Behold, Hashem’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, Neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear;
verse value 1540
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 36 letters. The shortest word is "they" (הֵ֛ן, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·not·heavy" (וְלֹא־כָבְדָ֥ה, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "not·short" (לֹא־קָצְרָ֥ה), "from·saving" (מֵהוֹשִׁ֑יעַ), "and·not·heavy" (וְלֹא־כָבְדָ֥ה). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "hand·of·Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "from·hearing" (root שמע, 106x in Isaiah); "they" (root הן, 86x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·saving', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: הֵ֛ן [they] (55) + לֹא־קָצְרָ֥ה [not·short] (426) + יַד־יְהֹוָ֖ה [hand·of·Hashem] (40) + מֵהוֹשִׁ֑יעַ [from·saving] (431) + וְלֹא־כָבְדָ֥ה [and·not·heavy] (68) + אׇזְנ֖וֹ [his·ear] (64) + מִשְּׁמֽוֹעַ [from·hearing] (456) = 1540.
Rashi
Behold, it is not a short hand. That which you have not been saved is not due to a shortness of His hand:
Ibn Ezra
Behold. See how the prophet returns to reprove the exiles once more, and at the end he says, "And this is My covenant with them," and behold, all the passages are connected.
And the meaning of "Behold, it is not shortened" is: know that the hand of the Lord is not shortened from saving you.
Radak
Behold, His hand is not shortened. After He had finished instructing them concerning good deeds and abstaining from evil deeds, He returned to reprove them further for the wickedness of their actions. He said that in vain they complain against God, saying, “Why have we fasted, and You do not see?” He said to them: That God did not see your fast and did not save you from your enemies is not because His hand is too short to save, nor because His ear is too heavy to hear, for He hears your cry and it is within His power to save you. Rather, your sins have brought this upon you; they stand as a barrier between you and Him, so that it is as if He does not hear, or as if He lacks the power to save you. And why? Because of your sins.
Metzudat David
It is not because He is short of power. He said: Not because His hand is too short to save, nor because His ear is too heavy to hear the voice of your cry from the distress of the enemy.
Malbim
Behold, do not think that the Lord is withholding salvation from you due to a lack of power, for the hand of the Lord is not shortened from saving; nor can you say that He withholds salvation due to a lack of knowledge and providence concerning your sufferings, for His ear is not heavy to hear. But what is the cause that He does not save you? It is not this
But your iniquities have separated Between you and your God, And your sins have hid His face from you, That He will not hear.
verse value 3051
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 62 letters. The shortest word is "but" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "if·your·iniquities" (אִם־עֲוֺנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙, 9 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "if·your·iniquities" (אִם־עֲוֺנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙), "separating" (מַבְדִּלִ֔ים), "between" (בֵּינֵכֶ֕ם). The root בין appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "but" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "were" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "from·hearing" (root שמע, 106x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·God', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: כִּ֤י [but] (30) + אִם־עֲוֺנֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ [if·your·iniquities] (637) + הָי֣וּ [were] (21) + מַבְדִּלִ֔ים [separating] (126) + בֵּינֵכֶ֕ם [between] (122) + לְבֵ֖ין [between] (92) + אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם [your·God] (106) + וְחַטֹּאותֵיכֶ֗ם [and·your·sins] (500) + הִסְתִּ֧ירוּ [have·hidden] (681) + פָנִ֛ים [face] (180) + מִכֶּ֖ם [from·you] (100) + מִשְּׁמֽוֹעַ [from·hearing] (456) = 3051.
Rashi
They hid His face. They caused that He hid His face from you.
Ibn Ezra
"Between your God." The letter lamed is with "between," and it alone suffices, or the word "between."
“Hide Your face from us.” This is like the language of a human being who hides his face and ears so that he will not see and not hear.
Radak
"Except that." It is explicitly stated:
“Have caused to be hidden.” It is transitive to a third [party]:
Metzudat David
"Only the sins that you have committed are what separate you from your God, and therefore He will not turn toward you."
They concealed. They caused the countenance of the Omnipresent to be hidden from you, so that your cry would not be heard.
Malbim
“Yet your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” The iniquities are those whose cause is denial and rejection; this constituted a wall of complete separation, such that it is impossible for the Lord to draw near to you because of this wall that separates you, until this separation prevents closeness from both sides, both from the side of God and from the side of man, since he denies the Lord and rejects His Torah. And regarding this it says, “between you and your God.” But the sins are those which a person sins out of desire, not out of denial; and these do not separate between man and God, but rather they cause the Lord to hide His face so that He will not hear your cry. (And this limits the meaning: “Surely the hand of the Lord is not shortened, but your iniquities have separated [you], and through them He is not able to save you, for a wall separates between you; nor is His ear heavy, but your sins have hidden [His] face.”)
For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue mutters wickedness.
verse value 4147
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 58 letters. Verse gematria: 4147 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·your·fingers" (וְאֶצְבְּעוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם, 10 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "are·defiled" (נְגֹאֲל֣וּ), "in·the·blood" (בַדָּ֔ם), "and·your·fingers" (וְאֶצְבְּעוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "have·spoken·falsehood" (root דבר, 88x in Isaiah); "are·defiled" (root גאל, 26x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·the·iniquity', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: כִּ֤י [for] (30) + כַפֵּיכֶם֙ [your·hands] (170) + נְגֹאֲל֣וּ [are·defiled] (90) + בַדָּ֔ם [in·the·blood] (46) + וְאֶצְבְּעוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם [and·your·fingers] (645) + בֶּעָוֺ֑ן [in·the·iniquity] (128) + שִׂפְתֽוֹתֵיכֶם֙ [your·lips] (1256) + דִּבְּרוּ־שֶׁ֔קֶר [have·spoken·falsehood] (812) + לְשׁוֹנְכֶ֖ם [your·tongue] (446) + עַוְלָ֥ה [unrighteousness] (111) + תֶהְגֶּֽה [will·moan] (413) = 4147.
Rashi
They were redeemed. The term denotes impurity, and similarly, "defiled bread" (Malachi 1:7).
Ibn Ezra
“Nig’alo.” A word composed of the Nifal conjugation and of a conjugation whose agent is not named.
"In blood." The shedding of blood:
(And behold) your fingers are in guilt. In the matter of oppression:
And behold, the action and the utterance (he calls them) evil:
Radak
"For your hands are defiled with blood." Through the shedding of innocent blood.
“Your fingers are in sin.” To extend the finger and to strike with a fist.
"Your lips." Now, sin consists of both deed and speech. The word "negalu" is a compound of the Nifal and Pa'al stems, where the agent is not mentioned. The reason for this compounding we have written in the book Mikhlal, and its meaning is a disgraceful meaning, like "defiled bread."
Metzudat David
They were defiled with blood. From being defiled and stained with the innocent blood that you have shed:
“By iniquity.” They were defiled through iniquity, as it is written: “For you have written in them words of falsehood and deceit.”
Metzudat Zion
They were defiled. The matter of filth and defilement, like "defiled bread" (Malachi 1):
Tehageh. It means “to speak,” as in “and my tongue shall utter” (Psalms 35):
Malbim
"For according to your hands" (sins between man and his fellow): The word "kaf" (hand) indicates the entire hand, which is defiled through the shedding of blood. And the fingers—the fingers that are engaged in fine and specialized crafts—that is to say, the details of the actions and the quality of the completion of their deeds—indicate that they were done in sin, for "avon" (iniquity) denotes intentional wrongdoing and denial, performing one's deed with loathing and disgust. "Your lips" (against, between man and the Divine): "Your lips spoke lies"—false beliefs and erroneous opinions. And not only do you speak thus from the lips outward, but also "your tongue devises vanity," for you devise and contemplate these corrupt opinions according to the laws of logic, and you strengthen them through misleading logical proofs.
None sues in righteousness, And none pleads in truth; They trust in vanity, and speak lies, They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
verse value 2692
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. The shortest word is "conceiving" (הָר֥וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·speaking·falsehood" (וְדַבֶּר־שָׁ֔וְא, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "none·calling" (אֵין־קֹרֵ֣א), "in·faithfulness" (בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה), "in·vanity" (עַל־תֹּ֙הוּ֙). The root אין appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "none·calling" (root אין, 92x in Isaiah); "and·speaking·falsehood" (root דבר, 88x in Isaiah); "in·justice" (root צדק, 37x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·faithfulness', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: אֵין־קֹרֵ֣א [none·calling] (362) + בְצֶ֔דֶק [in·justice] (196) + וְאֵ֥ין [and·nothing] (67) + נִשְׁפָּ֖ט [contends] (439) + בֶּאֱמוּנָ֑ה [in·faithfulness] (104) + בָּט֤וֹחַ [trusting] (25) + עַל־תֹּ֙הוּ֙ [in·vanity] (511) + וְדַבֶּר־שָׁ֔וְא [and·speaking·falsehood] (519) + הָר֥וֹ [conceiving] (211) + עָמָ֖ל [toil] (140) + וְהוֹלֵ֥יד [and·bringing·forth] (61) + אָֽוֶן [iniquity] (57) = 2692.
Ibn Ezra
One does not read "tzadik" (righteous) with the accent on the final syllable. This is proven:
“And He is not judged.” – This is the adjectival form of the noun:
“Secure upon chaos.” This teaches that if one person says to his fellow, “I will do so,” but he does not fulfill his word, he is considered as one who builds upon chaos.
The verse "Conceiving mischief" is an allegory for thought:
“And he begat.” This refers to the utterance.
Radak
None of them calls to his fellow to reprove him justly, and Jonathan [the Aramaic translator] rendered it: "There is none who prays in truth."
And one is not judged by faith. For the judge perverts his judgment:
“Secure upon the void.” When he speaks with his friend in vain, his heart is not with his words; upon what is he secure? Upon the void. For he thinks in his heart that he will not reveal to his friend whether he is speaking in vain. But is he not revealed before God? And to his friend it will be revealed one day through his deeds, and behold, his trust is in vanity.
"Behold, she is in labor." The thought is compared to pregnancy, and speech and action to childbirth.
“And he begat.” It is written with a yod as a continuation:
Metzudat David
"There is no one who calls 'with righteousness'—this means: one who calls upon the Lord with righteousness and with intent of heart."
And it is not judged with faith, for the judges pervert justice.
“Secure upon chaos.” Each one is secure upon chaos, for when one relies on his fellow, he does not fulfill the promise.
And a vain thing. Each one is a vain thing:
“They conceive mischief.” This compares thought to pregnancy and action to childbirth. That is to say, one should not act merely when the opportunity arises, but rather should have planned from the outset to perform it.
Metzudat Zion
Tohu. A thing that has no substance:
The word *haru* is from the root meaning “pregnancy.”
Malbim
No, (nor is there found one who proves and instructs) there is no scriptural proof to establish matters between man and his fellow, and there is no one who is judged and refuted regarding faith against the Omnipresent. Among these heretics, two sects are found: (the first sect) those who do not investigate or philosophize at all, and they do not base their words of heresy on philosophical proofs and demonstrations, but rather speak vanity upon a foundation of emptiness, speaking falsehood based on nothingness, to the point that there is no truth either in the statements themselves or in the foundation upon which they rely on their words. (The second sect) those who investigate and philosophize, assume false premises and derive from them false conclusions. Regarding them it is said: “They conceive mischief,” which refers to the premises and the inferences and proofs, “and bring forth falsehood,” which is the conclusion that emerges from their false deliberation, to deny the existence of the Lord, or His providence, or reward and punishment, and the like.
