At the beginning of the chapter, we saw the prophetic command to Yechezkel: to take a sharp sword, a barber's razor, and shave his head and beard, and then divide the hair with balances into three thirds - one third to burn in fire inside the city, one third to strike with the sword all around it, and one third to scatter to the wind, with a sword drawn after them. Now, Scripture comes to explain the prophecy: what these three thirds signify, and what role each third plays in the decree of judgment. The entire chapter teaches a dreadful principle: because Israel did what no other nation had done, their punishment would likewise be what had never occurred to any other nation.
לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה הִנְנִי עָלַיִךְ גַּם־אָנִי וְעָשִׂיתִי בְתוֹכֵךְ מִשְׁפָּטִים לְעֵינֵי הַגּוֹיִם׃ - Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments in your midst before the eyes of the nations.
"Even I" ("Gam Ani") - what does this addition come to include? You betrayed Me, and therefore I too am against you. Radak explains: Just as you did what no other nation had done, so too will I execute judgments upon you that I have not executed upon any other nation. And why "before the eyes of the nations"? Because when someone else witnesses it, the disgrace is far greater. The punishment will be public, so that all the nations will see the judgments carried out against you. The Malbim thus notes two specific points in the verse: first, that the punishment will come through orderly judgment; and second, that it will be entirely in the open.
וְעָשִׂיתִי בָךְ אֵת אֲשֶׁר לֹא־עָשִׂיתִי וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר־לֹא־אֶעֱשֶׂה כָמֹהוּ עוֹד יַעַן כׇּל־תּוֹעֲבֹתָיִךְ׃ - And I will do in you that which I have not done, and the like of which I will never do again, because of all your abominations.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will do to you something that I have never done, nor will ever do again, to any other nation. These are terrifying words. The reality of the Jewish people would become a reality of judgments unmatched among any gentile nation. Where else have we seen a nation that endured a Holocaust? Where else have we seen a people of whom the things endured by Israel in its exiles and destructions were spoken? And we will immediately see an example that was never witnessed among the nations, but occurred only among Israel, Heaven spare us.
And corresponding to this - "because of all your abominations": you too committed acts that were unprecedented. For as we explained, even though the gentiles acted wickedly, they did not have the Torah, whereas you, the masters of the Torah, went and did the opposite; and even though the gentiles sinned, they did not do so with an intentional defiance of the truth, whereas you knew what the Torah commands and intentionally acted to the contrary. Therefore, "because of all your abominations," punishment will strike you in three distinct ways.
In Sefer Yosippon, there is a description of what took place at the time of the Churban (the destruction). There, he recounts an incident preceded by a preface stating that he was deeply hesitant to record it, fearing future generations would read it and doubt its veracity. He writes that anyone hearing it would say that had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have written it down. He then gives a full account of a woman who, Heaven spare us, consumed her own child, to the point that hardened gentile soldiers who witnessed it melted in horror. Regarding this, Hashem says: this is something that I have never done and will never do again. Such a horror - that mothers should eat the fruit of their womb, that they should consume the flesh of their children - was never spoken of regarding any other nation on earth. And this is what Radak explains: this is an immense punishment without equal or precedent.
לָכֵן אָבוֹת יֹאכְלוּ בָנִים בְּתוֹכֵךְ וּבָנִים יֹאכְלוּ אֲבוֹתָם וְעָשִׂיתִי בָךְ שְׁפָטִים וְזֵרִיתִי אֶת־כׇּל־שְׁאֵרִיתֵךְ לְכׇל־רוּחַ׃ - Therefore fathers shall eat their children in your midst, and children shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments upon you, and scatter your entire remnant to every wind.
"And children shall eat their fathers" - this is an addition, for we did not find this written in the Torah, and yet Hashem says that even this will happen. "And I will scatter your entire remnant to every wind" - some went to Egypt, some to Babylon, and some to Moab, Ammon, and Edom, as we find with Gedaliah ben Achikam; they were scattered to every wind.
The Malbim explains that here Scripture clarifies the prophecy given at the beginning of the chapter concerning the three thirds. "Fathers shall eat sons in your midst" - this is the meaning of "a third you shall burn in fire in the midst of the city": what kind of burning fire will be inside the city? That children will eat their parents, and parents their children. "And I will execute judgments upon you" - this refers to Nebuchadnezzar judging Zedekiah and those who fled with him, putting them to death, as it is written, "and he spoke judgments with him" (va-yedabber oto mishpatim). This corresponds to "and you shall take the third, striking with the sword all around it," for he captured him in the surroundings of Jerusalem. "And I will scatter your entire remnant to every wind" - this corresponds to the third he was commanded to scatter to the wind, meaning all who remain will be dispersed. The Malbim notes precisely: it does not say "va'asiti vach mishpatim" (judgments) but "shefatim" (acts of retribution), and "shefatim" is far harsher and worse than "mishpatim," conveying severe punishments.
