In this part of the chapter, we find ourselves amid the series of "Woe" declarations that the prophet proclaims over his generation. Following "Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood," the prophet comes and reveals the intellectual rationalization behind pulling iniquity along: these people enlist their intellect itself to serve their desires, demanding that the Holy One, blessed be He, bring His punishments swiftly and overtly. From there, the chapter continues by describing the psychological sickness of turning good into evil, mocking the bravado of drinking and perverted justice, and concludes with a chilling description of the enemy arriving from afar, swiftly and ruthlessly, as the emissary of retribution.
הָאֹמְרִים יְמַהֵר יָחִישָׁה מַעֲשֵׂהוּ לְמַעַן נִרְאֶה וְתִקְרַב וְתָבוֹאָה עֲצַת קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנֵדָעָה׃ - Who say: "Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we may know it!"
The prophet warns the people to repent in the face of future calamities. If you do not repent - evil and suffering will befall you. Yet the people hear the rebuke and answer: The prophecies you speak of pertain to distant times. You are not speaking about something poised to happen immediately. Were it to occur right away, people would be awed and impressed by it. Therefore, they say: It would be very desirable for Hashem to bring this matter quickly, and also to hasten it.
What is the difference between "to be quick" (lemaher) and "to hasten" (lehachish)? The Malbim explains: In the Holy Tongue, lemaher refers to time, whereas lehachish refers to the person's action. If one calls someone, and the moment he is called he sets out, but he walks slowly - this person is quick (memaher) but does not hasten (meichish). He did not delay for a single minute, yet the walking itself is slow. Conversely, if he arrives an hour later but comes at a full sprint - he hastens, but he is not quick, since he lingered before setting out. Accordingly, they are saying two things: "Let Him make speed" (yemaher) - in time; do not prophesy to us about ten or twenty years from now, but show us what will happen tomorrow or the day after. "Let Him hasten" (yachisha) - with swiftness; do not let events unfold sluggishly, but all at once.
Both of these claims stem from a single root. When a decree is far removed in time, and even when it arrives, it comes gradually and in stages, a person attributes events to mere chance. He says, "It just happened," seeing things as natural occurrences. But when something happens immediately - as with Iyov, where while one was still speaking, another came, and everything was lost in a single instant - it is immediately clear that Divine Providence is at work. "Naked I came out of my mother's womb"; everything was lost in a short span of time, and that demonstrates Providence. But when events unfold sluggishly and take a long time to arrive, it appears to be coincidence rather than from Hashem.
And what is "the counsel of the Holy One of Israel"? The verse mentions two things: "His work" and "the counsel of the Holy One of Israel." The Malbim explains the distinction through a parable: A king whose province rebelled against him seeks counsel on how to subdue it. He takes counsel and weighs methods that will lead him to the desired end - that the rebellious province surrender to him. One piece of counsel is to dispatch an army, and the army marches, conquers the province, and takes control with great force. This is "his work" - the action as it is carried out in practice. And "his counsel" is the purpose: what was the goal when we sat and deliberated, what is the bottom line to be achieved? The action is the war, and the purpose is that the province submit to the king's authority, pay him taxes, and be governed by him.
So it is with the Holy One, blessed be He: Wherever "counsel" (etzah) is mentioned, it refers to the ultimate purpose for which Hashem performs His deeds. The afflictions and tribulations - they are the "work" (ma'aseh). And the purpose, the "counsel," is that the Jewish people recognize His greatness, acknowledge His Divinity, and submit to His service. This is the return to Hashem, may He be blessed.
According to this, they argue: If the ultimate intent of Hashem's punishment is repentance - how are we to repent? Only if it is clear to us that the punishment comes from Hashem. And this becomes evident under two conditions: first, that Hashem be quick - that immediately following the prophet's warning, the calamity begins to unfold; second, that the calamity itself arrives swiftly and urgently, not in trickles but all at once. This is the meaning of "let Him make speed, let Him hasten." Furthermore: "let it draw near" - that it not be distant, but close, immediate, and visible to the eye; "and come" - that it not stall after drawing near, but advance continuously until it is obvious to all that the decree comes from Hashem. But when protracted processes unfold between Hashem's work - the harsh decree - and the purpose for which it was brought, we do not perceive events in a way that would lead us to repent.