They hatch basilisks’eggs, And weave the spider’s web; He that eats of their eggs dies, And that which is crushed breaks out into a viper.
verse value 3206
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "eggs·of" (בֵּיצֵ֤י, 4 letters) and the longest is "from·their·eggs" (מִבֵּֽיצֵיהֶם֙, 7 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "eggs·of" (בֵּיצֵ֤י), "they·hatch" (בִּקֵּ֔עוּ), "and·webs·of" (וְקוּרֵ֥י). The root ביצה appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "food" (root אכל, 55x in Isaiah); "will·die" (root מות, 28x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'they·will·weave', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: בֵּיצֵ֤י [eggs·of] (112) + צִפְעוֹנִי֙ [poisonous serpent] (306) + בִּקֵּ֔עוּ [they·hatch] (178) + וְקוּרֵ֥י [and·webs·of] (322) + עַכָּבִ֖ישׁ [spider] (402) + יֶאֱרֹ֑גוּ [they·will·weave] (220) + הָאֹכֵ֤ל [food] (56) + מִבֵּֽיצֵיהֶם֙ [from·their·eggs] (197) + יָמ֔וּת [will·die] (456) + וְהַזּוּרֶ֖ה [and·a thing that is crushed] (229) + תִּבָּקַ֥ע [will·split] (572) + אֶפְעֶֽה [a viper] (156) = 3206.
Rashi
Tzefaoni. A species of venomous snake:
"Baq'u" (They burst forth). In the vernacular, "ishklorsh" – that is to say, they performed ugly deeds that were not for their own benefit.
“Spider webs.” In the vernacular, they are called *irini* and *urtor*. “Webs” refers to the loom’s threads upon which the warp is stretched. Menachem, his colleague, associates it with the term *kerot* (beams), as the spider stretches its weaving across beams.
And the "hazorah." The Targum translates it as "meshachanan," a term denoting heating, which they call in the vernacular "Kubir" [cuber], the heater. It emerges from them when it cracks open the husk. However, the primary meaning of "hazorah" is that of squeezing out what is absorbed within, like "wayezer et haggeza" [and he squeezed out the fleece] (Judges 6:38). And the squeezing out in this case is its heating.
“Apah.” A type of serpent that is venomous. Thus, their deeds will not be completed except with evil.
Ibn Ezra
On eggs. And behold, He compares them to the eggs of a horned viper, when they hatch:
And "spiders" [are known]. It is well-known from the behavior of the spider:
One who eats of their eggs—namely, from the eggs of horned vipers:
And the one who scatters. It would have been proper for there to be a qamats gadol under the resh, but the word is foreign, like “and the river within his house” (Zechariah 4:1). And indeed, “the one who scatters” is an action, like “for they were circumcised” (Joshua 5:4), “hedged about with lilies” (Song of Songs 7:3); it is from the root of “and he squeezed the fleece” (Judges 6:38), for whoever squeezes it, then the viper will burst and the asp will emerge, like “the asp and the fiery serpent” (Isaiah 30:6).
Radak
Regarding "eggs": What else are their thoughts and deeds like? They are like the eggs of vipers; when they hatch, vipers emerge from them. So too, their thoughts are evil and their deeds are evil. And the meaning of "hatch" is that the vipers break them open, just as a chick’s egg is pecked by its beak, breaking the shell little by little until it emerges. Likewise, they constantly trouble their hearts with evil thoughts until these thoughts are brought forth into action.
“Spider webs.” These are the sheets that the spider weaves, which have no utility, permanence, or stability. So too, their deeds will not benefit them.
"He who eats of their eggs." This refers to the eggs of a male asp. The verse states, "like one who eats the eggs of an asp, he shall surely die." Just as one who eats the eggs of an asp will surely die, so too, one who joins with them and engages in their deeds will die.
And the spreading abroad. Like “and the spreading abroad” with a qamats under the resh, on the pattern of “on the word of Absalom was the matter determined,” and it comes with a segol in place of the qamats, like “and he shall dwell” within his house, which is like “and he shall dwell” with a qamats. And its meaning is like “and you shall forget that your foot shall spread abroad.” And it speaks of the eggs of the asp when it spreads abroad with its foot. He said: If a person eats of the eggs of the asp, he will die. And likewise, if its foot spreads abroad upon the egg, the egg will break, and the asp will come out and kill him. So too, anyone who associates with the wicked, in any manner that he associates with them, they will kill him. And “apeh” is the asp, and it has two names. And so did Jonathan translate both of them: “chayon chormenin.” And he translated “and the spreading abroad, the egg will break, the asp,” as “and they will break forth, and they will bring forth chayon chormenin, they will multiply.”
Metzudat David
“Concerning the eggs of a viper, they have hatched.” This means: Just as these eggs, until they have not yet hatched, do not yet bring forth harm into the world, but once they hatch, the viper emerges and becomes a source of harm; so too, they devise evil in their hearts, and afterward they carry it out and cause harm to human beings.
"And the spider shall weave her web." This means that there is no benefit, permanence, or stability in their works, just as there is no benefit or permanence in the webs of spiders.
He who eats of their eggs will die. He who eats of the eggs of the asp will die—this means that one who associates with them will also be overtaken by the evil concealed within them, and death and destruction will overtake him.
"The one who provokes it." He who crushes it in order to extract what is stuck within it—behold, from the crack will come forth a viper and harm him. That is to say, likewise, one who provokes it in order to expose its disgrace will fall into evil, and there is no remedy except to walk away from it.
Metzudat Zion
Tzefoni. The name of a species of venomous snake:
And spiderwebs. The weaving of the spider is called in the language of "threads" because it spreads its weavings on the beams of the house.
"and the wringing one" – the matter is that of a leather sac to extract what is absorbed within it; likewise, "when a foot tramples it" (Job 39:15). This is from the language of "and he wrung out the fleece" (Judges 6:38).
“Apah.” It is the asp, and it is called by both names:
Malbim
Regarding “eggs,” he compares the conclusion that is hatched and brought forth by the philosophers to the eggs of a horned viper, and the premises, inferences, and propositions they employ to derive that conclusion to the weaving of spiderwebs. For just as the spider weaves concept upon concept, proposition upon proposition, inference upon inference, until it finally produces the conclusion, yet these threads from which it wove the marvel are threads of a spiderweb that the spider extrudes from its own body—so that the existence of these threads originates in the spider itself—so too, all the assumptions and premises they posited have no foundation except in the philosopher himself, who fabricated falsehoods and lies and matters that have no existence in themselves, but only in the power of his imagination.
“The doors shall be barred against the eggs of the horned viper; he who eats of their eggs shall die.” This means: whoever takes these conclusions that they derived through their investigations and “eats” of them—that is, makes use of them to act according to their instruction—shall die the death of the soul.
“And the barren one”—this refers to one who does not eat of the eggs, but rather leaves them under a bird to be warmed, so that chicks emerge from them. This is one who does not act or conduct himself according to these conclusions, but rather takes them as premises for other contemplations. Then “the horned viper shall hatch, causing harm to many,” for in this regard, these conclusions will yet give birth to further conclusions that will mislead the many and kill them.
Their webs shall not become garments, Neither shall men cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands.
verse value 2855
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "and·not" (וְלֹ֥א, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·their·works" (בְּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶ֑ם, 7 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "their·webs" (קֽוּרֵיהֶם֙), "not·will·be" (לֹֽא־יִהְי֣וּ), "will·cover·themselves" (יִתְכַּסּ֖וּ). The root מעשה appears 3 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "not·will·be" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "in·their·works" (root מעשה, 27x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·their·works', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: קֽוּרֵיהֶם֙ [their·webs] (361) + לֹֽא־יִהְי֣וּ [not·will·be] (62) + לְבֶ֔גֶד [for·a·garment] (39) + וְלֹ֥א [and·not] (37) + יִתְכַּסּ֖וּ [will·cover·themselves] (496) + בְּמַעֲשֵׂיהֶ֑ם [in·their·works] (467) + מַֽעֲשֵׂיהֶם֙ [their·works] (465) + מַֽעֲשֵׂי־אָ֔וֶן [works·of·iniquity] (477) + וּפֹ֥עַל [work] (186) + חָמָ֖ס [violence] (108) + בְּכַפֵּיהֶֽם [in·their·hands] (157) = 2855.
Ibn Ezra
"Let their nets not be for clothing." And behold, their deeds are like the work of a spider, which does not endure.
Radak
“Koriam” – like spiderwebs, which are not fit to be made into garments and to cover oneself with them, so too they shall not be covered by their deeds when evil comes upon them, because their deeds are deeds of iniquity.
Metzudat David
"קוריהם" – This means: Just as it is not fitting to make a garment from spiderwebs, so too their deeds have no permanence.
"And they shall not be covered." Since the verse compared their deeds to spiderwebs, it employs the language of "covering," which is used in reference to a sheet (or curtain); that is to say, there is no permanence to their deeds.
And he practiced violence. An act of oppression and robbery:
Metzudat Zion
"קוריהם" – the weaving of the spider that is attached to the walls:
Malbim
“קוריהם” (meaning: “they shall weave against spiderwebs”), that is to say: Do not say that although the conclusions derived from their premises are false, nevertheless the premises themselves, along with the methods of reasoning and inference by means of which they wove and spun their garment and connected the conclusions, are true, and that we can take them to build upon them a good garment and derive from them proofs for the true faith. This is as occurred with many of the proofs of the philosophers: although they derived from them false conclusions because they did not use the premises and methods of proof properly, nevertheless the premises are useful for investigating true matters. For even their “webs” will not serve as a garment, because they are proofs of imagination, not proofs of intellect. And do not say that at least they themselves have a covering for their eyes, such that we could say that they erred in their intellect and investigation. For even they themselves will not be covered by their deeds, because everyone sees that there was no room for error at all, and that everything is deceit and forgery. (Up to here were the words concerning their matter of denying the Omnipresent. Now he will begin to consider their sins between man and his fellow.) “Their deeds”: Do not say that at least they adhere to the religion of the philosophers and to their good moral traits between man and man, having established for themselves in this regard intellectual religions and wise customs. For their deeds are deeds of wickedness, and “the strong devours the weak,” and even the occupation with which they occupy themselves is robbery.
Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity, Desolation and destruction are in their paths.
verse value 4803
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 58 letters. The shortest word is "blood" (דָּ֣ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "thought" (מַחְשְׁבֹֽתֵיהֶם֙, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "run" (יָרֻ֔צוּ), "and·hasten" (וִֽימַהֲר֔וּ), "to·pour" (לִשְׁפֹּ֖ךְ). 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·destruction" (root שבר, 25x in Isaiah); "their·feet" (root רגל, 20x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'innocent', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: רַגְלֵיהֶם֙ [their·feet] (288) + לָרַ֣ע [to·evil] (300) + יָרֻ֔צוּ [run] (306) + וִֽימַהֲר֔וּ [and·hasten] (267) + לִשְׁפֹּ֖ךְ [to·pour] (430) + דָּ֣ם [blood] (44) + נָקִ֑י [innocent] (160) + מַחְשְׁבֹֽתֵיהֶם֙ [thought] (805) + מַחְשְׁב֣וֹת [thoughts·of] (756) + אָ֔וֶן [iniquity] (57) + שֹׁ֥ד [destruction] (304) + וָשֶׁ֖בֶר [and·destruction] (508) + בִּמְסִלּוֹתָֽם [in·their·paths] (578) = 4803.
Ibn Ezra
"Their feet, etc." For their thoughts are plunder and destruction along the paths they tread. And behold, the meaning of "their feet" is twofold:
Radak
Their feet. And they hurried, for even one who is liable to death deserves that the judge should deliberate his case and not hasten in capital cases, yet they would hasten to shed innocent blood.
Metzudat David
"To evil they shall run." In pursuit they shall go to do evil.
"In their paths." In the place where they go, there will be found robbery and destruction, for they will bring about these things through their ways.
Metzudat Zion
ירוצו. From the root meaning "running" and "pursuing":
"Robbery." From the terms *shadidah* and *gezeilah*, meaning plundering and stealing.
"In their paths." From the word "path" and "way."
