Introduction
In this part of the chapter, Yechezkel continues the prophecy of the sword. Thus far we have learned about the sharpened and furbished sword, and now the prophet is commanded to cry out and wail over it - not primarily over the sword of Nevuchadnetzar, but over the internal sword within the Jewish people itself. From there we will proceed to the signs of grief, the two roads at the head of which the king of Babylon stands, the divinations he performed, the falling of the royal crown, and finally the prophecy concerning the Ammonites.
The Sword That Was Against My People
זְעַק וְהֵילֵל בֶּן־אָדָם, כִּי־הִיא הָיְתָה בְעַמִּי, הִיא בְּכׇל־נְשִׂיאֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, מְגוּרֵי אֶל־חֶרֶב הָיוּ אֶת־עַמִּי, לָכֵן סְפֹק אֶל־יָרֵךְ׃ - "Cry and wail, son of man, for it is against My people, it is against all the princes of Israel; cast to the sword were My people, therefore strike your thigh."
The Holy One, blessed be He, commands the prophet to cry out over the sharpened sword that comes to slaughter, and to wail over the furbished sword. As recalled, the smooth, polished side of the sword - the side that ostensibly appeared peaceful and harmless - is actually the hilt, the place where the sword is gripped. And what was that handhold? The internal fighting. "For it is against My people" - the true source of the sword was within My people. Nevuchadnetzar was not the root of the downfall; the sword lay in brother turning against brother, in internal strife, baseless hatred, and each man drawing his sword against his fellow.
"It is against all the princes of Israel" - the sword was also wielded between the king and ministers and the people. "Cast to the sword were My people" - the princes and leaders were the terror and dread of the sword. They struck down so many among the people that fear of the internal sword became even greater than fear of an external enemy. Indeed, it is written of Menashe that he filled Jerusalem with blood from end to end. There was no need for Nevuchadnetzar: there was an internal sword wielded by all the princes of Israel, the kings, ministers, and dignitaries, who ravaged and murdered by the power of the sword.
"Strike Your Thigh" - The Sword Hanging at Your Side
In its plain sense, "strike your thigh" is an expression of mourning: in deep grief, a person slaps his thigh as a sign of sorrow. But the Malbim offers an original interpretation here. A sword is buckled onto the thigh, as Scripture says, "Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one." Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: Do you want to know what caused this? What brought about the downfall? Strike your thigh - slap your own thigh, and there you will find your own sword! It is this sword that brought about the troubles, the war, and Nevuchadnetzar's conquest. It is the sword of Israel itself, hanging at their own thigh, that wreaked destruction among them.
Therefore: "Cry and wail, son of man." Over this sword one must clap hands, wail, and grieve. For a sword drawn between brothers causes far greater pain than the sword of an enemy. From an enemy we expect nothing, and against an enemy we know how to guard ourselves - we know he is a foe. But when a person is harmed and threatened by his own brother, that is the most painful blow of all.
"For It Has Been Tested" - The Test That Reveals the Destroyer
כִּי בֹחַן, וּמָה אִם־גַּם־שֵׁבֶט מֹאֶסֶת לֹא יִהְיֶה, נְאֻם אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה׃ - "For it has been tested, and what if even the despising rod shall be no more? says the Lord God."
Why do I command you to strike your thigh? "For it has been tested" - this will serve as an examination. Try slapping your thigh, and see what you discover there: the destructive sword. You will see that the destroyer rests upon their very own thigh. The calamity did not begin with Nevuchadnetzar's sword; the destructive sword was found right among us.
And not only this: "Even if the rod that scorns should be no more." What would you gain if Nebuchadnezzar's rod were no longer there? As we have seen, his sword "scorns every tree" - it accepts no wooden handle, and the grip on it must come from us. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: How will it help you if Nebuchadnezzar departs? After all, you are caught in a mechanism of self-destruction, killing one another.
So too today, some say there is no need to go out and fight - there is no need to send an army to bomb. Could you yourself have brought about hundreds of thousands of casualties? Leave it to Assad; he will do the work, and if that is not enough, he will organize a coalition. With all those who persecuted the Jewish people throughout history, we slowly see how they get what is coming to them. "Daughter of Babylon destined to be devastated, praiseworthy is he who repays you... praiseworthy is he who seizes and dashes your infants against the rock" - there is no need for us to do this; they do it to themselves. Every day or two a car bomb explodes there and fifty people are killed - one at the exit of a mosque, another in the marketplace. There is a price paid when one afflicts the Jewish people, and it is collected over the years.
Some see this retribution immediately, while others see it only after many years. When the Spanish Civil War broke out - in which, according to various estimates, between half a million and over a million civilians perished - it was during the days of the Chafetz Chaim. The Chafetz Chaim remarked: Do you think that the Holy One, blessed be He, forgot what they did to the Jewish people four hundred years ago? The Holy One, blessed be He, remembers. However, He has a different timetable than yours.
From here we can understand the depth of the matter: internal killing is far worse. An internal war is far more devastating than a war against an external enemy. This is what the prophet is saying: even if the sword that "scorns" the handle - Nebuchadnezzar's sword - were not here, the sword upon their thigh consumes them, and they destroy themselves. Whether through actual bloodshed or through sins - for they harbored idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed. And even without actual bloodshed, the sins themselves bring doom and destruction upon them.
A Third-Part Sword - One Third and Two Thirds
וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם הִנָּבֵא וְהַךְ כַּף אֶל־כָּף, וְתִכָּפֵל חֶרֶב שְׁלִישִׁתָה חֶרֶב חֲלָלִים, הִיא חֶרֶב חָלָל הַגָּדוֹל הַחֹדֶרֶת לָהֶם׃ - "And you, son of man, prophesy and strike palm to palm, and let the sword be doubled, a sword of the third part, the sword of the slain; it is the sword of the great slain one that penetrates them."