לָכֵן חַי־אָנִי נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה אִם־לֹא יַעַן אֶת־מִקְדָּשִׁי טִמֵּאת בְּכׇל־שִׁקּוּצַיִךְ וּבְכׇל־תּוֹעֲבֹתָיִךְ וְגַם־אֲנִי אֶגְרַע וְלֹא־תָחוֹס עֵינִי וְגַם־אֲנִי לֹא אֶחְמוֹל׃ - Therefore, as I live, says the Lord God, surely because you have defiled My Sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, I also will diminish you, My eye will not spare, and I also will have no pity.
"Therefore, as I live" - this is an oath. "Because you have defiled My Sanctuary" - Radak explains that Menasheh placed the idol of the Asherah inside the Beis HaMikdash. This is part of what we saw earlier: they deliberately went to the absolute extreme. Had someone simply worshiped idols elsewhere, that would be bad enough - believing in Hashem while also worshiping idols. But to enter Hashem's House and place the idol and the abominable desolation right there - that is deliberately acting to provoke Him, as it were. When a non-Jew sins, he has no intent to provoke the Master of the World; he is mistaken, he believed in his idol and went to worship it. But you took idolatry and placed it inside the Beis HaMikdash, in the place where Hashem declared He would establish His Name. Later in Yechezkel, we will see the Holy One, blessed be He, taking him on a tour of the Beis HaMikdash, as it were, showing him all the abominations being committed inside it, Heaven spare us.
"I also will diminish you" - just as you diminished My honor by placing abominations there, so will I diminish your honor, so that you become degraded in the eyes of foreigners and they execute harsh judgments upon you. "And I also will have no pity" - just as you showed no pity for My honor, profaning it, so I will have no pity for your honor. The Malbim explains that a further severity is added here beyond the three previous matters: first, Hashem issues the decree with an oath, and it is known that a decree sealed with an oath cannot be revoked. Why? Because they defiled the Temple - "because you have defiled My Sanctuary," placing idols in the Heichal, "and with all your abominations" - referring to the abominations we will see later in chapter 8. And what is the meaning of "I also will diminish you"? The word "also" (gam) indicates an addition: beyond the reduction and devastation inflicted upon you by famine, the enemy, and all the tribulations, there will be an additional diminution that I Myself will add.
Let us examine the precise phrasing: "your detestable things" (shikkutzech) and "your abominations" (to'avotayich). The Malbim notes that whenever they appear together as parallels, "shikkutz" refers to idolatry, while "to'evah" refers to other abominations, such as male homosexuality, bestiality, and the prohibited sexual relations (arayot), regarding which the Torah uses the term "to'evah." By contrast, regarding degraded and loathsome things, such as idols and forbidden foods, Scripture uses the root "sheketz": "you shall utterly detest it" (shaketz teshakketzenu), "do not make your souls detestable" (al teshaktzu et nafshoteichem). Thus, the "shikkutz" relates to idolatry and vile foods, while "to'evah" refers to abominable deeds such as forbidden relations and the like.
שְׁלִשִׁתֵיךְ בַּדֶּבֶר יָמוּתוּ וּבָרָעָב יִכְלוּ בְתוֹכֵךְ וְהַשְּׁלִשִׁית בַּחֶרֶב יִפְּלוּ סְבִיבוֹתָיִךְ וְהַשְּׁלִישִׁית לְכׇל־רוּחַ אֱזָרֶה וְחֶרֶב אָרִיק אַחֲרֵיהֶם׃ - A third of you shall die of the pestilence and be consumed by famine in your midst, and a third shall fall by the sword around you, and a third I will scatter to every wind, and I will draw out a sword after them.
Seemingly, we have already seen these punishments above, so why repeat them? The Malbim explains: just as we explained that "and I also will have no pity" indicates that beyond what was decreed there will be more - since "also" (gam) signifies addition - so too with each of the thirds there will be an addition. The first third, about which it was said, "you shall burn in fire in the midst of the city," which we explained as the famine in which fathers eat sons and sons their fathers - regarding this, it is said here, "a third of you shall die of pestilence." There is an addition: in addition to the famine, there will also be plague, and this will be inside the city.