Malbim
"their feet," meaning that the habit has already become second nature to them, to the extent that their very feet will run toward evil out of sheer habit. And "they hasten," meaning that in addition to their swiftness in walking to the place of murder, they hasten to shed blood, which is the murder itself. For sometimes one hastens toward evil, but when he comes to commit it, he is comforted and deliberates first whether to do it or to desist. But they, without investigating anything, hasten to shed innocent blood. And do not say that their thoughts are not aligned with murder; rather, it says also "their thoughts are thoughts of violence," so much so that robbery and destruction are on the paths of these thoughts, as if their mind has paved for itself a well-trodden path toward robbery and destruction, upon which the thought revolves and the faculty of thought constantly proceeds.
The way of peace they know not, And there is no right in their goings; They have made them crooked paths, Whosoever goes therein does not know peace.
verse value 4054
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 61 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "their·paths" (נְתִיבֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 376: peace, peace. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "in·their·paths" (בְּמַעְגְּלוֹתָ֑ם), "their·paths" (נְתִיבֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙), "have·made·crooked" (עִקְּשׁ֣וּ). The root דרך appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "all" (root כל, 93x in Isaiah); "and·nothing" (root אין, 92x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·their·paths', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 9 words.
Rashi
"And there is no judgment in their circles." That is to say, in the course of their ways there is nothing judged truly according to its proper judgment.
Their ways they twisted for themselves. They distorted their own path for themselves:
Ibn Ezra
Their ways. That they were known, stubborn, and who will walk in their ways and learn from them:
Radak
"They did not know the way of peace, for they did not walk in it."
They twisted them. They perverted their own paths for themselves, so that they stumbled in them.
Metzudat David
"They do not know." They are not acquainted with the way of peace, for wherever they go, there is no peace for them on account of their sins, and there is no justice. There is nothing in the circle of their ways that is done with justice and righteousness.
Their ways. The paths that people walk on, they made them crooked and twisted for their own benefit, meaning they made them winding and bent so that people would stumble there and become their spoil.
“Every one who walks in it.” Anyone who walks in this way will not know peace, for the robbers lie in wait there to plunder their spoil.
Metzudat Zion
“in their circles.” The term “path” and “way” is like “the path of the righteous You make level” (above, 26:7).
"their paths." From the language of "path" and "way":
“Eiqashu.” The meaning of “eikum” and “me’ukal” is crooked and twisted:
To them. To themselves:
דורך. From the language of "treading" and "going":
Malbim
The way, the way is the great established path for the many, and the many who have law and custom walk the way of peace, a general conduct and custom that preserves peace among the community so that one does not oppress his brother. They did not know this general way. Now, the circle is the circular path. And behold, even the company of murderers and thieves, although they do not observe the great established path for the many, that they do not observe the general customs, because they walk in a circular path that deviates from the general straight way, nevertheless, they have law among themselves, for even the company of murderers and robbers will have among themselves some custom and conduct that preserves justice among their company, and they have law in this circle that they walk upon. How they will divide the spoils, how the partnership will be among them, and the like. But they have no law even in their circle, for the company of robbers and thieves does not preserve justice even among their company, one toward his brother. And not only this, but their paths are crooked to them; the path is the individual trail, for even each individual separately has no path for himself, until every way in which he walks on his isolated path, he does not know peace, for each one ruins his own kin and destroys his house and himself.
Therefore is justice far from us, Neither does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but behold darkness, For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
verse value 3958
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "is·far" (רָחַ֤ק, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·behold·darkness" (וְהִנֵּה־חֹ֔שֶׁךְ, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "overtakes·us" (תַשִּׂיגֵ֖נוּ), "for·brightness" (לִנְגֹה֖וֹת), "in·gloom" (בָּאֲפֵל֥וֹת). 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·not" (root לא, 286x in Isaiah); "therefore" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "we·walked" (root הלך, 60x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'righteousness', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 6 words. Full calculation: עַל־כֵּ֗ן [therefore] (170) + רָחַ֤ק [is·far] (308) + מִשְׁפָּט֙ [judgment] (429) + מִמֶּ֔נּוּ [from·us] (136) + וְלֹ֥א [and·not] (37) + תַשִּׂיגֵ֖נוּ [overtakes·us] (769) + צְדָקָ֑ה [righteousness] (199) + נְקַוֶּ֤ה [we·wait·for] (161) + לָאוֹר֙ [to·the·light] (237) + וְהִנֵּה־חֹ֔שֶׁךְ [and·behold·darkness] (394) + לִנְגֹה֖וֹת [for·brightness] (494) + בָּאֲפֵל֥וֹת [in·gloom] (519) + נְהַלֵּֽךְ [we·walked] (105) = 3958.
Rashi
“Justice is far from him.” For we would cry out, “Violence!” against our enemies, and the Holy One, blessed be He, does not judge to exact vengeance.
"And righteousness shall not overtake us." The good consolations that He promised us do not overtake us, i.e., they do not come to us.
For brightness (linegohot): we hope [for brightness], but we walk in gloom.
Ibn Ezra
"Therefore, etc." The prophet speaks in the language of Israel, that which they will say in exile:
languor. It is doubled in meaning:
Radak
“Therefore.” These verses, up to “and He saw that there was no man,” are the words of the prophet concerning the generation of this exile, for because of the sin of the fathers together with the sin of the sons, this exile has been prolonged, since the majority of Israel did not return after they were exiled in the first exile. And so Jeremiah the prophet said concerning the generation of the exile: “Our fathers sinned, and they are no more, and we bear their iniquities.” And David said concerning the generation of the exile: “Remember not against us the iniquities of our fathers.” And he said, “Therefore,” because our fathers abounded in doing evil, we are still today in exile. And behold, God judges us measure for measure: they distanced themselves from justice, righteousness, and peace; therefore, justice has been distanced from us.
"And righteousness shall not save us." For it is the attribute of the Creator to visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children when they hold fast to the deeds of their fathers in their hands.
We hope for light. Day by day we hope for light and salvation, which is the light, and behold, darkness, which is the exile. The matter is repeated in different words:
Metzudat David
Therefore. Because of this, justice has been distant, for the Omnipresent does not judge our case to take vengeance from the hands of the nations, and righteousness has not attained us. The righteousness that the Omnipresent promised us, we have not attained.
“We hope for light.” This means: We hope for salvation, yet another affliction comes.
“l’neghoth.” We are expecting “l’neghoth” (illnesses), yet it is not so, for “we walk in darkness.” And this is a repetition of the matter stated in the preceding verse.
Metzudat Zion
He shall attain it. The matter of the word "k'ri'vah" (drawing near):
לנגוהות. From the language of נוגה and illumination, like מנוגה נגדו (Psalms 18):
“ba’afelut.” From the words “ofel” and “choshech,” meaning darkness.
Malbim
Therefore, justice is far from Him. The recompense that the Lord will pay according to the deed and merit is called justice, whereas what the Lord gives out of kindness is called righteousness. He says: "Justice," which comes according to merit, is far from us, for we have no merit. And as for righteousness, even though it is not limited according to man's deeds, nor does it stand opposite him to be measured according to his actions, and it does not apply to it that it is "far from us," for it pursues man even when he is unworthy—nevertheless, righteousness will not overtake us. Even though it pursues us, it cannot overtake us, for we flee from it and do not wish to sit in its shade at all. We hoped for the light of salvation, and behold, darkness; and behold, we hoped at least for a gleam, which is the glow of the moon and the stars, which is found even when it is night and dark. But in darkness we shall walk, for we have made it pitch-dark, so that there is no light at all, for pitch-darkness is worse than darkness.
We grope for the wall like the blind, Indeed, as they that have no eyes do we grope; We stumble at noonday as in the twilight; We are in dark places like the dead.
verse value 4395
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "wall" (קִ֔יר, 3 letters) and the longest is "in·the·dark·places" (בָּאַשְׁמַנִּ֖ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 658: we·grope, we·grope. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "like·the·blind" (כַֽעִוְרִים֙), "and·like·no" (וּכְאֵ֥ין), "we·stumbled" (כָּשַׁ֤לְנוּ). The root גשש appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·like·no" (root אין, 92x in Isaiah); "eye" (root עין, 45x in Isaiah); "like·the·blind" (root עור, 30x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'we·grope', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 5 words. Full calculation: נְגַשְׁשָׁ֤ה [we·grope] (658) + כַֽעִוְרִים֙ [like·the·blind] (346) + קִ֔יר [wall] (310) + וּכְאֵ֥ין [and·like·no] (87) + עֵינַ֖יִם [eye] (180) + נְגַשֵּׁ֑שָׁה [we·grope] (658) + כָּשַׁ֤לְנוּ [we·stumbled] (406) + בַֽצׇּהֳרַ֙יִם֙ [in·the·noon] (347) + כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁף [as·the·twilight] (450) + בָּאַשְׁמַנִּ֖ים [in·the·dark·places] (443) + כַּמֵּתִֽים [like·the·dead] (510) = 4395.
Rashi
“Among the fat ones.” Menachem interpreted it as meaning “darkness,” and most of the interpreters agree with him. But Dunash interpreted it as meaning “fat,” and the aleph is an extra letter, like the alef in “my declaration (achavati)” (Job 13:17), in “a deceitful brook (akhzav)” (Jeremiah 15:18), and in “the way of Atharim” (Numbers 21:1). So here too, “among the fat ones” [or: the dark ones]—even though we are living and fat, we are like the dead. And the Targum [interprets it] as meaning “enclosed,” [i.e.,] “we are enclosed in the manner [of the dead], just as graves are enclosed before the dead.”
Ibn Ezra
"We grope." Like "we feel," and there is no harm to it, and some say it is from the root of "a clod of dust" (Job 7:5):
"At midday." That is, it is the middle of the day, as if we were at twilight; and this is a metaphorical expression.
“Ba’ashmanim.” Some say that it means “graves.” It is also possible that it is like “tzaharim” (midday), or like “ba’chayim” (in life), and the meaning is “between the living.” It is also possible that the aleph is an additional letter, and the meaning is “between the fat ones,” and they are the gentiles.
Radak
“Feeling our way along the wall like the blind.” This is akin to “feeling our way,” derived from the verse, “And you shall grope at noonday as the blind do” (Isaiah 59:10). The afflictions of the exile are the darkness and the blindness.
"Among the fat ones, like the dead." We are considered as if we are buried like the dead. The phrase "among the fat ones" was explained by my master and father, of blessed memory, that the nun is an added letter, and its root is "asham" (guilt), from "Shomeron shall be guilty" (Hosea 10:13), which pertains to desolation. And graves are a place of desolation. And Targum Jonathan [renders]: "it is shut in our faces," etc.
Metzudat David
“נגששה” (we groped): Because of the darkness, we groped along the wall in order to go along it, like blind people do. This is a figure of speech, indicating that the darkness of our troubles overpowered us.
And as one without eyes. Just as a person without eyes grope [feels by touch], so do we grope; and the matter is repeated in what is stated:
When we stumbled at midday. At the time of midday we stumbled over stumbling-blocks, just as the way is to stumble in the darkness of night. That is to say: even though there is peace in the world, we sit in sorrow and in fear.
“Among the desolate ones.” It is as if we dwell in desolate graves like the dead:
Metzudat Zion
“נגששה” – the matter of touching and feeling the object; it has no parallel in Scripture. And our Sages of blessed memory say: “When the ship is גוששת” (Gittin 7a).
Kir. A wall:
"At midday." This means half of the day.
k’neshef. Its meaning is the darkness of the night, as it is written: “And they arose at neshef” (II Kings 7).
In the desolate places. In desolate tombs, as it is said, “Like the guilt of Samaria” (Hosea 14:1), and the nun is an added letter.
Malbim
"We grope along the wall like the blind": besides the fact that it is darkness and gloom, we are also blind to visions; that is to say, the light of salvation and the divine abundance from above are lacking, and furthermore, we are not prepared to receive this light even if it were to exist. "Like those without eyes, we grope; like the blind, we grope for the wall": "those without eyes" refers to one who has never had eyes in his life, whereas "the blind" refers to one who will recognize how to grope for the entrances of the city because he saw them before he became blind, but "those without eyes" will not recognize this. Therefore, the verse adds that we are similar to those who never had eyes at all. Now, a blind person walking during the day will have someone show him the way, but we have stumbled at midday as if it were twilight, and there was no one to show us the way, until we lie in desolate places like the dead, without moving from our place.