"And strike palm to palm" - a sign of sorrow. When a tragedy occurred, people would clap hand to hand to show the magnitude of sorrow, suffering, and pain.
What is the "sword of the third part" (cherev shelishitah)? The Malbim explains: Nebuchadnezzar's sword consumed only one third of the people, which is why it is called "the sword of a third." But the other two parts - twice as much as that third - were destroyed by the internal sword, the sword within the city. This is the meaning of "and let it be doubled" (vetikafel): to that third, double is added.
We have already seen this in Yechezkel chapter 5, when the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded him to shave the hair of his head and beard and divide it into three parts: a third would die in the city from pestilence and famine during the days of the siege, a third would fall by the sword, and a third would be scattered to every wind, with a drawn sword chasing after them. Thus, only one third died by Nebuchadnezzar's sword, while two thirds fell on their own - through famine, pestilence, and the other horrors of the siege. Later, when Gedaliah ben Achikam was assassinated and they went down to Egypt against the command of Hashem, Who had warned them through the prophet not to go there, "they were swept away, consumed by terrors," in the words of the Malbim, and perished there as well.
"The sword of the slain" - the slain themselves, with their own sword, killed one another; this is the internal sword with which each struck his fellow, and it destroyed twice as much as Nebuchadnezzar destroyed. "The sword of the great slain one" - the sword of the king who was destined to fall slain, who himself caused casualties among the people. "Which penetrates them" (hachoderet lahem) - it enters chamber within chamber (cheder becheder), situated inside you, within the innermost rooms, and it will destroy two thirds. Thus, your own devastation was greater than that wrought by Nebuchadnezzar.
And this is what was stated earlier: even if there is no "rod that scorns," which is Nebuchadnezzar's sword, the two thirds wrought by your own sword will still destroy you. If so, the primary demand and reckoning must be directed toward yourselves: to strengthen ourselves both in interpersonal relationships - abolishing all strife and internal division - and between man and God, since idolatry and immorality were the spiritual causes, the sins that destroyed the city.
The Flashing Sword - To Frighten or to Slaughter
לְמַעַן לָמוּג לֵב וְהַרְבֵּה הַמִּכְשֹׁלִים, עַל כׇּל־שַׁעֲרֵיהֶם נָתַתִּי אִבְחַת־חָרֶב, אָח עֲשׂוּיָה לְבָרָק מְעֻטָּה לְטָבַח׃ - That the heart may melt and stumbling blocks multiply, upon all their gates I have set the terror of the sword; ah, it is made for lightning, drawn for slaughter.
"That the heart may melt" - The reason I placed the dread of Nevuchadnetzar's sword upon them was to terrify them. A "mog lev" (faint of heart) is a term for a coward. And the goal was that stumbling blocks multiply "upon all their gates" - Nevuchadnetzar's sword spread across all the gates of the land, meaning throughout the surroundings of Jerusalem.
"The terror [ivchat] of the sword" - The power of the sword. The Malbim cites several explanations for this word. One explanation, also brought by Rashi, is that "ivchat" is like "av'at" (with an ayin), from the root of fright and panic (be'atah) - a terrifying sword. Another explanation cited by earlier commentators is that "ivchat" is akin to "tivchat" (slaughter), where the letters alef and tet interchange according to the cipher known as At-Bach (where alef interchanges with tet, beit with chet, gimmel with zayin, and so on). According to this, "ivchat cherev" means a slaughtering sword. Even so, this sword does not carry out the majority of the slaughter, for as previously explained, two-thirds perished inside the city.
"Ah, it is made for lightning, diminished for slaughter" - "Ach" is an expression of joy, like "he'ach!" There is cause for rejoicing that this sword is "made for lightning" - it flashes and inspires terror, but the bulk of the slaughter is not carried out by it. "Diminished [me'utah] for slaughter" - only a minority of the slaughter will occur by its hand, meaning only the third part. Its purpose is "that the heart may melt" - to cast dread upon them, so that perhaps through this they would repent and mend their ways. Yet we see that these measures did not avail: neither the fear nor the limitation of the slaughter helped, for in the end they destroyed themselves from within, the slaughter doubled, and they did not return in teshuvah.
The Malbim explained "me'utah le-tavach" as denoting a minority (mi'ut). However, if we take notice, the letter tet here has a dagesh, and therefore the Radak cites another explanation in the name of his father: "me'utah" means covered, as in "wrapped [oteh] in a cloak," from the idea of a covering or sheath. That is to say, the sword that had until now been covered and concealed has now been drawn to slaughter the people of Jerusalem.
"Unite, Go to the Right" - The Sword's Hesitation
הִתְאַחֲדִי הֵימִנִי הָשִׂימִי הַשְׂמִילִי, אָנָה פָּנַיִךְ מֻעָדוֹת׃ - Unite, go to the right, set yourself, go to the left, whither your face is directed.
Now the prophet describes how the sword comes upon Jerusalem. As we will see in verse 26, when the king of Babylon set out, he stood at the fork in the road, undecided about which way to turn: to the right - toward Jerusalem, or to the left - toward Rabbah of the Ammonites. He addresses the sword, as it were: You decide which direction I will take. "Unite, go to the right" - will you unite all the camps to march rightward to Jerusalem, "set yourself, go to the left" - or will you set your course leftward to Rabbah of the Ammonites? "Whither your face is directed" - for you are uncertain and do not know which way to turn your face. "Mu'adot" (directed) is related to designated or destined, from the word mo'ed ("he set an appointed time for him"): where is your face destined to arrive?