This is precisely the argument of those who "draw iniquity with cords of falsehood" in the preceding verse. Why is a person drawn after sin? Because he has intellectual arguments, and he enlists his intellect in service of his desires. He claims: If we witnessed Hashem's Providence, if we saw immediate punishments - we would repent. But you merely threaten us with future events. The War of Gog and Magog - people have spoken of Gog and Magog for hundreds of years, yet where is it? Because he does not see it, he follows the desires of his heart.
Therefore, the prophet calls them "cords of falsehood" - vanity and futility. For had Hashem acted in this way, free will would have been stripped away. After all, what does Hashem desire? Does He want a person to become a tzaddik in a single instant? He could flip a switch in one's brain and turn him into a tzaddik - is that what Hashem seeks? The Holy One, blessed be He, wants man to have free will and to actively choose good. Thus, everything Hashem does guides and activates, yet a person always retains the prerogative and the choice not to do Hashem's will. If someone held a gun to one's head until he complied, where would the choice be? As it were, Hashem says: I did not seek robots, nor did I create robots. Indeed, there must be a consequence looming, so that a person knows that doing evil brings evil and doing good brings good. But if this were to happen immediately, there would be no free will, no reward, no punishment, and nothing of value. It turns out that their entire demand - that He hurry and act immediately - is completely illogical, running contrary to the very way Hashem conducts His world.
One should pay close attention to the precise phrasing and order of the verse. Among human beings, one first consults and plans, then carries out the deed, and only when the objective is reached does one say, "his counsel has come to pass" - the goal has been attained, and the entire kingdom submits to the king's will. Here, however, concerning the Holy One, blessed be He, "counsel" is not mentioned first, but only at the end. Hashem has no need to take counsel beforehand. There is no one with whom He must consult, nor does He require advice. With Hashem, counsel and action are not two separate things; rather, all is one. Therefore, the verse cannot place "His counsel" at the beginning, but mentions "His deed" right away, and only when we see the final results do we comprehend what His counsel was from the outset.
הוֹי הָאֹמְרִים לָרַע טוֹב וְלַטּוֹב רָע שָׂמִים חֹשֶׁךְ לְאוֹר וְאוֹר לְחֹשֶׁךְ שָׂמִים מַר לְמָתוֹק וּמָתוֹק לְמָר׃ - "Woe to those who say of evil that it is good, and of good that it is evil; who turn darkness into light, and light into darkness; who turn bitter into sweet, and sweet into bitter!"
Here the prophet employs a three-part formulation, corresponding to three faculties of perception in man. A person possesses an intellectual discernment, by which he distinguishes between good and evil - what is considered a mitzvah and what is a sin, what is truth and what is falsehood; this power of discernment resides in the intellect. He also possesses the faculties of imagination and sight, which enable him to distinguish between what is beneficial and what is detrimental, between light and darkness. Finally, he possesses the sensory faculty of the soul, by which he distinguishes between the pleasant and the unpleasant, perceives flavors, and knows honey from wormwood through the sensation of taste in his mouth.
Just as a sick person tastes bitter as sweet and sweet as bitter - delicious foods are brought to him, yet he says, "This is spoiled, it tastes terrible" - so it is with the soul. Consider a person whose nose is so congested that he eats egg salad whose foul odor is alarming to anyone standing nearby; because he has a cold, his sense of taste is impaired and his sense of smell is gone, so he cannot tell the salad has gone bad. Here is a person who treats evil as good, enjoying it as delicious. Conversely, there is an invalid who is offered tasty dishes and says: I do not know, it repulses me, I cannot taste anything good in it - like the tasteless slime of an egg yolk, in the words of Iyov, something utterly unpalatable. This is a bodily illness. Likewise with an affliction of the eyes, where a person sees light as darkness and darkness as light; some see only flashes of light, while others perceive nothing at all and cannot tell darkness from day.
Thus the prophet proclaims: there is also an illness of the soul. "Those who call evil good and good evil" are spiritually sick, just like those who "turn darkness into light and light into darkness," like a blind person unable to see, and like those who "turn bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter," whose sense of taste has been ruined by illness so that they cannot distinguish sweet from bitter. The spiritual illness of the former mirrors the physical illness of the latter.