We all growl like bears, And mourn sore like doves; We look for right, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far off from us.
verse value 2057
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 54 letters. Notable word values: "moaning" (הָגֹ֣ה) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "moaning" (הָגֹ֣ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·as·the·doves" (וְכַיּוֹנִ֖ים, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "we·will·murmur" (נֶהֱמֶ֤ה), "like·the·bears" (כַדֻּבִּים֙), "we·will·moan" (נֶהְגֶּ֑ה). The root הגה appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "all·of·us" (root כל, 93x in Isaiah); "and·nothing" (root אין, 92x in Isaiah); "to·the·judgment" (root משפט, 42x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'we·will·moan', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: נֶהֱמֶ֤ה [we·will·murmur] (100) + כַדֻּבִּים֙ [like·the·bears] (76) + כֻּלָּ֔נוּ [all·of·us] (106) + וְכַיּוֹנִ֖ים [and·as·the·doves] (142) + הָגֹ֣ה [moaning] (13) + נֶהְגֶּ֑ה [we·will·moan] (63) + נְקַוֶּ֤ה [we·wait·for] (161) + לַמִּשְׁפָּט֙ [to·the·judgment] (459) + וָאַ֔יִן [and·nothing] (67) + לִישׁוּעָ֖ה [to·salvation] (421) + רָחֲקָ֥ה [is·far] (313) + מִמֶּֽנּוּ [from·us] (136) = 2057.
Rashi
gheh, negheh. A term of lamentation:
Ibn Ezra
"They roar like bears, etc." The meaning is: "We cry out, but there is no savior; there is no one to execute justice for us."
Radak
"We are all like roaring bears." The voice of the bears is in a voice of crying out and wailing, and likewise the doves coo in a voice of wailing, for the cooing and the wailing are found in this matter in a voice of wailing. And likewise it is said, "Like the doves of the terraces, all of them are cooing." And the Targum translates: "With us, from before our enemies," etc.
To judgment. That God may take our judgment from our enemies:
Metzudat David
Nehamah. Due to the multitude of afflictions, we all groan like bears and doves that moan.
"Let us hope for judgment." That He will execute judgment upon the gentiles to avenge our vengeance.
And there is no. There is no judgment:
For salvation. Let us hope for salvation, and behold, it is far from us and has not come.
Metzudat Zion
nahamah. From the language of whimpering:
As bears. The name of a beast:
“Hago nehgeh” (we moan). A term of the doves’ cooing, as in “I moan like a dove” (above, 38:14).
Malbim
“Nehemah” – the gates are restricted. “Nehemah kedavim kolenu” – we all groan like bears; “neqaveh le-mishpat ve-ein” – we hope for judgment, but there is none; “u-ke-yonim hagah negheh” – and like doves, we mutter and moan; “neqaveh le-yeshuah rechoqah me-mino” – we hope for salvation, which is far from him. Initially, “nehemah kedov” – groaning like a bear that comes with strength and power; and likewise, “neqaveh le-mishpat” – we hope for judgment according to the law, with a strong hand, as it seems that we are deserving on account of our deeds. But there is no judgment, for we have no deeds. Afterwards, “ke-yonim” – like doves cooing with a weak, humble voice, “hagah negheh” – we mutter and moan, and we hope for salvation on account of kindness. And behold, salvation does exist in reality, for the Lord is great to save; but it is far from him, because of the evil of our deeds, as will be explained.
For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are present to us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:
verse value 3691
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "against·us" (בָּ֑נוּ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·our·sins" (וְחַטֹּאותֵ֖ינוּ, 9 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "our·transgressions" (פְשָׁעֵ֙ינוּ֙), "before·you" (נֶגְדֶּ֔ךָ), "and·our·sins" (וְחַטֹּאותֵ֖ינוּ). The root פשע appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "we·knew·them" (root ידע, 73x in Isaiah); "against·us" (root בן, 43x in Isaiah); "before·you" (root נגד, 40x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'against·us', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּֽי־רַבּ֤וּ [for·have·multiplied] (238) + פְשָׁעֵ֙ינוּ֙ [our·transgressions] (516) + נֶגְדֶּ֔ךָ [before·you] (77) + וְחַטֹּאותֵ֖ינוּ [and·our·sins] (496) + עָ֣נְתָה [answered] (525) + בָּ֑נוּ [against·us] (58) + כִּֽי־פְשָׁעֵ֣ינוּ [for·our·transgressions] (546) + אִתָּ֔נוּ [with·us] (457) + וַעֲוֺנֹתֵ֖ינוּ [and·our·iniquities] (598) + יְדַעֲנֽוּם [we·knew·them] (180) = 3691.
Ibn Ezra
For, etc. These are the words of the prophet in the language of Israel, that they shall confess to the Name their sins:
"Answered" – in the sense of "answered" (i.e., testified). Just as it is said, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:13).
"For our sins are with us." They are still:
Radak
"Because our transgressions are many." With the transgressions of our fathers, for initially it was said that the prolongation of the exile was due to the transgressions of the fathers, and now he added and said: not only by the transgressions of the fathers, nor only by the transgressions of the children, but both of these together caused it. And he said "before You," for we confess regarding the exile on account of our iniquities, which are exposed and known before You; therefore he said "before You," unlike the fathers, some of whom would say, "God does not see us."
“And our iniquities have testified against us.” The verse states “our iniquities” in the plural, yet it says “have testified” in the singular. This implies that each and every one of the iniquities testified against us, for it is through the punishment of sins that our troubles come upon us. A similar usage of the singular for the plural is found in: “His eyes were raised” (Ezekiel 1:24); “Men came to me” (Ezekiel 8:1); “The cities were captured” (Isaiah 10:29); “His plowshares shall not be broken” (Isaiah 2:4); and verses similar to them.
“With us.” This means that we acknowledge them and confess over them. The matter is doubled, as it says, “And our iniquities we know.”
Metzudat David
"For they are many." What we have transgressed against You is exceedingly numerous.
"And our sins." All the sins testified against us to bring a prosecution against us:
Among us. This means: we have not yet abandoned them.
We know them. They are known to us, and we are acquainted with them; we did not perform them without knowledge.
Metzudat Zion
Anah. It means "testified," similar to "You shall not bear false witness" (Exodus 20:16):
Malbim
“Because our transgressions are many against You” — these are the rebels who rebelled against the Lord in the commandments between man and God; and “our sins which testify against us” — these are the sins we committed each against his fellow, such as robbery and oppression and the like. And not only have we sinned in the past, but also “our transgressions are with us still,” for we have not yet returned from our transgressions. And “our iniquities” (iniquities are those that come through intellectual error, denial, and heresy) — we know them, meaning that we still recognize and acknowledge them, for we continue to uphold our present beliefs in false doctrines and heresies just as before.
Transgressing and denying Hashem, And turning away from following our God, Speaking oppression and perverseness, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
verse value 3354
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 54 letters. Verse gematria: 3354 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "transgression" (פָּשֹׁ֤עַ, 3 letters) and the longest is "words·of·falsehood" (דִּבְרֵי־שָֽׁקֶר, 7 letters). 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·denying" (וְכַחֵשׁ֙), "and·turning·away" (וְנָס֖וֹג), "from·after" (מֵאַחַ֣ר). The root דבר appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "speaking·oppression" (root דבר, 88x in Isaiah); "our·God" (root אלהים, 82x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'our·God', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: פָּשֹׁ֤עַ [transgression] (450) + וְכַחֵשׁ֙ [and·denying] (334) + בַּֽיהֹוָ֔ה [in·Hashem] (28) + וְנָס֖וֹג [and·turning·away] (125) + מֵאַחַ֣ר [from·after] (249) + אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ [our·God] (102) + דַּבֶּר־עֹ֣שֶׁק [speaking·oppression] (676) + וְסָרָ֔ה [and·perverseness] (271) + הֹר֧וֹ [conceiving] (211) + וְהֹג֛וֹ [and·uttering] (20) + מִלֵּ֖ב [out·of·mind] (72) + דִּבְרֵי־שָֽׁקֶר [words·of·falsehood] (816) = 3354.
Rashi
"Speak oppression." Like "to speak oppression."
They instructed and they taught. “They instructed” refers to shooting, and “they taught” refers to expelling. “They instructed” is the language of “He cast them into the sea” (Exodus 15:4). Another interpretation: “horo ve-hogo” — the master and the disciple; it is an infinitive form (so in another version). And “ve-hogo” is as in “he was removed (hogah) from the highway” (2 Samuel 20:13), [and] “take away (hago) the dross from silver” (Proverbs 25:4).
Ibn Ezra
"Peshua' and kechesh. These are names of the pa'al conjugation, and indeed, peshua' means to go out from under authority."
And he withdrew. This is an infinitive form derived from the nifal stem, following the pattern of "venashlakh" (Esther 3:13):
“Sara.” From the root of “soreh and moreh” (Deuteronomy 21:18):
“Horehu kemo osav” (Job 40:13). And “horehu” is from the root of “barakha horei” (Genesis 49:26), and “vatehar et Miriam” (1 Chronicles 4:17), and behold it is on the pattern of “hugu” and the vav refers to “sheker,” and there are those who say that it should have been on the pattern of “bana baniti” (1 Kings 8:18), and foreign words entered.
And the meaning of "from their heart" is that from their heart they shall utter words of falsehood.
Radak
“Transgression and deceit against the Lord.” Both are infinitives; likewise “turning away (nasog),” “speaking (dabber),” “conceiving and uttering (horo ve-hogo)” — infinitives. Or “nasog” may be of the weak-ayin roots, the nun being of the nifal, as in “our heart is not turned back” (Psalms 44:19). And the meaning of “and deceit” is not like “they deceived the Lord and said, ‘It is not He,’” for there it says “in Your presence,” meaning that He knows about us and our deeds. Rather, the meaning of “and deceit against the Lord” is that when a person deceives his fellow, it is as if he is deceiving the Lord. And similarly, it says, “And he commits a trespass against the Lord and deceives his fellow.” And since he deceives his fellow who entrusted something with him, or who lent to him without witnesses, behold, he is as one who deceives the Lord, for He is a witness between them. Or, the meaning of “against the Lord” is as Jonathan [ben Uzziel] translated in the expression “in the utterance of the Lord,” meaning that he deceived regarding His commandment, which commanded him, “You shall not deceive, nor shall any man lie to his fellow.”
"And turning away from following our God." This inverts the verse "After the Lord your God you shall walk." The root of "and He retreated" is נסג, its meaning being a matter of delay, like turning back, and similarly, "and justice shall retreat backward."
And "serah" means a matter of "serah," which is to say, something twisted or distorted.
“Haro.” Like “haro” in “haro amal” mentioned above, the letter he is written with a holam, whereas its proper vowel should be a qamats. Similarly, in “vehagu,” since its root is hagah, the he appears with a holam in place of a qamats. Their meaning is like “haro amal” as we explained above: namely, what they devise in their hearts and bring forth from thought into speech and action—namely, their thoughts and words are words of falsehood. My master and father, of blessed memory, explained “haro” as meaning “to teach” the children of Israel, from the root yarah. And Jonathan rendered “haro vehagu” as “their mind and their thought.”
Metzudat David
"Peshu'a." Our way is to act treacherously against the Lord, to deny His providence, and to retreat backward from following our God, so that we do not accept His commandments.
A matter of oppression. And to speak words of oppression, and perversity.
They taught and instructed. All of them [are] teaching and instructing, and bringing forth from the heart words of falsehood.
Metzudat Zion
And "he retreated." From the sense of returning backward, like "those who retreat from behind the Lord" (Zephaniah 1:6):
And "serah." The meaning is crookedness and rebellion, as it is stated: "for the word of serah" (Deuteronomy 13:6).
The word "Horu" is from the language of instruction and teaching.