"I too will clap My hands together"
וְגַם־אֲנִי אַכֶּה כַפִּי אֶל־כַּפִּי וַהֲנִיחֹתִי חֲמָתִי, אֲנִי יְהֹוָה דִּבַּרְתִּי׃ - And I too will strike My hands together and cause My fury to rest; I, Hashem, have spoken.
Earlier, the prophet was told, "and strike hand to hand." The Radak explains: The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, "I too, like you, will clap My hands together." As it were, I too feel grief, and I will clap hand to hand over the destruction of Jerusalem, over Nevuchadnetzar coming against it.
"And I will cause My fury to rest" - Through this, My anger will be assuaged. For when anger exists and a person acts upon it, the wrath subsides, as it is written after Achashverosh killed Vashti, "and the king's wrath subsided." So too here: after I bring the sword of Nevuchadnetzar upon the people of Jerusalem who provoke Me, My fury will rest. "I, Hashem, have spoken" - It is I, and it is in My power to fulfill. When another person speaks, who is to say that he is able? Who is to say he will still desire to do so? Who is to say that even if he greatly desires it, he will succeed? But when Hashem says, "I, Hashem, have spoken," the matter will certainly come to pass.
The Malbim explains: "I also will strike My hands together" - I too will decree that he go to Jerusalem, and I will clap My hands over the finality of the verdict. As it were, Hashem is saying: I have spoken and I have decreed. For Nevuchadnezzar performed divination, as we will see momentarily, and divination is casting lots, where it seems that fate is blind. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: Do not be mistaken. I clapped My hands together over Jerusalem, and I spoke that he should come against it. Do not think that this came about through mere chance, without deliberate divine intent.
The Two Paths
וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֵלַי לֵאמֹר׃ וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם שִׂים־לְךָ שְׁנַיִם דְּרָכִים לָבוֹא חֶרֶב מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל, מֵאֶרֶץ אֶחָד יֵצְאוּ שְׁנֵיהֶם, וְיָד בָּרֵא בְּרֹאשׁ דֶּרֶךְ־עִיר בָּרֵא׃ - And the word of Hashem came to me, saying: And you, son of man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to come; both shall depart from one land; and clear an open area, clear it at the head of the road to a city.
After Hashem, as it were, sees that Nevuchadnezzar is in doubt about where to go, the Holy One, blessed be He, comes and shows the prophet how Nevuchadnezzar will cast lots, and by Hashem's decree the lot falls on Jerusalem. He says to him: Make yourself an illustration of this. "Set for yourself two roads" - draw two separate roads by which Nevuchadnezzar could arrive, the road to the right and the road to the left, both departing "from one land", from Babylon, and branching off from there.
"And clear an open area, clear it at the head of the road to a city" - at the end of each road, draw a cleared space. The implication is that Nevuchadnezzar, upon arriving at a place, would clear it out: he needed to deploy his troops, and would therefore destroy the city and use its land for his encampments. This is the expression "levarei", in the sense of clearing and cutting down. Draw these two places, then, as emptied of their inhabitants and serving Nevuchadnezzar's forces.
דֶּרֶךְ תָּשִׂים לָבוֹא חֶרֶב אֵת רַבַּת בְּנֵי־עַמּוֹן, וְאֶת־יְהוּדָה בִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם בְּצוּרָה׃ - Mark a road for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem, in [its] form.
One road you shall set for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and the second road you shall portray as leading to Judah in Jerusalem. What is the meaning of "betzurah"? One might have understood it as referring to fortified Jerusalem, but the Malbim explains differently: the letter beit here is a prepositional prefix, not part of the root. If it were part of the root, it would be related to mivtzar (fortress), from the root b-tz-r. But here the beit is merely a prefix, like "on a table", "at a door", "in a window": be-tzurah, "in form". That is to say, at the end of one road draw the city of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and at the end of the second road draw the form of the city of Jerusalem - and draw them as if cleared and hollowed out, as said earlier, "and clear an open area, clear it at the head of the road to a city", where he clears the area so that his men and forces can arrive there.
The Divinations of the King of Babylon
כִּי־עָמַד מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל אֶל־אֵם הַדֶּרֶךְ בְּרֹאשׁ שְׁנֵי הַדְּרָכִים לִקְסׇם־קָסֶם, קִלְקַל בַּחִצִּים שָׁאַל בַּתְּרָפִים רָאָה בַּכָּבֵד׃ - For the king of Babylon stood at the fork of the road, at the head of the two roads, to perform divination; he shook arrows, consulted the teraphim, inspected the liver.
What was the purpose of these drawings? They allude to the king of Babylon standing at the crossroads, uncertain which way to turn: to the right toward Jerusalem or to the left toward Ammon. Then he performed divination. As we have explained several times, it was their custom, when in doubt, to cast lots and perform divination - such as shooting an arrow and following wherever the arrow flew, and the arrow pointed toward Jerusalem. Likewise, they would perform various trials to know whether they would succeed in their endeavors.
Here the divination involved three methods. First, "he shook arrows" - he shot arrows to see which way the arrow would fall. Second, "consulted the teraphim". The teraphim were a type of skull over which skin was stretched and dried, usually the skull of a firstborn, prepared at a very specific time of the month or year; and someone who knew how to direct this properly could divine the future through it, for they would place impurity in its mouth, and the teraphim would speak and utter hidden things. This is why Rachel stole Lavan's teraphim: she knew that as long as Lavan had teraphim, he had, as it were, GPS, he had Waze, and he would find them. To be sure, the teraphim also spoke falsehood, for these are forces of impurity and their words are mixed with lies, but there was a risk that he would successfully pursue them, so she took them. Third, "inspected the liver" - a form of divination common among them, in the words of the Malbim.