Regarding the second third, about which it was said, "and you shall take the third, striking with the sword all around it" - here it is written, "and a third shall fall by the sword around you," meaning the Chaldeans will slay them around the city, which corresponds to "and I will execute judgments upon you." In truth, regarding this third it is not quite as clear where the addition lies, since "shall fall by the sword around you" is essentially identical to "striking with the sword" stated earlier, with no obvious novelty; perhaps the addition is the "shefatim" (severe judgments), though those were mentioned in the previous verse rather than here. As for the final third, however, about which it was said, "and I will scatter your entire remnant to every wind," the addition is evident: "and I will draw out a sword after them" - it is not enough that they will be scattered to every wind, but a sword will pursue them even after they are dispersed. Thus, here too, there is an addition.
וְכָלָה אַפִּי וַהֲנִחוֹתִי חֲמָתִי בָּם וְהִנֶּחָמְתִּי וְיָדְעוּ כִּי־אֲנִי יְהוָה דִּבַּרְתִּי בְּקִנְאָתִי בְּכַלּוֹתִי חֲמָתִי בָּם׃ - "Thus shall My anger be spent, and I will cause My fury to rest upon them, and I will be appeased; and they shall know that I, Hashem, have spoken in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them."
Radak explains "Thus shall My anger be spent" along the lines of the verse, "I will spend My arrows upon them" - My arrows are exhausted, but they are not exhausted. This means that in the end there will be consolation; Hashem will relent from His retribution before Israel is wiped out. For if arrows remained in the arsenal, it would be a sign that they had not yet been spent against them; but here you see that the arrows have run out and the Jewish people still endure. "Thus shall My anger be spent" - the anger will come to an end; "and I will cause My fury to rest upon them, and I will be appeased" - and I will be consoled through the fury I unleash against them. Rashi explains: "and I will be appeased" - I will be consoled for the grief you caused Me; when I take vengeance upon them and exact their debt, through this My spirit will be set at ease, and I will find consolation in it.
Here one must take care not to think in our own crude terms. People often misunderstand the expression "He spent His wrath on wood and stones" as referring to someone who loses his temper, needs an outlet to vent his frustrations, and therefore smashes something. That is certainly not the meaning. With the Holy One, blessed be He, punishments are never an emotional venting of anger. Rather, retribution follows the prosecution of the Attribute of Justice (Middat HaDin), and the punishment serves as a purification. There is no concept with Hashem of punishment merely for punishment's sake; it is always intended to bring about purification, whereby harsh judgment softens and ceases to prosecute. Punishment is never a matter of "you did this, now I'll show you," or settling a personal score, but rather a cleansing and purging of the negative deeds that were committed.
The Malbim divides the phrases corresponding to the three groups of thirds: through the first third who die within the city - "thus shall My anger (*af*) be spent"; through the second third who fall around the city - "and I will cause My fury (*chemah*) to rest." What is the difference between *af* (anger) and *chemah* (fury)? This is a fundamental principle that the Malbim explains in many places: *chemah* is internal wrath, whereas *af* is external anger. Thus we find, "For a fire is kindled in My nostril (*b'api*)" - *af* is outward; when a person is enraged, his face turns red and flushed, "coals blazed from it." By contrast, "and his fury burned within him" (*v'chamato ba'arah vo*) - *chemah* is always internal. So too in the progression of anger: first the outward anger subsides, and only afterward the internal wrath. A person can appear calm on the outside, neither speaking nor lashing out, yet inside he is still seething. Therefore, the first stage is "thus shall My anger (*api*) be spent," and the second stage is "and I will cause My fury (*chamati*)," the inner wrath, "to rest." And through the third group, scattered to every wind - "and I will be appeased," as if through this, everything completely dissipates.
All this happens so that "they shall know that I, Hashem, have spoken" - so that the nations will recognize that this retribution is orchestrated by Divine Providence (*hashgachah*) from Hashem, "in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them." How will they know? It is the way of Hashem's mercy that He does not stir up all His wrath, for had He stirred up all His fury, the world could not endure for even a moment. Yet here He says: "when I have spent My fury upon them" - see that My fury has been spent, as if He stirred up all His wrath, which runs contrary to Hashem's standard conduct and the normal order. Anything that occurs outside the natural course demonstrates Divine Providence. When something happens naturally, a person says, "Well, that is just nature." But when something occurs contrary to nature, it proves that Someone orchestrated it and brought it about deliberately. From this one understands that there is immense zeal here, for Hashem is zealous for the honor of His Sanctuary - "because you have defiled My Sanctuary" - and therefore there is great fury here, far beyond nature and beyond the customary conduct of the Holy One, blessed be He.