And "hagō": The matter of "hutzā'ah" (removal) is like the word "hagō" in "hagō rasha" (Proverbs 25:5).
Malbim
"Peshia" elucidates the preceding statement, "for our transgressions are many against You," which refers to sins between man and the Divine. The phrase "transgression and deceit against the Lord" indicates that there was both rebellion and defiance, as well as denial and heresy regarding the Lord. For in addition to rebelling against Him, they also denied Him, and they withdrew from following our God. The term "the Lord" denotes the aspect of His being the Creator of the world, while "our God" denotes the aspect of His providence over us, rewarding and punishing. Thus, not only did they deny the Lord, but they also denied providence, reward, and punishment (even though the sinner generally fears, at the very least, divine punishment).
Regarding the matter of oppression, he now clarifies in response to what was stated, “And our iniquities have testified against us,” which refers to transgressions between man and his fellow. He states that they oppressed and plundered openly, to the extent that they boasted about it and it served as their glory. This is what is meant by “testified against us,” namely that we ourselves bear witness and recount these sins, for so greatly do we boast in these sins that when one has not actually oppressed, nor has plunder or murder come into his possession, he will fabricate for himself a false tale in order to boast that he has oppressed. And this is what it says: “For the matter of oppression and deceit, and let the words of falsehood depart from the heart.” For even though he was compelled to devise and fabricate a lie from his heart, he will fabricate it, solely so that he may speak of oppression and deceit and boast about it, to the point that he boasts in the oppression he invented in his heart and did not commit at all, due to the high value and importance these deeds hold in their eyes.
And justice is turned away backward, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth has stumbled in the broad place, And uprightness cannot enter.
verse value 3450
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. Verse gematria: 3450 is divisible by 50, the years to the Jubilee (yovel). The shortest word is "truth" (אֱמֶ֔ת, 3 letters) and the longest is "for·has·stumbled" (כִּֽי־כָשְׁלָ֤ה, 6 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·is·turned·back" (וְהֻסַּ֤ג), "it·remains" (תַּעֲמֹ֑ד), "for·has·stumbled" (כִּֽי־כָשְׁלָ֤ה). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·come" (root בוא, 120x in Isaiah); "judgment" (root משפט, 42x in Isaiah); "and·righteousness" (root צדקה, 27x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'it·remains', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וְהֻסַּ֤ג [and·is·turned·back] (74) + אָחוֹר֙ [backward] (215) + מִשְׁפָּ֔ט [judgment] (429) + וּצְדָקָ֖ה [and·righteousness] (205) + מֵרָח֣וֹק [from·afar] (354) + תַּעֲמֹ֑ד [it·remains] (514) + כִּֽי־כָשְׁלָ֤ה [for·has·stumbled] (385) + בָֽרְחוֹב֙ [in·the·square] (218) + אֱמֶ֔ת [truth] (441) + וּנְכֹחָ֖ה [and·straight in front] (89) + לֹא־תוּכַ֥ל [not·able] (487) + לָבֽוֹא [to·come] (39) = 3450.
Rashi
"And justice is turned backward." This refers to our vengeance against our enemies, which depends on the Holy One, blessed be He. And His righteousness stands afar off. Why? Because truth has stumbled in the streets. And since truth has stumbled from the land, even from the heavens do righteousness and justice not come.
Ibn Ezra
"And it was turned back." From a binyan (verbal pattern) in which the name of its agent is not mentioned.
And righteousness shall stand afar off. By way of parable: for His righteousness [is truth]; “truth” is a feminine term, and it lacks the letter nun, which is found absorbed in the word “your truth” (Isaiah 38:18).
And “nakhakh” (clear/convincing). Matters that a person would say to his fellow’s face: “Behold, your words are good and convincing” (2 Samuel 15:13).
Radak
It is stated by way of metaphor that justice will retreat backward, for it has no place among them; and likewise, righteousness will stand afar off and not draw near to them. For the function of justice is to judge between two parties in a dispute, to vindicate the righteous and condemn the wicked in accordance with the law.
And charity: it is to give to the poor man and to lend to him, and acts of loving-kindness, and the correction of character traits, both for the poor and for the wealthy. And truth: to be a speaker of truth and not to deceive one’s fellow concerning a deposit or a business partnership, or matters similar to them; and that one should not be one way in speech and another in heart. The pinnacle of truth is to acknowledge God and His commandments.
And uprightness: It is the integrity that one should be upright in his ways and in his dealings with his fellow, and not love himself more than his companion, as it is stated, “And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” And he should be upright with every person, from whichever nation he may be. And what is meant by “in the streets”? For in secret there were men of truth among them. And so Jeremiah said, “Seek in the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if you find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon her.” For the men of truth were hidden; they did not appear before others, for they were despised and lowly in their eyes. And the Targum translates: “Justice” is the service of judgment, “righteousness” is the service of merit, “truth” is the service of honesty, and “uprightness” is the service of reliability.
Metzudat David
And it was delayed. And because of this, the judgment that ought to be executed against the nations was delayed and not carried out, and the righteousness that the Omnipresent promised us will stand at a distance and has not yet come.
“Because she has stumbled.” Because the truth has stumbled and weakened in the street, in a place of great publicity; therefore no right thing can come down from heaven — namely, the judgment upon the nations and the righteousness for us.
Metzudat Zion
And it is turned back. The matter of turning backward:
keshelah. The matter of exhaustion and weakening of strength, as it is stated: "And he who stumbles among them" (Zechariah 12:8).
ונכחה. The matter is that of a word of uprightness and propriety, like "in the land of uprightness" (above 26).
Malbim
“And justice retreats backward, and righteousness stands afar off”: Justice is between man and his fellow, and righteousness is between man and the Divine. Justice is that to which human nature inclines, for reason obligates it, and rhetoric portrays it as if it is always found among people. Now, however, it has retreated backward and departed from them. Righteousness, on the other hand, is not that to which human nature inclines, nor is it found in man by nature; rather, man must call for it so that it may come to him. Now, therefore, it stands afar off (for it has not retreated backward, since it was not yet with them at all, for it does not come of its own accord). The verse depicts that justice goes before righteousness, meaning that the observance of rational justice precedes by nature the observance of divine religion. And after justice has retreated backward from them, even though it had previously been with them, righteousness naturally stands and remains in its place afar off. For “truth has stumbled in the streets, and honesty cannot enter.” Justice retreats backward because truth has stumbled in the streets, and righteousness stands afar off because honesty cannot come. Justice is founded upon the foundations of truth, for without truth, justice is impossible. If the litigants lie, the witnesses falsify, and the judges establish their throne on falsehood, how can justice be administered? And after truth has stumbled and fallen in the streets (meaning: even though it is not the way of truth to stumble in the place of the streets, where people are found who uphold it, for in the place of human assembly truth is always clarified)—since falsehood rules in public—therefore justice has retreated backward. It is fitting that man should restrain his path in accordance with the path of the Lord, for this is the root of the commandments between man and the Divine, that he should sanctify himself because the Lord is holy. Therefore, righteousness stands afar off, for honesty cannot come, and honesty is the condition of righteousness. Righteousness, which comprises the commandments between man and the Divine, cannot be established unless through honesty, which means restraining one’s ways against the ways of the Lord, abandoning one’s carnal concerns, and conducting them under a lofty divine governance. However, after truth has stumbled in the streets, how can honesty come? Truth is found with man by nature. If it stumbles, how can he restrain his ways against the Lord, which is not natural, and which requires it to come to him from without through study and tradition?
And truth is lacking, And he that departs from evil makes himself a prey. And Hashem saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice;
verse value 4170
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 52 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֛ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·turning·aside" (וְסָ֥ר, 3 letters) and the longest is "makes·himself·a·prey" (מִשְׁתּוֹלֵ֑ל, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "the·truth" (הָאֱמֶת֙), "helped" (נֶעְדֶּ֔רֶת), "from·evil" (מֵרָ֖ע). 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "and·it·was" (root היה, 213x in Isaiah); "that·there·is·no" (root אין, 92x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'makes·himself·a·prey', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 6 words. Full calculation: וַתְּהִ֤י [and·it·was] (421) + הָאֱמֶת֙ [the·truth] (446) + נֶעְדֶּ֔רֶת [helped] (724) + וְסָ֥ר [and·turning·aside] (266) + מֵרָ֖ע [from·evil] (310) + מִשְׁתּוֹלֵ֑ל [makes·himself·a·prey] (806) + וַיַּ֧רְא [and·saw] (217) + יְהֹוָ֛ה [Hashem] (26) + וַיֵּ֥רַע [and·was·bad] (286) + בְּעֵינָ֖יו [in·his·eyes] (148) + כִּי־אֵ֥ין [that·there·is·no] (91) + מִשְׁפָּֽט [judgment] (429) = 4170.
Rashi
"משתולל" – one who is held as a madman among people, like (Micah 1:8) "I will go about naked" [where the word is read as "sholel," meaning stripped or wandering in a state of madness]. It is derived from the root of "shogeg" (unintentional), as we translate it in the Targum as "shelo" (not), and similarly in (II Samuel 10) "al hashel" (regarding the unintentional act).
“And it was evil in his eyes that there was no judgment.” Therefore, He brought calamity upon them:
Ibn Ezra
“mishatel.” Some say it means “madman,” as in “I will go naked and stripped” (Micah 1:8), “the mighty of heart shall be scattered” (Psalms 76:6). It is possible that all these derive from the root sh-l-l, meaning “to strip away wealth.” Behold, “mishatel” is a participle in the hitpa’el stem.
Radak
And truth was absent. It was not found among them at all, as if it had never existed.
"And he who turns from evil is accounted as prey" – he is not found, as though he had been plundered and looted from the world.
"And the Lord saw, and it was evil in His eyes." For there is no judgment, [meaning:] he recalls the judgment and abandons the others, because this [the absence of justice] is more severe than all [other sins]. For if there is no justice, the order of mankind is nullified, and civilization will not endure. And our Sages of blessed memory said: Great is the power of violence, for the Generation of the Flood transgressed all [commandments], yet their decree was not sealed against them except on account of violence, as it is stated: "For the earth was filled with violence because of them."
Metzudat David
It is absent. It goes on and diminishes:
"mishetallel" – he is regarded in the eyes of people as a madman and a fool:
"And the Lord saw." Their deeds, and it was evil in His eyes, for there is nothing done according to the judgment that is fitting.
Metzudat Zion
"Is absent." The matter of lack is like "no man was missing" (above 40):
"משְתּוֹלֵל" – the matter of a fool and a simpleton is like [the verse]: "He leads counselors away naked" (Job 12:17).
Malbim
“And it came to pass”: Initially, truth still existed among them; they merely stumbled in their conduct toward one another. Afterwards, however, truth was utterly absent from them, such that they did not know at all what truth was. Moreover, whereas initially only straightforwardness (nekachah) could not come forth, afterwards the matter of straightforwardness and the service of God were completely forgotten by them. To the point that “turning away from evil” was a mere pretense: namely, if it happened occasionally by chance that one of them turned away from evil and refrained from committing a transgression between man and God, it was not with intent, but rather he had become frenzied, forgotten, or erred in not doing evil; for had he not become frenzied and erred, he would have done it. And the Lord saw, and it was evil in His eyes that there was no justice: the absence of customary justice was exceedingly evil in His eyes, for by this they stepped outside the category of humanity in general. This is more severe than the absence of righteousness, which causes one to step outside the category of a religious person alone; but in the absence of justice, they were likened to beasts of the forest.