These matters are elaborated more fully by the Radak. "Shook arrows" - they would sharpen and polish the iron head of the arrow until it gleamed, look into its sheen, and perceive shapes and figures from which they drew answers to their questions. Just as today there are people who read coffee grounds: they look at shapes and ostensibly predict the future. In their time, they would also divine through the thumb, looking at the fingernail and seeing figures through the power of imagination to determine what would happen; they would divine through reeds, which are light-colored and reflective; and through mirrors, by which they sought to see distant places and hidden matters. So too with the liver: because the animal's liver is glossy, they would divine through it. And likewise with the teraphim, which were a kind of idol used to see the future. Through all these means, Nevuchadnezzar tested whether to march against Jerusalem or against the land of the Ammonites.
And another explanation for the word "kalkal": the Malbim explains that it comes from the language of casting or throwing - that he threw the arrows lightly and shot them to see in which direction the arrow would fall, so as to know which way to go based on this. And the additional explanation is that it is related to "nechoshet kalal" (burnished brass), as we explained: through the glint of the arrow they would gaze as into a mirror, in the manner of all those gleaming objects that people would look into and envision the future.
Seven Matters in the Divination
בִּימִינוֹ הָיָה הַקֶּסֶם יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם, לָשׂוּם כָּרִים לִפְתֹּחַ פֶּה בְּרֶצַח לְהָרִים קוֹל בִּתְרוּעָה, לָשׂוּם כָּרִים עַל־שְׁעָרִים, לִשְׁפֹּךְ סֹלְלָה לִבְנוֹת דָּיֵק׃ - At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in slaughter, to lift up the voice with a battle cry, to set battering rams against gates, to cast up a mound, to build a siege-tower.
"At his right hand was the divination for Jerusalem" - each time he performed the divination, it pointed to the right, directing him to march against Jerusalem. And the Malbim explains that the divination addressed seven distinct matters.
The first: Jerusalem - that he should go to Jerusalem and not to Rabbah of the Ammonites. The second: "to set battering rams" (karim), iron rams used to batter down the wall. The Radak explains that "karim" means lambs or rams, as in "with the fat of lambs (karim) and rams (eilim)," and just as people call a battering ram an "iron ram" (ayil barzel) after a ram, so too "karim" is a borrowed term for these battering rams. And we have already explained that the ram was built as a long beam, which all the soldiers would hold, running and thrusting it against the wall, thereby pushing the stones of the wall inward until it collapsed. The more sophisticated ones would build a frame with support legs, suspending the ram in the middle by chains so that it would swing, pulling it back and forth like a pendulum and battering the wall with it.
Incidentally, there are other interpretations of "karim," just as we saw regarding the ram: Rashi cites Targum Yonatan, "iprurin," meaning villages or encampments - that wherever they arrived, they would set up encampments for the troops, an assembly point for the army. Another explanation brought by the Radak is that "karim" means commanders, army officers and appointed leaders, like generals in charge of the troops.
The third: "to open the mouth in slaughter" - the instruction he received from the lot was that he should not begin with overtures of peace, but rather approach immediately with threats of slaughter and open with killing. The fourth: "to lift up the voice with a battle cry" (teru'ah) - a battle shout was always a sign of triumph; the victorious army would raise a shout of victory. The fifth: "to set battering rams against gates" - afterward, he was to position the battering rams on the side where the gates were, in order to shatter the gate.
The sixth: "to cast up a mound" - an earthen siege ramp built up high so as to see inside the city. For as long as one is lower than the wall, one cannot see into the city. An artillery shell can be fired on a ballistic arc that rises and descends to explode; but an arrow derives all of its impact power from momentum and the direct force of the shot, so one needs to reach an elevated spot, and from there look inside, subjugating and killing with arrow fire. And at times the siege ramp was also intended for gaining entry to the city: since the wall was high, they would construct a ramp forming an incline from the ground up to the height of the wall, allowing them to ascend the city wall and enter. However, this was extremely perilous, as the defenders inside had the advantage of height - they would pour boiling oil on them and hurl catapult stones, so building the ramp was no simple matter. The seventh: "to build a siege-tower" (dayek) - a wall built around the city's walls, so that those attempting to flee the siege would be captured by the enemy's barrier.
And the Malbim notes: According to what was explained earlier in chapter 4, the usual order is siege-wall (dayek), then siege ramp (solelah), and then battering rams (karim). This is the standard method for conquering a city: first, an outer wall is built around so that escapees cannot flee; next, a ramp is cast up from which to shoot inside; and finally, battering rams are brought forward to approach the wall and breach it. Yet here the order is seemingly reversed: first to set battering rams, then to cast up a mound, and lastly to build a siege-wall. Why? The reason a ramp is typically built first is that without it, one cannot approach the wall to breach it, because the defenders fling catapult stones from above and pour boiling water and oil, driving the attackers away; therefore, an elevated position is erected first to shoot from and push them back, and only then do they approach the wall. But all this applies when facing a nation that fights back from the other side. Here, the divination tells him: understand that you are marching against a people that will not fight you at all, and therefore you face no obstacle - place the battering rams straightaway, bring up the iron rams, and batter the wall immediately. You do not need to weaken them beforehand with a ramp and arrows, nor do you need an initial siege-wall to pen the city's inhabitants in - so feeble are they that you have no need for any of this.