הוֹי חֲכָמִים בְּעֵינֵיהֶם וְנֶגֶד פְּנֵיהֶם נְבֹנִים׃ - "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!"
Yet there is a critical difference. A person suffering from a physical illness, even if he tastes something and it seems fine to him, will listen when someone says, "No, it is spoiled" - and he will rely on that assessment. Or if someone tells him, "This is indeed fine, it only seems bad to you; I have tasted it and it is wonderful, you can eat it," he trusts others to guide him. But these people are "wise in their own eyes"; they view themselves as all-knowing. Even though there are "prudent ones before them" - discerning, knowledgeable people standing right before them, explaining: this is darkness and this is light, this is bitter and this is sweet - they remain wise in their own eyes, convinced they know better. A physically ill person is still willing to listen: if he is blind and people tell him it is daytime, he accepts it. But one afflicted with a spiritual illness refuses to listen; he is certain that his way is right. When someone tries to persuade him and explain, "No, this is good and that is evil," he refuses to hear - "Wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight."
Having mentioned "who put darkness for light," a story is told about the Alter Rebbe during his imprisonment. The authorities wished to test whether he could distinguish between day and night, so they placed him in a sealed dungeon with only a candle, where not even the faintest beam of sunlight could penetrate. They brought him food and said: "Eat, it is already midday." He told them: "I will not eat now, for it is actually midnight - the time is five minutes past twelve." And that was precisely the time on the clock. When they asked how he knew, he told them that during each hour of the day and night a different combination of the Four-Letter Name of Hashem shines, and by the light illuminating that particular hour, he knows the exact time at every moment.
Speaking of perception, a story is told about the Komarno Rebbe, author of Heichal HaBerachah, who once sent his tefillin for repair. The scribe repaired them and did everything properly, except that he erred when inserting the parashiyot and did not place them in the correct order. The Rebbe put on the tefillin, immediately took them off, and handed them back to the scribe to arrange them properly. The scribe asked: "What is wrong?" He replied: "You did not insert the parashiyot properly." The scribe said: "That is impossible." The Rebbe insisted: "I tell you this with certainty." He asked: "How does the Rebbe know?" The Rebbe answered: "Because when I put them on, I felt the spiritual illumination of Rabbeinu Tam" - for there is a dispute regarding the order of the parashiyot, and the scribe had mistakenly inserted them according to the order of Rabbeinu Tam. He opened the tefillin, checked, and found the Rebbe's words to be exact. As for us - if only we could feel any spiritual illumination when putting on tefillin! Yet he could perceive the illumination of Rashi and the illumination of Rabbeinu Tam. Thus we see that there are people who see light even in darkness, and there are people who walk in darkness even in broad daylight.
הוֹי גִּבּוֹרִים לִשְׁתּוֹת יָיִן וְאַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל לִמְסֹךְ שֵׁכָר׃ - Woe to those who are mighty at drinking wine, and men of valor at mixing strong drink.
מַצְדִּיקֵי רָשָׁע עֵקֶב שֹׁחַד וְצִדְקַת צַדִּיקִים יָסִירוּ מִמֶּנּוּ׃ - Who vindicate the wicked for a bribe, and strip the vindication of the righteous from him.
Wherein lies the true glory of might? When a person executes justice, when he rescues the poor from the hand of his oppressor - then one says: commendable indeed, this person possesses true might, and he used his strength to establish justice and integrity, ensuring that the weak are not abused. That is genuine heroism. But here the prophet cries, "Woe" - how lamentable it is when mighty men and men of valor vindicate the wicked for a bribe! Instead of this hero using his strength to rescue the poor from the oppressor, quite the contrary - he strengthens the oppressor, having accepted a bribe from him to do nothing or to justify his wicked deeds.
As for the phrase "at drinking wine" and "at mixing strong drink" - the Malbim explains that this is a parenthetical mockery by the prophet. In what are they mighty? Mighty at drinking wine! And in what are they men of valor? At mixing strong drink - knowing how to blend alcoholic beverages, like bartenders who know precisely how to mix this amount with that amount and achieve the right balance. Is that the extent of your might? Is that the sum of your expertise?
