1 Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grapegleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the firstripe fruit.
2 The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net.
3 That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.
4 The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.
5 Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a guide: keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
6 For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me.
9 I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness.
10 Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.
11 In the day that thy walls are to be built, in that day shall the decree be far removed.
12 In that day also he shall come even to thee from Assyria, and from the fortified cities, and from the fortress even to the river, and from sea to sea, and from mountain to mountain.
13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee.
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of old.
<html><b>Woe is to me</b>—The prophet laments over himself, “Woe is to me that I was appointed a prophet at this time, when there are no righteous people in the generation.” <b>as the last of the figs</b> Heb. כְּאָסְפֵּי. This is vowelized with a “chataf kamatz” because it is not a verb in the present tense, like:, יוֹשֵב, sits, and אוֹמֵר, says; rather, it is a gerund, as in (Isa. 33:4): “The gathering of (אֹסֶף) the locusts”; like the gathering of קַיִץ. These are the last figs, which are inferior. And so did <i>Jonathan</i> render: as the late figs of the summer. <b>as the gleanings of the vintage</b>—As the gleanings after the vintage. [from <i>Jonathan</i>] <b>there is no cluster to eat</b>—As the <i>Targum</i> renders: There is no man who has good deeds. <b>a first ripe fig my soul desires</b>—A good fig, which ripens in its time, as the <i>Targum</i> renders: My soul desired the good ones.</html>
<html><b>and there is no upright among men</b>—There is no upright man among men. <b>each one hunts his brother with a net</b>—They hunt with their net and with their trap.</html>
<html><b>[in return] for the evil of their hands, do they expect that He will benefit them?</b>—Do you expect that He will benefit you as the reward for the evil of your hands? <b>the prince asks</b>—for a bribe. <b>and the judge</b>—who judges the case is also in the payment. When he is a robber and is liable according to law, he says to his fellow judge, “Do me a favor in this case, and I will vindicate you in another case.” <b>and the great man speaks what is in his heart</b>—The king or the prince states in the case what his heart desires. <b>what is in his heart</b> Heb. הַוַּת נַפְשׁוֹ. He speaks what is (הוֶֹה) to his will and to his desire. Cf.(Jer. 15:1) “I have no desire for this people.” And so did <i>Jonathan</i> render: The desires of his heart. <b>and they weave the web</b>—They made it into a rope of sin amongst the three of them. As the cart ropes, so is the sin, for a rope is braided of three strands. So have I found in the Jerusalem Talmud (<i>Taanith</i> 2:1): We made it like a web of sins.</html>
<html><b>The best of them is like a brier</b>—The best among them - it is as hard to extricate oneself from his hand as from a brier (<i>Targum Jonathan</i>). It is as hard to extricate oneself from their hand as [it is to extricate] the briers that are entangled in wool. <b>the most upright, [worse] than a thorn hedge</b>—The most upright among them is worse than a thorn hedge. <b>than a thorn hedge</b> Heb. מִמְּסוּכָה. Cf. (Isa. 5: 5) “Remove its hedge (מְשׂוּכָּתוֹ).” <b>the day to which you look forward</b>—On the day to which you look forward for good, your visitation shall come. <b>their perplexity</b> Heb. מְבוּכָתָם. [<i>Jonathan</i> renders:] עֲרָבוּלָהוֹן. Cf. (Ex. 14:3) “They are entangled (נְבֻכִים).” Their confusion.</html>
<html><b>Believe not a friend</b> [This is to be understood] according to its apparent meaning. But our Sages explained it as referring to the Most High. Do not sin and say that the Holy One, blessed be He, is our Friend, and He will forgive us. [from <i>Hagiga</i> 16a] <b>from her who lies in your bosom</b>—Your soul will testify against you. <b>the openings of your mouth</b> Heb. פִּתְחֵי. The words of your mouth, the openings of your mouth.</html>
<html><b>But I will hope in the Lord</b>—The prophet is saying so.</html>
<html><b>Rejoice not… my enemy</b>—Babylon and the wicked city of Rome.</html>
<html><b>“The day to build your walls”</b>—This refers back to “who says to me”: And she further says to me, “The day to build your walls, which you anticipate - that day…” <b>“its time is way off”</b> Heb. יִרְחַק-חֹק. Its time will be extended, and it will never come.</html>
<html><b>It is a day, and he shall come up to you</b>—The prophet says: That day that you deride, saying that it has been nullified and gone away - that day is guarded and preserved, and has not become nullified. The enemy shall come up to you to destroy you. <b>from Assyria</b>—which is the first of those who harmed us. <b>and the fortified cities</b>—I.e., and until the fortified cities. And <i>Jonathan</i> renders (as follows): the great dark mountains. <b>and the sea from the west</b>—And those dwelling near the Mediterranean Sea, which is in the west. <b>and the dwellers of the mountain</b> Heb. וְהַר הָהָר, like יושְׁבֵי הָהָר. But <i>Jonathan</i> did not translate in that manner. <b>[11] The day to build your walls</b>—The prophet informs Israel that there is a day preserved and prepared [for them] to build the walls of their ruins. <b>on that day the decree shall distance itself</b>—And the statute of the decrees of the nations shall be nullified from upon you. <b>[12] It is a day, and shall come up to you</b>—At that time, the exiles of Israel shall be gathered in from Assyria.</html>
<html><b>And the land shall become</b>—The land of the nations.</html>
<html><b>who dwell alone</b>—That they should dwell alone, in security. <b>a forest in the midst of a fruitful field</b>—<i>Jonathan</i> renders: Those who were desolate in a forest shall settle in the “karmel”; those who were desolate in the forests shall dwell alone in the midst of the “karmel,” which is a settled place. It is also possible to explain: <b>who dwell alone</b>—In the forests will not fear the wild beasts as [they would not] in the midst of a fruitful field.</html>
<html><b>as those who crawl on the earth</b>—They are snakes, which crawl on their bellies on the dust of the earth. <b>They shall quake from their imprisonment</b>—They shall quake because of the extreme narrowness of their imprisonment and the confinement of their captivity.</html>
<html><b>You shall give the truth of Jacob</b>—<i>Jonathan</i> paraphrases: You shall give the truth of Jacob to his sons, as You swore to him in Bethel; the loving-kindness of Abraham to his seed after him, as you swore to him ‘between the parts.’ You shall remember for us the binding of Isaac, etc. Give us the truth that You promised Jacob. Cause to come true Your word that You promised Jacob (Gen. 28: 15): “For I will not forsake you.” <b>the loving-kindness of Abraham</b> The reward for the loving- kindness of Abraham, [out of] which he commanded his sons to keep the way of the Lord: to perform righteousness and justice. Therefore, it does not say, “And the loving-kindness,” but “the loving- kindness.” The truth - that you will make come true the promise to Jacob - that will be the payment of the reward for Abraham’s loving-kindness. <b>which you swore</b>—at the binding of Isaac, (Gen 22:16) “I swore by Myself, says the Lord, that because you did this thing, etc.”</html>