"As False Divination in Their Eyes" - Bound by Oaths
וְהָיָה לָהֶם כִּקְסׇם־שָׁוְא בְּעֵינֵיהֶם, שְׁבֻעֵי שְׁבֻעוֹת לָהֶם, וְהוּא־מַזְכִּיר עָוֺן לְהִתָּפֵשׂ׃ - And it shall be to them as a false divination in their eyes, who had sworn oaths to them; but he brings iniquity to remembrance, that they may be seized.
Here, the Malbim explains, the prophet turns to speak of the people of Jerusalem. When they heard about all the divinations Nebuchadnezzar was performing, it seemed to them like empty sorcery of no substance. They paid no heed to it at all: let him practice divination, let him cast lots - nothing will come of it.
"They have sworn oaths to them" (or: "sevens of sevens to them") - the divination was performed regarding seven matters, as the Malbim enumerates: Jerusalem, placing battering rams, opening the mouth for slaughter, raising the voice with a shout, placing battering rams against the gates, casting up a siege mound, and building a siege tower. Over all seven of these matters he cast lots seven times. The Malbim explains that their practice in all matters of divination and the like was to perform them seven times. We know that this originates in a holy source, for with us as well it is said regarding many things that one should "recite it seven times" - such as "Create in me a pure heart, O God" and others. The concept of seven is firmly rooted in the foundations of Judaism, based on the seven lower Sefirot that govern the world. They too possessed knowledge of this, and according to it they knew that when one wishes to give force to something, he performs it seven times. And Nebuchadnezzar was not satisfied with seven alone: he did seven times seven, forty-nine - just like the counting of the Omer - to ensure his success in conquering Jerusalem.
"And it brings to remembrance iniquity, that they may be seized" - the matter of seven recalled their iniquity through which they would be captured. And what iniquity? Why did Jerusalem fall, and why were they exiled from the Land? "Then the land will satisfy its sabbaths." Chazal state: Jerusalem was not exiled until they desecrated the Sabbath in it, treading winepresses on it; likewise: Jerusalem was destroyed only because they neglected the Sabbatical year (Shemittah). Thus, the seven times seven became a reminder of sin: he performed his act seven times, yet you do not observe your sevens. Because of this, we were also condemned to seventy years of exile - once again, the motif of seven - "then the land will satisfy its sabbaths." The divination performed seven times brought to remembrance the iniquity for which they are seized: that they did not observe their sevens, neither the Sabbaths nor the Shemittah cycles.
The Malbim offers an additional explanation based on what we will see in the next chapter: "And behold, I have struck My hand at your ill-gotten gain... and at your bloodshed." Striking the palm, which represents the sealing of the decree, comes on account of two matters: "your ill-gotten gain" - the sin of robbery and extortion, from the language of unjust gain; and "your bloodshed" - murder. Both of these were present in Jerusalem. Therefore, what we saw above, "I too will strike My hands together, and I will appease My fury," which is the finalization of the decree brought about by the divination cast against Jerusalem, came on account of the sins of theft and bloodshed.
When you count, you will see that among the abominations of Jerusalem enumerated in the next chapter, there are seven things of the category of robbery and bloodshed, and the Malbim lists them: 1. "The princes of Israel... were in you to shed blood" (verse 6). 2. Oppression of the convert (verse 7). 3. Cheating the orphan and the widow (in the same verse), which is also a form of robbery. 4. "Slanderous men were in you to shed blood" (verse 9). 5. "They took bribes in you to shed blood" (verse 12). 6. Interest and usury (in the same verse) - a form of robbery. 7. "And you made dishonest gain from your neighbors through extortion" (ibid.). That makes seven. The Malbim adds: Observe also the curses in Torat Kohanim (Leviticus), which are also arranged in sevens corresponding to this matter - "sevenfold for your sins," corresponding to the seven sins of robbery and bloodshed. There he explained how their order consists of seven times seven corresponding to the seven iniquities. According to this, he explains further regarding "they are oaths of oaths [or sevens of sevens] to them": the seven that Nebuchadnezzar performed in his divination corresponds to the seven sins of extortion and bloodshed, seven against seven - "and it brings to remembrance iniquity, that they may be seized": his seven evokes your iniquities of robbery and bloodshed, for which you are seized. Thus, according to the first explanation, the divination recalls the sin of Shemittah and Shabbat, while according to the second, it recalls the sin of bloodshed and robbery.
Radak, on the other hand, interprets "shevu'ei shevu'ot" not from the language of "seven" (sheva), but from the language of an "oath" (shevuah). The Chaldeans had sworn numerous oaths to the people of Israel that they would not attack them, and therefore Israel felt secure. But they did not know that "it brings to remembrance iniquity, that they may be seized": this very matter recalls an iniquity because of which they will be captured. For you yourselves violated an oath - when Nebuchadnezzar adjured King Zedekiah not to reveal the incident of the hare (that he had taken a hare, torn it apart, and eaten it alive), Zedekiah failed to keep the oath; and it is likewise written, "And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God" - he made him swear not to rebel, yet he rebelled. If you did not keep your oath, how do you expect the Chaldeans to keep theirs? And even if they swore to them by Me, says the Holy One, blessed be He, they do not keep their oath, as it is written: "Therefore the land mourns... swearing falsely, lying, killing, and committing adultery."
"Because You Have Caused Your Iniquity to Be Remembered"
לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה, יַעַן הַזְכַּרְכֶם עֲוֺנְכֶם בְּהִגָּלוֹת פִּשְׁעֵיכֶם לְהֵרָאוֹת חַטֹּאותֵיכֶם בְּכֹל עֲלִילוֹתֵיכֶם, יַעַן הִזָּכֶרְכֶם בַּכַּף תִּתָּפֵשׂוּ׃ - Therefore, thus says the Lord God: Because you have caused your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that your sins appear in all your deeds; because you have come to remembrance, you shall be seized with the hand.