וְאֶתְּנֵךְ לְחׇרְבָּה וּלְחֶרְפָּה בַּגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבוֹתָיִךְ לְעֵינֵי כׇּל־עוֹבֵר׃ - "Moreover, I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations that are around you, in the sight of all who pass by."
Radak explains "Moreover, I will make you a desolation" - that your land will lie desolate; and not only that, but you will also become a reproach among the surrounding nations. The very ruin will be a disgrace to you, because the lands of the nations around you remain built up, as expressed in the liturgical lament: "When I see every city built upon its mound, while the city of God is degraded to the depths of Sheol." The humiliation is magnified precisely because our land lies in ruins while the lands of the nations flourish upon their foundations.
On this topic, a story is told: A man once came to the Brisker Rav and asked whether the line "every city built upon its mound, while the city of God is degraded to the depths of Sheol" could be interpreted as referring to awakening (*hitorerut*) - that every worldly awakening (*ir*) is well-established and thrives, and only "the city of God is degraded," meaning spiritual awakening is cast down, as there is no fervor for the service of Hashem. It was the Brisker Rav's custom not to react immediately; he paused for a few seconds and then asked: "Have you ever been to Paris?" The man replied: "Yes, I have walked the streets of Paris." The Rav asked him: "Tell me, is it built up?" The man said: "And how!" "And America?" "Yes, that too." "And London?" "Without a doubt." "And Russia?" "Certainly." The Brisker Rav said to him: "If so, why can't we simply explain the words according to their plain meaning?" In other words, he was displeased with taking a text and allegorizing it away when it possesses a direct, literal meaning: open your eyes and see that the simple meaning is entirely self-evident.
"In the sight of all who pass by" - just as it is written, "he shall be appalled and whistle at it": anyone passing by will ask, "Why has Hashem done this to this land? What means the heat of this great anger?" and will stand in astonishment at how such a fate befell them.
The Malbim explains that here the text begins to elaborate on what was mentioned above in verse 4, where the prophet was commanded to cast a portion of the hair into the fire, and from there "a fire shall go out into all the house of Israel." Notice carefully: the Malbim does not interpret *charbah* as ruin (*churban*), but rather as sword (*cherev*). Those who remained after the assassination of Gedaliah ben Achikam, fled to Egypt, and were scattered to other lands - by being delivered to Nebuchadnezzar's sword there in Egypt, while the survivors became a reproach, the result was that fire spread from here to all places. It did not strike only here in the Land; Nebuchadnezzar also overtook those who fled to Egypt along the way, and the survivors became a disgrace. Thus, fire went out from here and consumed, as it were, the rest of the House of Israel.
וְהָיְתָה חֶרְפָּה וּגְדוּפָה מוּסָר וּמְשַׁמָּה לַגּוֹיִם אֲשֶׁר סְבִיבוֹתָיִךְ בַּעֲשׂוֹתִי בָךְ שְׁפָטִים בְּאַף וּבְחֵמָה וּבְתֹכְחוֹת חֵמָה אֲנִי יְהוָה דִּבַּרְתִּי׃ - And it shall be a reproach and a taunt, a lesson and an astonishment to the nations that are round about you, when I execute judgments upon you in anger and in wrath and in furious rebukes; I, Hashem, have spoken.
Metzudat David explains: Jerusalem will become an object of reproach and disgrace, and the nations will admonish one another through the example of Jerusalem. That is, when a Gentile wishes to reprimand his companion, threaten him, or curse him, he will say: Do not cause trouble, lest what happened to Jerusalem happen to you. Thus, Jerusalem will be a "lesson and an astonishment" to the nations, an emblem of suffering: if you commit evil, your end will be to suffer like Jerusalem. Just as there is the expression, "and you shall be a curse among the nations," meaning that anyone who wishes to curse will invoke your name, so conversely there is "and through you shall all be blessed," where anyone who wishes to bless will say, "by you shall Israel bless," "May God make you like Ephraim and Menasheh." Thus, an entity can serve as a horrific calamity or as a profound blessing, each according to its context, and anyone who wishes to curse or bless will employ that very same model. And "an astonishment" (meshammah) is explained by Metzudat David as an expression of sheer bewilderment, for all will be astonished by the magnitude of the destruction. "When I execute judgments upon you" - when I carry out a judgment of retribution against you, you will become a reproach and a taunt: cherpah (reproach) denotes scorning, while gedufah (taunt) denotes blasphemy and cursing, meaning utterly accursed. "I, Hashem, have spoken" - and it is within My power to fulfill what I have spoken.