We have previously explained the distinction between a gibbor ("mighty man") and an ish chayil ("man of valor") according to the Malbim. A gibbor is a person naturally strong, born muscular; some people are visibly strong and well-built from childhood. An ish chayil, by contrast, is skilled in military tactics, trained in battlefield strategy and combat maneuvers. In those times, warfare involved hand-to-hand combat: knowing how to evade a sword blow, how to strike, maintaining agility - these were the tactics of war. Here the prophet says in mockery: the mighty man, all his strength is spent on drinking wine; and the man of valor, the expert in waging war, is merely an expert at preparing strong drink - how to mix it, what quantities to use, and what proportions are appropriate.
Furthermore, take note of the wording: "Who vindicate the wicked for a bribe" - a wicked person whose wickedness is obvious, whom everyone knows to be guilty, and yet they vindicate him. Nor does he bother searching for excuses or pretexts. Why do you vindicate the wicked? "For a bribe" - sir, he pays; whoever pays, I exonerate. He does not hide behind rationalizations or arguments, but openly operates on bribery. Not only that, but "and strip the vindication of the righteous from him" - even though the righteousness of the innocent is clear and everyone sees that they are honest and upright, he strips his righteousness from him as though he never saw it, ignoring it completely, because he accepted a bribe from the wicked.
לָכֵן כֶּאֱכֹל קַשׁ לְשׁוֹן אֵשׁ וַחֲשַׁשׁ לֶהָבָה יִרְפֶּה שָׁרְשָׁם כַּמָּק יִהְיֶה וּפִרְחָם כָּאָבָק יַעֲלֶה כִּי מָאֲסוּ אֵת תּוֹרַת יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת וְאֵת אִמְרַת קְדוֹשׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵל נִאֵצוּ׃ - Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes chaff and flame sinks dried grass, so their root shall be like rot and their blossom shall rise like dust; for they have rejected the Torah of Hashem of Hosts and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.
This is a complex verse; in fact, a verse of this structure is exceptionally rare to encounter. The Malbim frequently explains that the "clauses of the verse are parallel": if a verse or pair of verses contains four clauses, they are not read in linear order - 1, 2, 3, 4 - but rather 1, 3, 2, 4, where the first clause continues into the third, and the second clause continues into the fourth. But whereas this parallelism usually spans four clauses, here the Malbim explains a parallelism spanning six clauses - three parallel sets corresponding to one another.
And this is how it should be read. The first parallel: "Therefore, as a tongue of fire devours stubble... their root shall be like rot... for they have rejected the Torah of Hashem of Hosts." The second parallel: "And as the flame sinks chaff... their blossom shall rise like dust... and they have spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." Three clauses corresponding to three clauses.
The foundation of this explanation is that "the word of the Holy One of Israel" refers to prophecy, what Hashem spoke to the prophets. One who spurns the prophet's word commits a sin twice as great as one who rejects what is written in Hashem's Torah. First, in terms of language: concerning the Torah it says ma'asu ("they rejected") - and rejection is in the heart: "I do not desire this, I loathe it." But concerning the prophet's word it says ni'atzu ("they spurned") - and spurning is expressed with the mouth, where one actively insults, curses, and speaks disrespectfully against it. Second, in terms of substance: prophecy contains warnings and punishments addressed specifically to you - "I am warning you that if you do not do this, such-and-such will happen to you." There is a specific warning here for that generation and for those particular people, reflecting the Holy One, blessed be He's personal providence over them.
To illustrate this with an analogy: there are general army standing orders, and there is a direct order that an officer gives a soldier face to face, saying, "I am telling you to do this." When is insubordination more severe - when violating general standing orders, or when defying the officer's direct command? Surely with the specific order, where he spoke to you face to face, warned you, and you still did not comply. The same applies here: through prophecy, Hashem sent a special messenger to approach you, speak to you face to face, and say, "Do not do this, and if you persist, this will happen" - and yet you persisted. This is far more severe, and therefore the punishment will be far more severe as well.
The Malbim explains: kash (stubble) is the stalk, the base of the ear of grain. This does not mean the root below ground; rather, the ear of grain is the upper part containing the seed, and the stalk is like its root - the lower part extending from the seed down to the ground. Fire rots this root, burning it and turning it shriveled and dry, yet the ash remains in place and is not completely lost. This is "Therefore, as a tongue of fire devours stubble... their root shall be like rot" - the stalk will be scorched and withered.