And He saw that there was no man, And was astonished that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him; And His righteousness, it sustained Him;
verse value 3969
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. Verse gematria: 3969 = 63². The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·was·astonished" (וַיִּשְׁתּוֹמֵ֖ם, 7 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "and·was·astonished" (וַיִּשְׁתּוֹמֵ֖ם), "intercessor" (מַפְגִּ֑יעַ), "and·it·saved·for·him" (וַתּ֤וֹשַֽׁע־לוֹ֙). The root אין appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root כי, 221x in Isaiah); "it" (root הוא, 98x in Isaiah); "that·there·is·no" (root אין, 92x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'intercessor', dividing the verse into phrases of 7 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיַּרְא֙ [and·saw] (217) + כִּֽי־אֵ֣ין [that·there·is·no] (91) + אִ֔ישׁ [man] (311) + וַיִּשְׁתּוֹמֵ֖ם [and·was·astonished] (802) + כִּ֣י [that] (30) + אֵ֣ין [nothing] (61) + מַפְגִּ֑יעַ [intercessor] (203) + וַתּ֤וֹשַֽׁע־לוֹ֙ [and·it·saved·for·him] (818) + זְרֹע֔וֹ [his·arm] (283) + וְצִדְקָת֖וֹ [and·his·righteousness] (606) + הִ֥יא [it] (16) + סְמָכָֽתְהוּ [sustained·Him] (531) = 3969.
Rashi
"And He saw that there was no man." Now, when He consoled Himself over the evil that befell His people, He saw that there was no righteous man to stand in the breach.
“Yishtomem.” And he became silent, to see if there was anyone who would intervene on their behalf. Since no one intervened, he was astonished. The term “yishtomem” denotes a person who stands, is perplexed, and remains silent in his astonishment. The letter tav in “yishtomem” is like the tav in “mishtallel” (he rages), and both here serve as forms of the passive/reflexive conjugation (hithpael). This is also the pattern of a word whose first root letter is shin or samekh: when it is converted into the passive/reflexive forms (nifal, poal, or hithpael), the letter tav comes in the middle of the root letters of the word. Thus, “yishtomem” is in the sense of “shomem shamayim” (the heavens are astonished, Jeremiah 2:12); “min shamayim batam” (from the heavens within them, Ezekiel 3:15); and “nishmu acharonim” (the latter were astonished, Job 18:20)—all denoting astonishment.
And He saved him with His arm, and He took vengeance on His enemies.
And His righteousness. He supported him, to exalt him and to strengthen his hands in His vengeance, even though we are not worthy to be saved.
Ibn Ezra
"And he was astonished." It is derived from the root of "desolation" (Isaiah 1:7). Rabbi Menachem, who derived it from the root of "blind in one eye" (Numbers 24:3), did not speak the truth, for one cannot say, from the root שבר, "and he broke" and "and it was shattered," with a doubled lamed.
"And He will save him." This is in the language of human speech, for God is the one who saves and is not saved Himself; rather, the reason is for His honor, to demonstrate His might.
mipagei. Just as it says, "and He will intercede for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12):
Radak
"And He saw that there was no man." Behold, we have found in the Torah: "And you shall return to the Lord your God and listen to His voice," and it says, "And the Lord your God will restore your captivity and have mercy on you." Likewise, it says, "You shall seek the Lord your God from there, and you shall find Him, if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." Behold, through repentance there will be the ingathering of the exiles. And Isaiah said, "And He saw that there was no man, and His own arm saved Him," etc. Likewise, it says, "I looked, but there was no helper." And likewise, it says, "I have seen His ways," etc., as we explained above. And Ezekiel said, "Not for your sake do I act, O house of Israel," etc. And He said, "I will bring you out from the peoples," etc. And I say, "I will remove from among you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; from the land of their sojournings I will bring them out, and to the land of Israel they shall not come." And also in the Torah it says, "I will remember for them the covenant of the first ones," etc. It appears that by God’s kindness and by the merit of the Fathers they went out, not by their own merit. And also in the words of our Sages of blessed memory we saw that they were perplexed about this: whether they went out through repentance or not. And they said: Rabbi Yochanan said, "The Son of David comes only in a generation that is entirely righteous or in a generation that is entirely guilty." In a generation that is entirely guilty, as it is written, "And He saw that there was no man, and He was astonished that there was no intercessor," and afterward, "His own arm saved Him." In a generation that is entirely righteous, as it is written, "And your people, all of them, are righteous; they shall inherit the land forever." And furthermore, they said: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi raised a contradiction: It is written, "With the clouds of heaven there comes one like a son of man," implying he comes in glory, yet it is also written, "Poor and riding on a donkey." How is this resolved? If they merit, "with the clouds of heaven"; if they do not merit, "poor and riding on a donkey." And furthermore, in their teachings: Rabbi Eliezer says, "If Israel repents, they are redeemed immediately, as it is said, 'Return, O backsliding children.'" Rabbi Yehoshua said to him, "Has it not already been said, 'You were sold for nothing, and without money you shall be redeemed'?" [The answer is] rather through repentance and good deeds. Behold, we see that they were in doubt whether the ingathering of the exiles would be through repentance or not. And this is because of the contradiction of the verses. And it is possible to resolve the verses [by saying] that the majority of Israel will repent after they see the signs of the redemption. And regarding this it is said, "And He saw that there was no man," meaning that they will not repent until they see the beginning of salvation. And there will still be among them transgressors and rebels, and they will go out from exile included in the majority of Israel who repent, and they will perish on the way and not enter the Land of Israel. And in His saying, "And He saw that there was no man," He means regarding the totality of Israel, that they will not return in complete repentance, nor will they appeal to God with a sincere heart, until they see the signs of the redemption. And "man" refers to the totality of Israel, like "And a man of Israel swore at Mizpah," where all of Israel were there. For it is not possible that there be no man, and no men in Israel who are righteous and good, who would be worthy of redemption, but not worthy to redeem all of Israel by their merit. And likewise, what our Sages of blessed memory said, "a generation that is entirely guilty," means the majority thereof, for there was never a generation in Israel that was entirely guilty, such that there were not among them righteous and good men. And regarding the guilty, it is not said that they would be guilty of destruction, God forbid, but rather that they are not worthy of redemption.
And he was amazed. The matter of amazement of the heart, and similarly, "When many were amazed at you, I was amazed for a moment."
"מפגיע" – the matter of prayer and supplication, as it is said: "Do not entreat me" (אל תפגע בי).
"And His arm shall save Him." For there is no helper and supporter with Him except His strength and His righteousness alone, for a man's deeds and his righteousness are like helpers and supporters for the One who saves him. And He said "His arm" and He said "His righteousness": He said "His arm" in opposition to the idolaters, to take vengeance from them, as it is stated, "He who takes from the mighty, what is taken?" as we have explained. And He said "His righteousness" in opposition to the Patriarchs, that He remembers His covenant with them and with their seed after them, and He does righteousness with them to save them from exile. And in His saying "shall save Him," He means to Himself. The reason is that it is incumbent upon the Master to save His servant from the hands of those who seize him and enslave him, as the idolaters did to us. And in the salvation of the servant, the Master is saved, meaning that His Name will be magnified. And similarly, "Save with Your right hand, and answer me!"
Metzudat David
And he saw. And when he saw that there was no righteous and worthy person among them to be redeemed on his merit, he was astonished. And when he stood in amazement and pondered that there was no one among them to implore and pray for the redemption:
And He will save. The arm of the Lord will save him, to bring the redemption without merit and without an intercessor:
And his righteousness. The attribute of charity will incline him to act beyond the strict letter of the law.
Metzudat Zion
"And he was astonished." The matter of astonishment is like that of "they were astonished within them" (Ezekiel 3:15). And he grasped the parable from a person standing in astonishment and contemplating the matter:
"מפגיע" – the matter of prayer and supplication is like "וַיִּצְוֶה עָלָיו כְּמַפְגִּיעַ" (Job 36:32), "and He commands concerning it, as one who entreats."
Malbim
"And He saw that there was no man": After considering the lowliness of Israel and the wickedness of their deeds, it states that upon seeing the lowliness of His people, the Lord will act for the sake of His great Name and redeem them with His kindness, even though they are not worthy of it. And behold, the salvation that the Lord will perform on the merit of Israel, will be through two matters:
1. Through the merit by which the community is deserving of it due to their deeds; and this He calls (in the following chapter, 63:5) "Helper," because this merit will help Him to act and to save.
2. Through the prayer of the righteous one and his supplication; and this He calls (in the following chapter, loc. cit.) "Supporter," because this is not complete help, but rather a slight support. The verse depicts that now the Lord sees that there is no man—meaning, no one was found who was deserving through his deeds to serve as a "Helper" for His actions. Moreover, He was exceedingly astonished that there was also no "Supporter"—meaning, not even one righteous person was found who would pray on behalf of the community, so that He would have at least some slight support. Therefore, He was compelled to perform the salvation for the entire community through His own power, not according to the deeds of the beings below. Therefore, in contrast to the "Help" from the merit of the generation, which He did not find, "His own arm brought Him salvation" (Isaiah 59:16). (And we have already explained that "the arm of the Lord" denotes the actions that the Lord performs through His own power, without help from the beings below, because the arm moves the hand, depicting that the beginning of the movements and their cause originated from Himself, not through another cause. This is the distinction between "the arm of the Lord" and "the hand of the Lord" everywhere.) And in contrast to the "Support" that He did not find from the prayers of the righteous, "His righteousness supported Him" (Isaiah 59:17). The upper righteousness, because of which He performs great things due to the fact that He is God, without the deeds of human beings and their righteousness in general—this was the support. The upper righteousness aroused Him to salvation, and the salvation itself is performed through the power of the arm, which is the exalted power that moves everything from itself, without looking to any external cause.
And He put on righteousness as a coat of mail, And a helmet of salvation upon His head, And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
verse value 4241
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 59 letters. The shortest word is "vengeance" (נָקָם֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·he·put·on" (וַיִּלְבַּ֤שׁ, 5 letters). Words sharing gematria 348: and·he·put·on, and·he·put·on. 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "like·the·armor" (כַּשִּׁרְיָ֔ן), "and·helmet" (וְכ֥וֹבַע), "in·his·head" (בְּרֹאשׁ֑וֹ). The root לבש appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "righteousness" (root צדק, 37x in Isaiah); "in·his·head" (root ראש, 28x in Isaiah); "garments·of" (root בגד, 26x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·his·head', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיִּלְבַּ֤שׁ [and·he·put·on] (348) + צְדָקָה֙ [righteousness] (199) + כַּשִּׁרְיָ֔ן [like·the·armor] (580) + וְכ֥וֹבַע [and·helmet] (104) + יְשׁוּעָ֖ה [salvation] (391) + בְּרֹאשׁ֑וֹ [in·his·head] (509) + וַיִּלְבַּ֞שׁ [and·he·put·on] (348) + בִּגְדֵ֤י [garments·of] (19) + נָקָם֙ [vengeance] (190) + תִּלְבֹּ֔שֶׁת [garment] (1132) + וַיַּ֥עַט [and·covered] (95) + כַּמְעִ֖יל [as·the·robe] (170) + קִנְאָֽה [jealousy] (156) = 4241.
Rashi
Zeal. "Enprenment" (ardor) in Old French — to be zealous for His great Name:
Ibn Ezra
"And he shall clothe himself." This is a metaphor for a warrior who puts on his armor; the armor is the garment.
Talbushet. The two letters, tav and vav, are additional, as in [the word] "tiferet" (Isaiah 3:18):
And he covered. "Covering" as if he were donning a mantle.
Radak
“And He will clothe Himself with righteousness.” His garments will be of two kinds, by way of analogy: garments of righteousness and salvation for Israel, and garments of vengeance for the nations. He compared the garments of salvation to weapons of war, namely a shield, breastplate, and helmet, as an analogy that He will shield Israel in exile and upon their emergence from exile from the enemies, so that they will not harm them. And the breastplate and helmet are not garments but rather for a temporary time, during the time of war. And the salvation will extend from its beginning until Israel are in their land, and at the time of the war of Gog and Magog. And He compared the garments of vengeance and zeal to clothing and a cloak that a person wears at all times, for all the days of the world the nations will be servants to Israel, and they will rule over their enemies, and the strangers will till their fields and prune their vines. And this is vengeance and zeal for the subjugation with which they subjugated Israel all the days of the exile.
"You shall clothe." This is a noun, and the noun is stated after the verb to strengthen the matter, as in "And David fasted a fast," "The Lord was angry with our fathers, He was angry," "He committed a trespass, a trespass," "That He might slaughter a slaughter," and similar cases.