Hashem says: You are not like one who confesses and forsakes his sin. *Avon* (iniquity) is connected to heresy - a person who denies the Creator's existence, matters hidden in the heart; and you do not conceal them, but rather mention and publicize your iniquities. "In that your transgressions are uncovered" - *pesha'im* (transgressions) are rebellions, acts of defiance against Hashem, and you rebel openly in public. "So that your sins appear" - *chata'im* (sins) usually stem from lust, deeds resulting from flawed character traits, and they are visible "in all your deeds." An *alilah* (deed) is an action brought to fruition, as distinct from the sin itself which begins internally. That is to say: your inner traits, which are the root of all your actions, are entirely corrupt and steeped in sin.
Notice the distinction: the first is *hazkarchem* ("your causing to remember," active) and the second is *hizzacherchem* ("your being remembered," passive). Just as you bring your iniquities to remembrance, so are you remembered for ill through Nebuchadnezzar's act of divination - as we saw above, that the divination evokes our sins, the Shemittah and the Sabbath that we failed to keep. Here the verse reiterates and emphasizes: you will be seized through Nebuchadnezzar's divination, because it recalls the transgressions, sins, and iniquities you committed.
Prophecy Concerning Zedekiah
וְאַתָּה חָלָל רָשָׁע נְשִׂיא יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֲשֶׁר־בָּא יוֹמוֹ בְּעֵת עֲוֺן קֵץ׃ - And you, slain wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, at the time of the final iniquity.
Now Yechezkel prophesies concerning Zedekiah. He calls him "slain," for ultimately he will fall slain, as it says, "the sword of the great slain one." "Whose day has come at the time of the final iniquity" - with the final sin that fills the measure, that moment marks the end of his monarchy, and in it his day arrives to receive his punishment.
Remove the Turban and Lift the Crown
כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה, הָסִיר הַמִּצְנֶפֶת וְהָרִים הָעֲטָרָה, זֹאת לֹא־זֹאת, הַשָּׁפָלָה הַגְבֵּהַּ וְהַגָּבֹהַּ הַשְׁפִּיל׃ - Thus says the Lord God: Remove the turban and lift off the crown; this shall not remain this; exalt the low and bring low the high.
The verse is obscure, and we begin with the Targum. Rashi notes "as its Targum renders," and the Targum explains: Remove the turban from Serayah the Kohen Gadol, and the crown will be taken away from King Tzidkiyahu - "this one and that one will not remain in their place, for they shall be exiled." And what is the meaning of "exalt the low and bring low the high"? "Gedaliah son of Achikam, to whom it did not belong, shall take it" - Gedaliah ben Achikam, who had no claim to royalty, will receive it; "and Tzidkiyahu, to whom it belonged, it shall be removed from him" - from Tzidkiyahu, to whom the monarchy belonged, it will be taken away. This is "the low" - Gedaliah, "exalt" - Hashem will raise him to rule; "and the high" - Tzidkiyahu, whom Hashem will bring low, stripping the crown from him.
The Radak explains differently: "The low" refers to Yehoyachin, who had already been exiled and was brought low in his captivity - him I will raise up. How so? Zerubbabel his descendant was the leader when they returned from the Babylonian exile; and Yehoyachin himself was elevated in exile, as Evil-merodach exalted him and set his throne above the thrones of all the other kings. "And the high, bring low" - this is Tzidkiyahu, who grew haughty and rebelled against the king of Babylon, who had made him swear by God not to rebel against him; and him I will abase so that no king will ever descend from his line again. For the king of Babylon slaughtered Tzidkiyahu's sons before his eyes, and the royal line ultimately continued through Yehoyachin.
The Malbim explains: When the kings of Israel were righteous, they would exalt the Temple, holding it dear and precious in their eyes, along with the honor of the Kohen Gadol. They would place the High Priesthood in the hands of a worthy, upright, and righteous man, and the honor of the Kohen Gadol was like the honor of the king - just as it is said of the Kohen Gadol that his brethren must elevate, magnify, and enrich him. But when the kings were wicked, on the contrary, they demeaned the honor of the Temple, the priesthood, and the service of Hashem. In truth, this is a complete mistake, for the honor of the monarchy depends directly on the honor of the priesthood: if you magnify and honor the priesthood as is fitting, the honor of your kingdom will grow as well; but if you demean the honor of the priesthood, your royal honor will likewise be brought low. If you demean Hashem's portion - the House of Hashem and the place of the Kohanim who serve Him - your kingdom will inevitably be brought low as well. This is the meaning of "those who despise Me shall be degraded": whoever despises Hashem brings disgrace upon himself, and the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring low the crown worn by the king.
The king wears a crown (atarah), and the Kohen Gadol wears a turban (mitznefet) - the crown of the priesthood. When the turban retained its stature upon the head of the Kohen Gadol, the royal crown likewise retained its stature upon the head of the king. Accordingly, the Malbim interprets the verse as a rhetorical question of bewilderment: And you, wicked, defiled prince of Israel, whose day has come - do you really think to "remove the turban and lift the crown"? To remove the turban from the Kohen Gadol and demean the honor of the priesthood, thereby elevating the king's crown at the expense of the honor of Hashem, His House, and the Kohanim? Hashem says: "This shall not remain this" - do you expect this, the monarchy, to endure, while that, the priesthood you degrade, will not? That the royal crown will endure while the priestly turban will not? After all, the honor of royalty derives from the honor of the priesthood! "Exalt the low and bring low the high" - do you intend to exalt the crown, which is lower in spiritual stature compared to the priesthood, and bring low the turban, which is truly supreme, representing the honor of Hashem?