In the application of the parable: the punishment strikes only the root, the stalk itself, but not the seed above - for the seed represents the children. That is, the punishment will fall upon you and not your children; you yourselves will be punished, the stalk burning like something that rots and stays in place. This corresponds to "for they have rejected the Torah of Hashem of Hosts" - you rejected what Hashem wrote in His Torah, which is relatively the lighter offense.
In the second parallel, however: "And as the flame sinks chaff... their blossom shall rise like dust... and they have spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel." Chashash is the noun for the flower of the stalk, the very top of the blossom, the upper portion. And this chaff "shall rise like dust" - here the damage affects not only the root, but also the seeds above, meaning the children as well. This is far more severe than the consequence for violating the Torah, where only the root was punished - only the parents; here the punishment extends and lays hold of the children as well.
Moreover, "their blossom shall rise like dust" - dust is carried away by the wind. In the first case something remained, ash remained: "as a tongue of fire devours stubble, their root shall be like rot" - the root shrivels, turns to rot, and leaves ash behind. But here, for those who violate the words of the prophet, the blossom will become like dust - scattered so that nothing remains of it, completely wiped from existence. And why? "And they have spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel" - because here there was contempt for the word of prophecy, and speaking out against prophecy is far more severe than loathing the Torah.
עַל־כֵּן חָרָה אַף־יְהוָה בְּעַמּוֹ וַיֵּט יָדוֹ עָלָיו וַיַּכֵּהוּ וַיִּרְגְּזוּ הֶהָרִים וַתְּהִי נִבְלָתָם כַּסּוּחָה בְּקֶרֶב חוּצוֹת בְּכָל־זֹאת לֹא־שָׁב אַפּוֹ וְעוֹד יָדוֹ נְטוּיָה׃ - "Therefore the anger of Hashem burned against His people, and He stretched out His hand against them and struck them, and the mountains trembled, and their corpses became like refuse in the midst of the streets; despite all this, His anger has not turned back, and His hand is still outstretched."
"And He stretched out His hand against them and struck them" - like a person raising his hand against his fellow and striking him. "And the mountains trembled" - there will be an earthquake in the land, where the earth swallows its inhabitants. Consequently, "and their corpses became like refuse in the midst of the streets" - kasuchah denotes brokenness, like uprooted and crushed thorns. "Despite all this, His anger has not turned back, and His hand is still outstretched" - throughout all these blows His anger did not subside, for until now He struck them Himself, and it did not avail. What will happen now? Hashem will strike them through enemies. And what is harsher, a blow directly from Hashem's hand or a blow at the hands of enemies? David said, "Let us fall into the hand of Hashem, for His mercies are abundant, but let me not fall into the hand of man." As it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: "Initially, the blow came directly from Me and had no effect; from now on, the blow will come at the hands of enemies."
וְנָשָׂא־נֵס לַגּוֹיִם מֵרָחוֹק וְשָׁרַק לוֹ מִקְצֵה הָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה מְהֵרָה קַל יָבוֹא׃ - "And He will raise a banner for the nations from afar, and whistle to it from the end of the earth, and behold, swiftly, lightly it shall come."
What is a "banner" (nes)? The tall pole upon which a flag was hung, as in, "Raise a banner toward Zion." When they wished to summon men to war, they would raise a flag atop a high mast, thereby gathering the warriors. And Hashem will raise a banner for the nations from afar so that they come. The prophet adds that He will not even need a banner - "and whistle to it from the end of the earth"; it is enough for Hashem to whistle from the end of the earth, and a mere whistling of the lips will suffice to bring them. And even though the enemy is at the end of the earth, "behold, swiftly, lightly it shall come": "swiftly" (meheirah) - meaning he will set out immediately, as we explained that swiftness refers to time; and not only quickly, but he will also hasten, lest you think he set out immediately but walked leisurely; rather, "lightly it shall come" (kal yavo), with agility in his stride, quickening his steps.
אֵין־עָיֵף וְאֵין־כּוֹשֵׁל בּוֹ לֹא יָנוּם וְלֹא יִישָׁן וְלֹא נִפְתַּח אֵזוֹר חֲלָצָיו וְלֹא נִתַּק שְׂרוֹךְ נְעָלָיו׃ - "None is weary and none stumbles among them; he neither slumbers nor sleeps, nor is the belt of his loins opened, nor is the strap of his shoes broken."