The Malbim, by contrast, explains that the reproach and the blasphemies themselves - the very fact that they reproach and blaspheme you - are what will be "a lesson and an astonishment to the nations that are round about you." What textual difficulty compelled this interpretation? If the verse were referring to the Jewish people or Jerusalem, it should have said, "And you [ve-hayit] shall be a reproach and a taunt"; why then does it state in the third person, "And it shall be" (ve-haytah)? Metzudat David resolves this by explaining that it means "and [Jerusalem] shall be," yet up to this point the verse addressed her in the second person - "And I will make you a waste in the sight of every passerby" - so it ought to have continued with "and you shall be." Therefore, the Malbim explains that the grammatical subject is the reproach and the blasphemy itself: the reproach and the blasphemies with which they insult and blaspheme you shall become a lesson and a desolation to the nations surrounding you, for which the nations will be held accountable and punished - for having reproached and blasphemed the sanctity of Israel.
And what is the difference between cherpah (reproach) and gidufah (blasphemy)? The Malbim notes: the expression giduf always applies to a matter involving holiness, as we find regarding the blasphemer (megadef) who cursed the Name of Hashem. Accordingly, the verse is structured in parallel clauses: the reproach shall serve as a lesson (musar), and the blasphemies shall result in desolation and astonishment (meshammah). "The reproach for a lesson" - through their reproaching us for the wickedness of our deeds, it ought to arouse them to take moral instruction: Look at what happened to the people of Israel when they deviated from the path, what befell them when they rebelled against the word of Hashem, and how careful one must be not to stray and reach such a state. And "the blasphemies for an astonishment" - when they witness what happened to us and utter blasphemies, claiming that there is no truth to the Torah of Moshe, and voicing all manner of slurs against the holy Torah, this will bring desolation upon the nations, for they will become desolate and suffer for it. On the one hand, the nations should have drawn moral instruction from what befell us; on the other hand, if instead of learning that lesson they turn to blasphemy, they will be punished for failing to absorb the lesson set before them.
In particular, they ought to have drawn moral instruction from the fact that this occurs "when I execute judgments upon you in anger and in wrath and in furious rebukes." The term "rebukes" (tochechot) shares a root with both dispute (viku'ach) and proof (hochachah): there are numerous clear proofs here of the wrath of Hashem, demonstrating that this is an expression of divine indignation and by no means an incidental famine. They should have reached the realization that this retribution is governed by divine Providence, from Hashem, and as we have noted, the unmistakable proof of this is when the event defies the course of nature.
בְּשַׁלְּחִי אֶת־חִצֵּי הָרָעָב הָרָעִים בָּהֶם אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ לְמַשְׁחִית אֲשֶׁר־אֲשַׁלַּח אוֹתָם לְשַׁחֶתְכֶם וְרָעָב אֹסֵף עֲלֵיכֶם וְשָׁבַרְתִּי לָכֶם מַטֵּה־לָחֶם׃ - When I send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which are for destruction, which I will send to destroy you; and I will increase famine upon you, and break your staff of bread.
What is the proof? If a natural disaster befalls the people of Israel, it ought to affect the surrounding nations as well. It defies reason for a famine to halt precisely at a border: when a famine strikes, it spreads; when locusts arrive, they spread; and when blight and mildew occur, they spread - there is no logical basis for them to afflict only one single nation. Concerning this, the verse says: "When I send upon them the evil arrows of famine" - targeted arrows, dispatched with precise Providence to a designated location, proving conclusively that this is not natural circumstance, but the deliberate hand of Hashem.
The chapter lays before us the interpretation of the prophecy of the hair: one third will perish through famine and pestilence inside the city, one third will fall by the sword around the city, and one third will be scattered to every wind, with a drawn sword pursuing them. The recurring principle is measure for measure: because Israel did what was not done among any other nation - intentionally rebelling while holding the Torah, and bringing abominations into the Beit HaMikdash - an unprecedented punishment was decreed upon them with an oath, openly before the eyes of the nations. Yet even the punishment itself is not a venting of rage, but a process of purification: first the outward anger is spent, then the inner fury abates, and ultimately "and I will be comforted." All of this is so that everyone will recognize that this is not the hand of chance but the hand of Hashem, for the total exhaustion of divine wrath transcends the standard order of governance, just as the arrows of famine are directed exclusively at a single target - all serving as clear evidence of divine Providence. And the nations, who witnessed our reproach and were meant to draw moral instruction, if they instead blasphemed the Torah and the sanctity of Israel - upon them desolation is destined to fall.