Like a cloak. The mem is pronounced soft, contrary to the usual custom in most cases, though there are instances like it.
Metzudat David
"And He shall clothe." Because He will save Israel, act righteously with them, and execute vengeance upon the nations, therefore a term appropriate to a warrior who goes down to battle is used here.
Armor. Just as a warrior dons armor:
At its head. He shall place it on its head, like a mighty warrior who places a copper helmet on his head.
“Garments of vengeance.” This means that He will take vengeance upon the nations.
“Garment.” “To be for him as a garment”:
And he wrapped himself. He wraps himself in jealousy, like a cloak that wraps around its wearer.
Metzudat Zion
Armor. It is a type of garment made of iron, worn in battle to protect against the blows of swords and spears. Likewise, “and scales of armor” (1 Samuel 17:5).
“And a helmet.” It is the name of a protective gear for the head, as it is written: "And a helmet of brass upon his head" (ibid.).
"Vengeance." From the term for vengeance:
Talbush. From the root of "lebus" (garment), and the two taws are added, like the taws in "tif'eret," which is from the root of "par" (ornament):
"and they wrapped themselves." The meaning of wrapping is like "He shall wrap Himself in a garment" (Psalms 109:19):
“Like a robe (me’il).” The name of a garment:
Jealousy. The matter is one of vengeance, as it is written: “When he zealously avenged My jealousy” (Numbers 25:11).
Malbim
“And He will clothe Himself with righteousness as a breastplate”: The righteousness spoken of in relation to God in the Holy Writs refers to the exalted deeds that God will perform out of kindness, not out of merit. Just as judgment and righteousness, when spoken of in relation to human beings, are distinguished in that judgment refers to deeds performed because he is a human being—namely, the deeds between man and his fellow—and righteousness refers to deeds performed because he is a son of God—namely, the deeds between man and the Divine—so too, the judgment spoken of in relation to God indicates what He will do to man on account of man, on account of his merits and deeds, on account of recompense; whereas righteousness indicates the deeds He will perform on account of His being God, on account of His great kindness, not on account of recompense. And the salvation mentioned adjacent to righteousness indicates the general salvation preserved by God from of old, to be brought forth in the future, through which He will repair the entire world.
Now, the prophets always depict the actions of the Lord in terms of garments, just as a nobleman is not seen naked but only in his garments; so too, God is not seen except through His actions, and the quality of the garments always depicts the quality of the actions. The judgment that God will execute against the nations is depicted as war, as it is stated, “The Lord will go forth and fight against those nations” (Zechariah 14:3), for He will wage war with His strength. Based on this, the depiction of this war, in which God desires to fight against His enemies, is portrayed as if He were donning the garments that a warrior dons when going forth to meet weapons. For then He would don armor and a helmet of scales, which would protect Him so that the sword and arrow would not prevail against Him. And in His hand He would hold a sword and a spear, with which He would fight against the enemy. The armor and the helmet protect Him so that He will not be defeated, and the sword and the spear He holds in His hand so that He may achieve victory.
The text now depicts that the armor and the helmet which He dons to protect Himself from being defeated are righteousness and salvation. For since Israel has no merit and their sins are many, the Accuser would easily defeat them; why would He stand on their right side while they are sinners? Only righteousness and salvation will protect Him at that time, as it is stated, “His seed will be saved by Him, and His righteousness will support Him” (Isaiah 59:16). And likening God’s righteousness to the armor, which protects the body, and salvation to the helmet, which protects the head, intends to convey that these deeds and actions will be performed through the upper righteousness and His great kindness, until righteousness will serve as armor to protect the acting body, for the body signifies the instrument of action and deed, for through righteousness He will act. However, the initial exalted thought to perform this righteousness will be the general salvation that arose in His hidden thought from the beginning of antiquity, through which the thought of salvation will arouse righteousness, until salvation will be the helmet upon His head, protecting the faculty of thought.
After depicting the garments that this exalted warrior will don to protect Himself from being defeated (meaning, the matters for the sake of which He will save His people and deliver them from distress), He begins to depict the two garments He will don in order to achieve victory (meaning, the matters for the sake of which, besides saving His people, He will execute judgment against the nations). For He will don garments of vengeance, and wrap Himself as with a mantle of zeal. These garments will be a sign that He did not come only to save, on which the armor and the helmet indicated, but that He also came to take vengeance, for it is the way of warriors to place a sign on their garments, whether they came only to rescue, or also to take vengeance, as it is stated below (Isaiah 63:1), “Who is this coming from Edom, with dyed garments?” And there is a difference between a garment and a mantle, for the mantle is wrapped over all the garments from above. And there is a difference between vengeance and zeal: vengeance is taken by the avenger because they did evil to him in the past, whereas the zealous one is zealous because of the humiliation of his honor and the profanation of his glory, which still persists in the present. The avenger is satisfied if he repays evil for evil, even if the vengeance is done in secret; but the one zealous for his honor will do it publicly before all, for his primary purpose is that his profaned honor be revealed. Therefore, it states that God will don garments of vengeance to avenge what His enemies did evil to Him. And it says that He will don these garments as a “garment” (toldeshet), meaning that He will not don them temporarily, but as a fixed garment. And He will also wrap Himself in zeal as a mantle, just as the mantle is wrapped over all the garments, on which account the language of “wrapping” (atah) is used regarding it; so too, He will perform zeal publicly before many nations, against His humiliated honor and His profaned Holy Name. And these will be the garments with which He will defeat the enemy.
According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies; To the islands He will repay recompense.
verse value 2176
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 46 letters. The shortest word is "according·to" (כְּעַ֤ל, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·his·enemies" (לְאֹיְבָ֑יו, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 380: shall·pay, shall·pay. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "deeds" (גְּמֻלוֹת֙), "his·foes" (לְצָרָ֔יו). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "according·to" (root על, 200x in Isaiah); "to·the·isles" (root אי, 30x in Isaiah); "his·foes" (root צר, 21x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·his·enemies', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 3 words. Full calculation: כְּעַ֤ל [according·to] (120) + גְּמֻלוֹת֙ [deeds] (479) + כְּעַ֣ל [according·to] (120) + יְשַׁלֵּ֔ם [shall·pay] (380) + חֵמָ֣ה [wrath] (53) + לְצָרָ֔יו [his·foes] (336) + גְּמ֖וּל [dealing] (79) + לְאֹיְבָ֑יו [to·his·enemies] (59) + לָאִיִּ֖ים [to·the·isles] (91) + גְּמ֥וּל [dealing] (79) + יְשַׁלֵּֽם [shall·pay] (380) = 2176.
Rashi
Like “for recompenses.” As it is the law to repay the enemies’ recompenses:
As for “he shall pay,” as the law is to repay them, he shall pay.
Ibn Ezra
As it is written, etc. “As a jealous man regarding His recompense,” and the meaning is that He will repay fury to His enemies:
[To the islands]. To all the islands He will render their due. And behold, His enemies and adversaries are on the mainland; yet He also mentions the islands of the sea:
Radak
“Like upon recompenses.” Just as He was filled with zeal regarding the recompenses that He bestowed upon Pharaoh, Sennacherib, and the rest of Israel’s enemies, so too will He be filled with zeal when He brings them out from their exile. The matter is repeated to strengthen it further, and it says “like upon He will repay,” meaning just as He repaid those recompenses to His enemies, so too will He repay. And what is this repayment? “Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies.”
"Reward." The evil that they did to Israel, He will repay them, and He added and said, "He will repay the isles their reward," meaning the isles of the nations. And He mentioned "isles" because Israel is scattered in exile among all the isles, and they all did evil to Israel, and to all of them will the Almighty repay their reward.
Metzudat David
“Like upon recompenses.” He means to say: Just as He was zealous regarding the payment of recompenses to the enemies of Israel, so too from then until now He will be zealous that He will pay out His wrath to His enemies.
Reward to His enemies. The matter is doubled in what is stated:
"To the islands." Even those dwelling on the islands of the sea shall receive recompense from afar for the evil they did to Israel.
Metzudat Zion
Like "recompenses" (gemulot), like "He will repay" (yashalem). Two instances of the letter kaf came to form a complete analogy; so too, "like my people" (ke-ami), "like your people" (ke-amcha) (I Kings 22).
Rewards. The matter of the payment of the reward for the deed:
Malbim
Like "recompense," the statements are restrictive. And "He will don garments of vengeance; He will clothe Himself" is like "He will repay wrath to His adversaries," and "He will wrap Himself as with a cloak of zeal" is like "He will render recompense to His enemies." For there is a distinction between *gemul* (recompense) and *tashlumim* (payment/repayment). *Tashlumim* are according to the deed, and they indicate only the payment of the action: as he did, so shall he be paid. It does not indicate any emotional arousal—love or hatred, desire or anger—between the one who pays and the one who receives the payment. But *gemul* indicates emotional arousal; the one who recompenses is emotionally moved by that action due to the deed of the one being recompensed, whether in love or hatred, in desire or anger. According to this emotional arousal, he measures into his lap good or evil. And there is a distinction between an *tzar* (adversary/oppressor) and an *oyev* (enemy). The *tzar* is one who oppresses in actuality, while the *oyev* seeks evil and harbors enmity in his heart. There is a *tzar* who is not an *oyev*, if he oppresses his friend not out of enmity but for his own pleasure. And there is an *oyev* who is not a *tzar*, if he did not oppress him in actuality but only harbored his enmity in his heart.
Regarding the Lord the sinners against Him who commit great transgressions for their own pleasure are His *tzorrim* (adversaries) and those who afflict Him. And the deniers of Him, who deny His divinity and degrade the honor of His Name, are His enemies, even though they did not sin in actuality. Based on this, I say that "The Lord will don garments of vengeance; He will clothe Himself" is like "He will repay wrath to His adversaries." For His adversaries, who sinned against Him in actuality, not in order to anger Him but for their own pleasure, zeal does not apply, since they did not despise His great Name and did not deny Him. And likewise, *gemul* does not apply, which is from the side of love or hatred, for they were not His enemies in heart. But rather, vengeance is justified against them for having done evil to Him in actuality, and this vengeance will be through *tashlumim* according to the deed and the action: as they did, so shall He pay them. And on this it says that He will don garments of vengeance for the evils they did to Him, and that the vengeance will be like "He will repay" according to the value of the deed. And this will be "wrath to His adversaries" who did evil to Him in actuality.
But "He will wrap Himself as with a cloak of zeal" is like "He will recompense recompense to His enemies." For His enemies, who did not sin against Him in actuality but only denied His divinity, vengeance does not apply, since they did not do evil to Him. And likewise, *tashlumim* according to the deed does not apply, since they did not do evil in deed. But rather, zeal applies regarding the honor of His Name which they profaned and despised. And *gemul* is justified against them from the side of hatred and anger that He has toward them against their enmity, even though they did not act in actuality. And on this it says "He will wrap Himself as with a cloak of zeal" for His Name which they profaned and denied Him, and that the zeal will be like "recompenses" according to the recompense of the emotional arousal of enmity and hatred with which they hated Him. And this recompense will be to His enemies who denied His divinity. And not only to the near ones, who were mostly His adversaries, for they destroyed His city and His Holy Temple, but also to the distant islands who did not oppress Him in actuality, and He cannot pay them *tashlumim* (payment according to deed). Nevertheless, to them He will pay *gemul* (recompense), for the enmity and for their denial of Him.