You might ask: An enemy's march takes time, for an army is a cumbersome force. Even an aircraft carrier does not set sail immediately; they must arm themselves and prepare. How much more so in ancient times, when an army required logistics, organizing food rations and an armory! To this the prophet says: Not so. The Holy One, blessed be He, will hasten and speed the enemy, so that his march will proceed with ease and swiftness without any delay. "None is weary" - on his own account. "And none stumbles" - for one who stumbles usually does so because of an obstacle on the ground, yet no external obstacle will delay him either. "He neither slumbers" - slumber (tenumah) is a light sleep, like someone taking an afternoon nap because he grew tired. "Nor sleeps" - the deep, natural, regular sleep that the body requires at night. He will need neither this nor that, and he will be able to march day and night.
And not only regarding his body, but even regarding his clothing he will not be delayed. "Nor is the belt of his loins opened" - the loin-belt is the girdle tied around the hips, and when they wished to run, they would tie it tightly, like Eliyahu HaNavi who girded his loins and ran before Achav, and as in the phrases "and he girded his loins" and "Gird your loins like a man." Why did they do this? Because while running, a person's inner organs shift, so they would tie the abdomen and internal organs firmly so that the running would be more vigorous. In those days, they would tie a knot, somewhat like a towel or a gartel, and during running it could come loose, requiring one to stop mid-stride and retie it - unlike today when we have specialized belts. But the prophet says: the belt of his loins will not open. "Nor is the strap of his shoes broken" - for often while walking, a strap snaps or comes undone and one steps on its edge; but the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring them with such swiftness that not even a minor delay to tie a shoe will occur.
אֲשֶׁר חִצָּיו שְׁנוּנִים וְכָל־קַשְּׁתֹתָיו דְּרֻכוֹת פַּרְסוֹת סוּסָיו כַּצַּר נֶחְשָׁבוּ וְגַלְגִּלָּיו כַּסּוּפָה׃ - "Whose arrows are sharp, and all his bows bent; his horses' hooves are counted like flint, and his wheels like a whirlwind."
He continues to describe the swiftness of his march: he will not even need to pause to polish and sharpen his arrows, for "his arrows are sharp" - they are already prepared, sharpened, and readied for battle. And will he need to draw the bow? "And all his bows bent" - bending the bow means stringing and drawing it taut to shoot an arrow, and here the weapon is already loaded. "His horses' hooves are counted like flint" - horses were fitted with metal shoes using nails, and at times a horse was delayed because a shoe fell off; but here there will be no need for that, for his horses' hooves will be as hard as flint, undamaged by rocks and needing no protection, allowing him to march without any concern. Not only that, but even the horses will become superfluous, for "and his wheels like a whirlwind" - the wheels of his chariots will roll as if on their own, like a whirlwind lifting the chariot through the air. All this describes the speed and swiftness with which Hashem will hasten His work, until disaster strikes all of a sudden.
שְׁאָגָה לוֹ כַּלָּבִיא יִשְׁאַג כַּכְּפִירִים וְיִנְהֹם וְיֹאחֵז טֶרֶף וְיַפְלִיט וְאֵין מַצִּיל׃ - "He has a roar like a lioness, he roars like young lions; he growls and seizes prey, and carries it off, and there is none to rescue."
After describing the swiftness with which the enemy will arrive, the prophet proceeds to describe his might and cruelty. The Malbim explains: the roar of a mature lion (lavi) is much more powerful than that of a young lion (kefir). A kefir is a lion cub; as for the lavi, its roar strikes terror into the human heart, whereas the kefir is still young and needs to practice before reaching the power of a mature lion. However, the kefir, excited by its own power, roars constantly; whereas an older lion takes time before it roars - see how drowsy lions are in the zoo, until you finally hear a roar from them once in a while. Therefore the prophet says: "He has a roar like a lioness" - a mighty, spine-chilling roar like that of a mature lion, yet "he roars like young lions" - continuously, in the manner of young lions that roar incessantly. Both qualities combined, and this is truly trouble upon trouble.
