit the one who goes straight?</b>—I am not impatient, neither are these My deeds, except to the wicked; but with the one who goes straight, I do good.</html>
<html><b>And the matter for which My people causes [Me] to rise as an enemy</b>—Heb. וְאֶתְמוּל. The verse is connected to the one preceding it. I am good and do good, but the matter for which and because of which My people make me rise as an enemy to them… <b>because of the garment, and the mantle that you strip</b>—Because you rob the garment, and you strip the glorious raiment from all those who pass you by on the road. <b>from those who pass by confidently, who return from war</b>—Instead of passing by confidently, as they expected to, they became like men returning from war without clothing or food, for their enemies took everything they had. <b>who return</b> Heb. שׁוּבִי, as in (Jer. 2:21) “A degenerate (סוּרֵי) wild vine” and (Zeph. 3:18) “Those taken away (נוּגֵי) from the appointed season.”</html>
<html><b>The wives of My people you drive away from the house of her delights</b>—For you slay their husbands, and they sit as widows. Alternatively: since you take their husband’s money, and they (the husbands) sit and grieve and do not bring joy to their wives.</html>
<html><b>Arise and go, for this is not the tranquility</b>—Arise and go into exile from the land, for it was not in this manner that I gave it to you for tranquility. <b>in order to contaminate it, it forms bands, and the band is clarified</b>—In order to contaminate it [the land], it [the people] forms a band of groups of wicked men. <b>it forms bands</b> Heb. תְּחַבֵּל. This is an expression of companies, as in (I Sam. 10:5) “a band (חֶבֶל) of prophets”; (Ps. 119:61) “Bands of (חֶבְלֵי) wicked men.” And so did <i>Jonathan</i> render: And they band together upon it, an expression of a band. <b>and the band is clarified</b> Heb. וְחֶבֶל נִמְרָץ. And at the time of their banding together, they already took counsel among themselves and explained for what purpose they were banding together. <b>clarified</b> Heb. נִמְרָץ. A thing explained clearly, as in (Job 6: 25) “How clear (נִמְרְצוּ) are right words”; (ibid. 16:3) “What clarifies (יַמְרִיצְךָ) to you”; (I Kings 2:8) “A clear (נִמְרֶצֶת) curse.”</html>
<html><b>If a man walking in wind</b>—If they (the people) would find a man walking in wind, a false man prophesying to them that they become drunk with wine and strong drink, he would be an acceptable prophet to this people.</html>
<html><b>I will surely assemble</b>—Days will yet come when I will assemble you. <b>as sheep in a fold</b>—Like many sheep placed in the fortresses of the sheep folds. <b>within its stall</b> Heb. הַדָּבְרוֹ. <i>Jonathan</i> renders: And as a flock within a stall, the place where they are led; and likewise (Isa. 5:17): “And lambs shall graze as their wont (כְּדָבְרָם).” <b>shall stir with people</b>—The cities shall be noisy because of the large number of people in their midst.</html>
<html><b>The breaker has gone up</b>—Their savior, who breaks the fences of thorns and the hedges of briers, to straighten the road before them.</html>