The Malbim adds that his explanation aligns far better with the grammatical precision of Lashon HaKodesh than the interpretations of other commentators. For according to Targum Yonatan, "and lift the crown" (ve-harim ha-atarah) means to annul and remove the crown from Tzidkiyahu - yet we never find "leharim" used in the sense of removal and discarding. "And he lifted the firepans" (va-yarem et ha-machtot) means raising upward, and similarly terumah - where one elevates the sacred from the mundane - denotes exaltation. Therefore, the verse is far more compelling as he explains it: you seek to remove the turban from the Kohen Gadol and exalt your own crown.
A Ruin, a Ruin, a Ruin
עַוָּה עַוָּה עַוָּה אֲשִׂימֶנָּה, גַּם־זֹאת לֹא הָיָה עַד־בֹּא אֲשֶׁר־לוֹ הַמִּשְׁפָּט וּנְתַתִּיו׃ - A ruin, a ruin, a ruin will I make it; this too shall be no more, until he comes whose right it is, and I will give it to him.
This term is familiar to us from the Vidui of the Yamim Noraim: "avinu" - from the root meaning distortion or overturning (ivut). The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will make the crown overturned, three times. And when was this? The Malbim explains: Nebuchadnezzar overturned the crown three times, removing it from the king's head - from Yehoyakim, from Yehoyachin, and from Tzidkiyahu. Until ultimately, "this too shall be no more" - even the crown will exist no longer, and the monarchy will cease entirely, "until he comes whose right it is" - until the end of days, when he to whom the legal right of kingship belongs arrives, namely, Melech HaMashiach. To him the crown is rightfully due and he will merit it; "and I will give it to him" - I will give him the crown to wear by right, for he is truly worthy of it.
Rashi cites an alternate explanation that "avah" derives from "ruins of the field" (iyei ha-sadeh), in the sense of destruction - it will become ruins. And regarding whom is it said that it was taken away three times? It was taken from Yechanyah and given to Tzidkiyah, and from Tzidkiyah it was given to Gedaliah, and there too, "this too shall be no more" - it would not endure for Gedaliah either, until Yishmael ben Netanyah came and assassinated Gedaliah. And "he whose right it is," according to Rashi, refers not to Melech HaMashiach, but to Yishmael ben Netanyah, whom Hashem appointed to exact retribution; he is the instrument of vengeance and executes the judgment - I appointed him to exact My vengeance and execute My judgment. Simply understood, one might also add that "he whose right it is" means that the Holy One, blessed be He, will ultimately exact judgment from Yishmael ben Netanyah as well, as we will see later. The Radak explains that the three from whom the crown was withheld were Assir, Shealtiel, and Pedayah, and only with Zerubbabel did it reach "he whose right it is." Here, then, are three distinct interpretations of who was removed and to whom the crown will ultimately be given.
The Prophecy Concerning the Ammonites
וְאַתָּה בֶן־אָדָם הִנָּבֵא וְאָמַרְתָּ כֹּה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יֱהֹוִה אֶל־בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן וְאֶל־חֶרְפָּתָם, וְאָמַרְתָּ חֶרֶב חֶרֶב פְּתוּחָה לְטֶבַח מְרוּטָה לְהָכִיל לְמַעַן בָּרָק׃ - "And you, son of man, prophesy and say: Thus said the Lord God concerning the Ammonites and concerning their scorn; and say: A sword, a sword is drawn, polished for slaughter, to contain, in order to flash."
When the Ammonites saw that Nebuchadnezzar cast lots and the lot fell toward Jerusalem, they rejoiced, gloated, and taunted Israel, as it is written: "I have heard the reproach of Moav and the revilings of the children of Ammon." They rejoiced at our downfall, and no less rejoiced that Nebuchadnezzar's sword turned away from them. Furthermore, it is written that Baalis, king of the Ammonites, sent Yishmael ben Netanyah to assassinate Gedalyah ben Achikam, so that no remnant would remain here - thus making them partners in extinguishing the last glowing ember left in Jerusalem. And for this very reason, Nebuchadnezzar later came, took vengeance upon them, and destroyed the Ammonites.
Therefore: "A sword, a sword is drawn" - do not imagine that Nebuchadnezzar's sword will not reach you simply because the lot directed him rightward to Jerusalem while bypassing the left. Know this: the sword has already been drawn from its sheath; the sword is exposed and will not return to its scabbard. "Polished for slaughter" - according to the Malbim's earlier explanation, *merutah* means that the sword was smoothed where it is held, so it would not cut the wielder's hand. And you say: "Look, it is smoothed, it does not cut; its edge has been removed." The prophet tells you: True, but this is only temporary; for now he will not march against you, but smoothing the sword is merely preparation for slaughter - once he conquers Jerusalem, this very sword will turn upon you.
"Polished to contain, in order to flash" - these are the two reasons he smoothed the sword. First, "to contain" (*lehachil*) - so that he would have a handle for the sword. For if the entire sword were razor-sharp, it would be impossible to grip; the moment one held it, he would be cut. This is like holding a slaughtering knife without a handle: the moment one tries to grasp it, it cuts into the hand. Therefore, he blunted the edge on one end to create a grip to hold, as stated above: "And he gave it to be smoothed, to be grasped in the hand." And the second reason, "in order to flash" - by polishing and scouring, it gleams with brilliance. We have already seen that a flashing sword terrifies enemies: they see the blade from afar reflecting the sun, which strikes dread and terror into their hearts.