"He growls" (veyinham) - a lion growls specifically when it has no prey, as it is written, "Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey?"; roaring occurs when it has prey, while growling expresses distress when it has none. Yet here the prophet says: "he growls and seizes prey" - he growls like one distressed over a lack of prey, even while holding prey in his grasp! That is, even as he seizes prey, he will still growl. What does this mean? That he will continue searching for more and more. For an ordinary lion that catches its prey has attained its desire and is satisfied; but here he will continue to growl as if seeking prey even though he already has it in hand, never being satiated. And why does he need more? "And carries it off" (veyafliṭ) - he will take the prey and deposit it inside his dens and caves, stashing the spoils there. "And there is none to rescue" - there will be no one able to stand against him. Thus will the enemy come: insatiable, constantly demanding more and more, with none to save.
וְיִנְהֹם עָלָיו בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כְּנַהֲמַת־יָם וְנִבַּט לָאָרֶץ וְהִנֵּה־חֹשֶׁךְ צַר וָאוֹר חָשַׁךְ בַּעֲרִיפֶיהָ׃ - And he will roar against him on that day like the roaring of the sea; and if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress, and the light is darkened in its clouds.
After describing the terror of an enemy resembling a roaring and preying lion, the prophet offers another poetic metaphor: a ship tossed at sea. Until now, he spoke of the enemy, and now he says: Let me describe how you will look at that time. You will look like a ship battered in the great sea, tossed by the waves, threatening to break apart. This is the meaning of "And he will roar against him on that day like the roaring of the sea" - like the tremendous roar of the sea as it comes to sink the ship.
"And if one looks to the land [venibat la'aretz]" - the Malbim explains that nibat is related to the root lavat (to toil and struggle), as in "a prating fool shall stumble [yilaveit]" (Mishlei 10:8), meaning he will exhaust himself, and like "how we struggled [lavatnu] on this path" - how weary we became. That is, the passengers of the ship will be utterly exhausted, rowing with all their might to return to dry land, but they will be unable to do so. And why can they not? "Behold, darkness" - there is utter darkness and gloom, and one cannot see where the shore is. Furthermore, when you cannot see, the ship draws close to the shore without seeing where it is sailing, and the great danger is that it will run aground, for there are rocks in the sea. This is the meaning of "distress [tzar]" - tzar is a rock, a great crag [tzur], and the ship is liable to shatter on the rocks. Not only that, but "and the light [va'or]" - "light" here refers to a cloud; there will be descending clouds and thick fog, which pose a grave danger to ships. And finally, "darkened in its clouds [chashech ba'arifeha]" - that same cloud pours down its rain upon them, so that due to the heavy downpour they cannot see an inch ahead of them.
All this demonstrates the immense scale of the distress that will occur then: the enemy will be so terrifying, the speed of his arrival so astonishing, and the magnitude of the affliction and darkness so terrible, that seemingly no good could possibly emerge from such a state. May Hashem save us from all evil, Amen and Amen.
In this chapter, the prophet exposes the intellectual root of those who "draw iniquity": they demand that the punishment hasten and speed up so that they may see Divine Providence in it, and his response is that this demand contradicts the fundamental principle of free will - for the Holy One, Blessed is He, did not create robots. With Hashem, counsel does not precede action in the human sense, and only from the outcomes do we understand what His counsel was: the ultimate purpose is repentance, and His governance is patient and gradual in order to leave room for free choice. From there, the prophet turns to the three afflictions of discernment - in intellect, sight, and taste - emphasizing that while a person with a physical illness is still willing to listen, those who are "wise in their own eyes" are unwilling to listen even when discerning people stand right before them. He mocks their "heroism" in drinking and their pouring of strong drink in place of the strength of justice, condemns those who vindicate the wicked through blatant bribery, and teaches through the parallel of the six gates that scorning the prophet's words is far more severe than merely despising the Torah - to the point that punishment strikes not only the root but also the blossom, leaving not even ashes behind, but scattering them like dust. Finally, when the blows struck directly by Hashem's hand have ended and proved ineffective, "His hand is stretched out still" - and the enemy arrives with a single whistle, with a swiftness free of exhaustion or delay, with the roar of a lion and the growl of a young lion that knows no satiety, until Israel is likened to a ship battered in the darkness, amid jagged crags, fog, and torrential rain. May Hashem save us from all evil.