So shall they fear the name of Hashem from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; For distress will come in like a flood, Which the breath of Hashem drives.
verse value 3759
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 59 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "flint" (צָ֔ר, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·from·rising·of·sun" (וּמִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ, 9 letters). Words sharing gematria 26: Hashem, Hashem. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "from·west" (מִֽמַּעֲרָב֙), "and·from·rising·of·sun" (וּמִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ), "his·glory" (אֶת־כְּבוֹד֑וֹ). The root יהוה appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "for·will·come" (root בוא, 120x in Isaiah); "breath·of" (root רוח, 44x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·glory', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְיִֽרְא֤וּ [and·they·shall·fear] (223) + מִֽמַּעֲרָב֙ [from·west] (352) + אֶת־שֵׁ֣ם [the·name] (741) + יְהֹוָ֔ה [Hashem] (26) + וּמִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁ֖מֶשׁ [and·from·rising·of·sun] (941) + אֶת־כְּבוֹד֑וֹ [his·glory] (439) + כִּֽי־יָב֤וֹא [for·will·come] (49) + כַנָּהָר֙ [as·the·river] (275) + צָ֔ר [flint] (290) + ר֥וּחַ [breath·of] (214) + יְהֹוָ֖ה [Hashem] (26) + נֹ֥סְסָה [drives] (175) + בֽוֹ [in·it] (8) = 3759.
Rashi
"As it shall come like a river." A distress upon His enemies.
"Nosseh bah." The word "nosseh" is in the language of "nes" (miracle). Another interpretation: "Nosseh bah" means "consumes it," like a worm in a tree, as it is stated above (10:18), "And it shall be as nosseh, nosseh."
Ibn Ezra
And they saw. Some say that it is from the root of "fear" and it is spelled defectively [lacking the yod], and some say that it is according to its plain meaning.
And the meaning of "the Name of the Lord" is: His deeds and the witness to His glory.
"When he shall come like a narrow river" – like "straitness and distress have found me" (Psalms 119:143). And behold, it [tzar] is a noun; "the Spirit of the Lord shall raise a banner against him" — from the root of "nes" (banner). This interpretation is close to the words of Daniel: "And there shall be a time of distress for all the world, such as has not been like it" (Daniel 12:1), and Israel alone shall be saved. Therefore, after this, "the Redeemer shall come to Zion" (Isaiah 59:20).
Radak
"And they shall fear." And after the reward is completed, all the world will fear Him, from the west and from the east, meaning throughout the entire world.
"When the enemy comes in like a flood." My master and father, of blessed memory, explained that "comes" denotes setting, as in "and the sun shall come in and he shall be clean." He said: Let the enemy sink and no longer be seen, like a river that enters the sea and is no longer seen. And the explanation of "swept away" is related to the root meaning "to sweep away." He said: The Spirit of the Lord will sweep away the enemy so that he will no longer be seen.
“And it shall be stirred up.” It is from the quadriliteral construction, and its root is nun-vav-samekh. Thus, “And the Redeemer shall come to Zion.” And in the words of our Sages of blessed memory: “If you see a generation upon whom many troubles are visited, wait for it, for it is said, ‘For behold, He will come like a torrent of water,’ and it is written immediately after, ‘And the Redeemer shall come to Zion.’” And there is an interpretation that “For behold, He will come like a torrent of water” is the reason for what was said, “And they shall be afraid from the west,” etc. He gives the reason why they shall fear: “The Lord, for behold, He will come like a torrent of water,” meaning that Gog and Magog, who are the distress, will come to the Land of Israel like a river rushing forth. Then the Spirit of the Lord shall be stirred up in them, and He shall destroy them from the world, as is stated in the prophecy of Ezekiel and in the prophecy of Zechariah. And then, “And the Redeemer shall come to Zion.” For even though the Israelites will be in Jerusalem before Gog and Magog come, since Gog will come, they will say that no Redeemer has come for them, because the gentiles are coming and fighting against them. But when God will judge him there with word, blood, overflowing rain, and hailstones, then they will say that the Redeemer has truly come to Zion, and “for the return of the transgression of Jacob.” For then all Israel will return in complete repentance. And “stirred up” is from the matter of a flag, like “as a flag is stirred up,” for the custom of the world is that the flag-bearer strikes first at the opposing army, and the Spirit of the Lord will be stirred up in them and strike the army of Gog and Magog. And in this manner did Jonathan translate: “And they shall be like the flood of the river Euphrates, overwhelming, and by the utterance of the Lord they shall be destroyed.”
Metzudat David
From the west. All the world shall fear the Lord, from the west and from the east:
"When he comes like a river that cannot be held back." This means: For this reason they will fear the Lord, because they will see that Gog and Magog, who are the adversary, will come into the Land of Israel, and he will come swiftly like a river. Then the Spirit of the Lord will be aroused against him, and He will destroy them from the world; therefore, they will fear the Lord.
Metzudat Zion
"And they saw." From the root of "fear" (yir'ah), and it is spelled defectively, lacking the yod.
"Nosseh bo." It consumes it like a worm in a tree, as it is written: "And it shall be like a gnawing, a gnawing" (above, 10).
Malbim
“And they shall see from the west the Name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun His glory.” “The Name of the Lord” refers to the Name that is heard from afar, whereas “the glory of the Lord” refers to that which is seen from near. This indicates that in the east, where the Ten Tribes were exiled, as it is stated above (Isaiah 43:5–6), “From the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you,” there the miracles and wonders will first be revealed, for the Redeemer will be revealed in the east, as it is stated, “Who has raised up one from the east, whom He calls to His foot” (Isaiah 41:2). Until such time as in the east they will see the glory of the Lord and His wonders. And in the west, where the children of the exile are scattered—namely Judah and Benjamin—there they will only hear of the miracles from afar and will see the Name of the Lord coming from a distance, for He will come at the time when the enemy comes like a rushing river, which is the camp of Gog and Magog, and the Spirit of the Lord will stir up and rise up in this river to raise the clamor of its waves, as it is stated, “And I will turn you back and let you loose from the far north” (Ezekiel 39:2). At that time
And a redeemer will come to Zion, And to them that turn from transgression in Jacob, Says Hashem.
verse value 1334
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 32 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָֽה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·he·shall·come" (וּבָ֤א, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·Zion" (לְצִיּוֹן֙, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "redeeming" (גּוֹאֵ֔ל), "and·returning" (וּלְשָׁבֵ֥י). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "and·he·shall·come" (root בוא, 120x in Isaiah); "and·returning" (root שוב, 51x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·Jacob', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 2 words. Full calculation: וּבָ֤א [and·he·shall·come] (9) + לְצִיּוֹן֙ [to·Zion] (186) + גּוֹאֵ֔ל [redeeming] (40) + וּלְשָׁבֵ֥י [and·returning] (348) + פֶ֖שַׁע [transgression] (450) + בְּיַֽעֲקֹ֑ב [in·Jacob] (184) + נְאֻ֖ם [utterance] (91) + יְהֹוָֽה [Hashem] (26) = 1334.
Rashi
“And the Redeemer shall come to Zion” (Isaiah 59:20). As long as Zion lies in ruins, the Redeemer has not yet come. Another interpretation:
Ibn Ezra
“And a Redeemer shall come to Zion” (Isaiah 59:20). This refers to the Messiah.
And the meaning of “for those who repent from transgression” is like all that is found written in the Book (Daniel 12:1):
Radak
"And a Redeemer shall come to Zion" – it is explicitly stated:
And to those who repent. Accented on the final syllable:
Metzudat David
And the Redeemer shall come to Zion. Then the Redeemer will come to Zion, and He is the King Messiah.
"And to the transgressors of Jacob": This means that even those among the children of Jacob who have departed from the norm, if they return from their transgression, the Messiah will come for them as well and redeem them.
Metzudat Zion
A discourse. The matter of speaking:
Malbim
“And a Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who return from transgression in Jacob” — The Redeemer will come to Zion to restore the crown of Zion, the Temple, and the Sanhedrin; and He will also come to those who return from the transgression of Jacob, namely the children of the exile, who will then return in repentance through the distress that presses upon them. You might ask: How will the people endure until that time, since “the vision is yet for the appointed time”? He answers.
And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, says Hashem; My spirit that is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, nor out of the mouth of your seed, nor out of the mouth of your seed’s seed, says Hashem, from henceforth and for ever.
verse value 6945
Insights
Verse structure: 23 words, 98 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֔ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "this" (זֹ֣את, 3 letters) and the longest is "which·I·put" (אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֣מְתִּֽי, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 297: your·seed, your·seed. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Isaiah. Unique to this verse in Isaiah (hapax): "my·covenant" (בְּרִיתִ֤י), "and·my·words" (וּדְבָרַ֖י), "which·I·put" (אֲשֶׁר־שַׂ֣מְתִּֽי). The root פה appears 4 times in this verse. 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 449x in Isaiah); "said" (root אמר, 244x in Isaiah); "upon·you" (root על, 200x in Isaiah). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'in·your·mouth', dividing the verse into phrases of 12 and 11 words.
Rashi
"This is My covenant with them." In this matter I made My covenant with them, and I will uphold it, for even in their exile My Torah will not be forgotten by them.
Ibn Ezra
"And this is My covenant with them" – behold, I will make a covenant with them, and what is it? "My Spirit that is upon you," and the letter kaf indicates that He is speaking to Israel, and the meaning of "My Spirit" is My prophecy, as it is written, "And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit" (Joel 3:1).
"And the words that I have put in your mouth." The meaning is twofold: for they prophesied, and their prophecy did not cease from their descendants forever.
Radak
"And I will establish My covenant with them." The scholar Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained: "This is the covenant that I will make with them, namely, the spirit of prophecy that they will have." This is what is stated, "My Spirit that is upon you."
"And the words that I have put in your mouth." The doubling of the expression is like what is written, "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh," etc., and the prophecy shall not cease from them forever. This is what it says, "They shall not depart from your mouth," etc. He said this concerning Israel. And my master and father, of blessed memory, explained that "My covenant" is the Torah, which was given in a covenant, and He assured them that it would not depart from their mouths forever, and it would be a covenant of a matter that is enduring, for every covenant is the establishment of a matter. And according to my understanding, this is indeed the explanation of the verse: He said, "And I," meaning, "And I assure them of this," because He said, "And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," that they will be without sin, cleansed from all transgression. He said that this shall be My covenant with them, as Jeremiah said, "And I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah," etc., and He said, "And I will put My Torah in their heart," etc., and I say that all of them shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. And this is what it says, "My spirit that is upon you," this is the spirit of purity that I will place within them, so that they will no longer sin. And this is what Ezekiel said, "And I will put My spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes," etc. And this is what Isaiah said, "My spirit that is upon you," for this spirit was in the prophet, and He said to him that this same spirit would be for Israel. Then, "And the words," just as they are arranged in your mouth, He said concerning Israel, "They shall not depart from your mouth." After I place them in their mouths, they shall not depart anymore, forever, neither from your mouth nor from the mouth of your seed, forever.
Metzudat David
“And this is My covenant with them” — this means: “Behold, upon this I will make a covenant with them,” says the Lord, and He specifies what the covenant entails. He says: “The spirit of prophecy that rests upon you, O Israel, and the words of the Torah that I have placed in your mouth to teach them — behold, these two shall not depart from your mouth,” etc. Thus says the Lord: they shall not be removed from now and forever, until the end of all generations.
Metzudat Zion
My spirit. So too is the term "spirit" used for prophecy, as it is written: "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My spirit" (Joel 3:1).
"ימושו" – the meaning is "to be removed," as in "the pillar of cloud did not depart" (Exodus 13:22).
Malbim
“And this is My covenant with them,” says the Lord: “They have, from Me, the covenant of the cutting of the covenant, because My Spirit that is upon you—that is, the words of the Prophets—and the words that I have placed in your mouth—that is, the words of the Torah which Moses placed before the Children of Israel—shall not depart from your mouth. For initially, they utilized prophecy until Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. And when the time came that vision was sealed, Malachi then reminded them, in the conclusion of his prophecy—which is also the conclusion of prophecy in general—saying, ‘Remember the Torah of My servant Moses.’ Thus, first prophecy, and after it, the Torah and its Oral Tradition, as it is stated, ‘the words that I have placed in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth,’ etc. Says the Lord: From now and forevermore, and by this you shall be sustained. And this is your covenant of salt, that your seed and your name shall not be lost.”
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Radak
Metzudat David
Malbim