What does the verse come to teach us here? Precisely because he now withdraws from the Ammonites, he will have the strength to wield the sword against them after conquering Jerusalem. Had he attacked Ammon and Israel together from the start, he would not have possessed the strength to fight both simultaneously. Therefore, he marched first against the people of Israel, leaving him with full vigor and might to turn to Ammon and deal with them separately. Thus, the smoothing of the sword, the removal of its sharpness at the grip, is no cause for celebration as though it will never come against you; it is merely preparation for what awaits you. It served an additional purpose as well: through this, fear of him fell upon all the neighboring nations around the Land of Israel, enabling him to conquer them with far greater ease. Once he conquered us, it was easy for him to subdue the others, for they saw what he had done here and were gripped with dread. He therefore tells them: realize that seeing the sword smoothed ought to terrify you all the more, not put you at ease.
According to the Malbim, *lehachil* comes from the root of holding or sustaining, as in *"nil'eti hachil"* ("I am weary of holding it in") and *"yechilenu"* ("can bear it") - to carry something and hold it firmly. Radak, however, cites another explanation in the name of his father: that *lehachil* is equivalent to *leha'achil* ("to feed", as in the form *azin* for *a'azin*), because the sword "devours"; when he grips it and slaughters with it, he is feeding the sword.
בַּחֲזוֹת לָךְ שָׁוְא בִּקְסׇם־לָךְ כָּזָב, לָתֵת אוֹתָךְ אֶל־צַוְּארֵי חַלְלֵי רְשָׁעִים, אֲשֶׁר־בָּא יוֹמָם בְּעֵת עֲוֺן קֵץ׃ - "While they envision falsehood for you, while they divine lies for you, to lay you upon the necks of the slain wicked, whose day has arrived in the time of the final iniquity."
The Malbim explains: the fact that you sent your sword to kill Gedalyah - as we saw that Baalis sent Yishmael ben Netanyah to assassinate Gedalyah ben Achikam - occurred because the diviners envisioned vanity for you and divined lies. They told you that your sword would cut down the surviving remnant, claiming that they were already like the slain and wicked, fully deserving of death, that their day had come and their measure of guilt was full, and that you would be able to conquer them without any battle at all.
הָשַׁב אֶל־תַּעְרָהּ, בִּמְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר־נִבְרֵאת בְּאֶרֶץ מְכֻרוֹתַיִךְ אֶשְׁפֹּט אֹתָך׃ - "Return it to its sheath; in the place where you were created, in the land of your origins, I will judge you."
God says to him: It is a false vision - return the sword to its sheath, as the Targum translates: "Return the sword to its scabbard." Know that Yishmael and his men, after killing Gedalyah ben Achikam, will flee back to Rabbah of the Ammonites, and there I will judge you for this murder as well. Why? Because on account of this very act, Nebuchadnezzar will come to your land, the place where you were created, the place where you feel secure - "in the land of your origins." There he will slay the Ammonites; there the sword was created, and there He will also judge Yishmael and his men, in their place of dwelling.
וְשָׁפַכְתִּי עָלַיִךְ זַעְמִי, בְּאֵשׁ עֶבְרָתִי אָפִיחַ עָלָיִךְ, וּנְתַתִּיךְ בְּיַד אֲנָשִׁים בֹּעֲרִים חָרָשֵׁי מַשְׁחִית׃ - "And I will pour out My wrath upon you; with the fire of My fury I will blow against you, and I will deliver you into the hand of brutal men, craftsmen of destruction."
There I will pour out upon you the wrath of retribution reserved for sinners, and blow against you with the fire of My fury to destroy everyone. "And I will deliver you into the hand of brutal men" - the sword will be handed over, as it were, to men who are like a fire that flares up instantly at the slightest breath; "craftsmen of destruction" - artisans and masters skilled in ravaging and destroying.
לָאֵשׁ תִּהְיֶה לְאׇכְלָה, דָּמֵךְ יִהְיֶה בְּתוֹךְ הָאָרֶץ, לֹא תִזָּכֵרִי כִּי אֲנִי יְהֹוָה דִּבַּרְתִּי׃ - You shall be fuel for the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be remembered no more, for I, the Lord, have spoken.
The fire will consume you, so it is said to the children of Ammon. "Your blood shall be in the midst of the land" - for the blood you shed, there in your own land vengeance will be taken upon you and your blood will be spilled. Nor will he exile you into captivity in a way that any remnant of you would be remembered; rather, he will slaughter you, "and you shall be remembered no more" - no memory of you will remain at all, and your destruction will be an absolute destruction.
In summary:
The prophet is commanded to cry out and wail, primarily over the internal sword - the one hanging upon our thigh: baseless hatred, one man's sword against his fellow, and the sword of the king and princes against the people. The sword of Nebuchadnezzar consumed only a third, whereas two-thirds fell by the internal sword; thus, even had there been no sword of Babylon, self-destruction would have taken its toll. Hence, the primary demand is directed inward: to rectify interpersonal relationships and abolish discord, and to repair our relationship with the Omnipresent, for it was our sins that destroyed the city. The king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road casting divinations, and it seems as though everything is blind fate - yet the Holy One, Blessed be He, proclaims, "I, the Lord, have spoken." That very divination, performed seven times seven, recalls our sins regarding Shabbatot, Shemittah cycles, robbery, and bloodshed. The crown of royalty is removed and overturned three times, until the coming of the one to whom the judgment rightfully belongs. And finally, the children of Ammon who rejoiced in our downfall will learn that the polished sword was not averted from them, but merely postponed, and that whoever distresses Israel ultimately pays his debt - even if the timetable of the Holy One, Blessed be He, differs from our own.