Introduction: From the Consolation of the Future to the Rebuke of the Present
Chapter 3 of Yirmiyahu alternates between severe rebuke over Israel's betrayal and great promises of consolation for the end of days. In the section before us, we find ourselves at the heart of the consolation: after stating that the people of Israel will be diminished to the point of "one from a city and two from a family," the prophet promises multiplication, an ingathering of the exiles, the reunification of the kingdom, and a complete rectification of the heart. From this consolation, the prophet returns to the present: what the Holy One, Blessed be He, intended for His people from the beginning, what we ruined, and how we must properly confess and return.
"They Shall No Longer Say: 'The Ark of the Covenant of Hashem'" - A Packed and Weighty Verse
וְהָיָה כִּי תִרְבּוּ וּפְרִיתֶם בָּאָרֶץ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵמָּה נְאֻם ה', לֹא יֹאמְרוּ עוֹד אֲרוֹן בְּרִית ה' וְלֹא יַעֲלֶה עַל לֵב, וְלֹא יִזְכְּרוּ בוֹ וְלֹא יִפְקֹדוּ וְלֹא יֵעָשֶׂה עוֹד. (טז) - "And it shall come to pass, when you multiply and increase in the land in those days," says Hashem, "they shall no longer say: 'The Ark of the Covenant of Hashem,' nor shall it come to mind; they shall not remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made anymore." (16)
This is a packed and weighty verse that requires explanation: What is the meaning of all these negatives repeated here five times, and what is this "Ark of the Covenant of Hashem" that will no longer be spoken of?
Rashi explains that the entire congregation will be holy, and they will no longer need the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem or seek it out to be saved from war. Although in Scripture we find this explicitly only once, in the episode with Eli, and presumably after the Ark of God was captured they never repeated this practice, it implies that this had been their custom in earlier times. In the future, since there will be no wars at all, they will no longer say, "The Ark of the Covenant of Hashem" - meaning it will not even cross their minds to bring the Ark out to battle, for wars will simply not exist.
The Metzudat David explains differently: "They shall no longer say: 'The Ark of the Covenant of Hashem'" - they will not say, "Let us go pray before the Ark." Why? Because the earth will be filled with knowledge and understanding, and all the people will want to come and pray, leading to overwhelming crowding where there is not enough room for everyone. Might they then construct other arks upon which holiness would also rest, so they could go and pray before them? To this the verse states, "nor shall it be made anymore" - they will not construct additional arks, because the Divine Presence will rest throughout all of Jerusalem, and their prayer will be accepted everywhere.
The Malbim's Explanation: The Gap Between Mouth, Heart, and Action
The Malbim first explains the opening of the verse: after the Jewish people have been reduced to the barest minimum, "one from a city and two from a family" - scattered individual grains - the prophet promises, "And it shall come to pass, when you multiply and increase in the land." And at the time when we gather in the land, all will be righteous, as it is written: "And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion... shall be called holy."
Regarding the rest of the verse, the Malbim offers an original interpretation: today's reality is that thought does not align with speech, speech does not align with thought, and thought does not align with action. We are all familiar with a person who makes plans, but when it comes time to implement and execute them - everything vanishes. He has a genuine and sincere desire, but tremendous difficulty in execution. At times, a person says with his mouth, "I will do it," while in his mind he has no such intention at all; at other times, he genuinely intends to act, yet in practice he fails to do so. In short, there is a disconnect within us between thought, speech, and action.
So too regarding the Ark: people speak with their mouths and declare, "The Ark of the Covenant of Hashem," treating it with reverence and extolling it - the Torah scroll inside it, the Holy of Holies, the Cherubim atop it - yet in truth, the matter is far from their hearts. For if it were close to their hearts, they would engage in Torah and observe the commandments of Hashem. This is mere external lip-service. It is like prime ministers who, in order to court votes before an election, say "with God's help," hoping it will sway a few people; they go visit the Kotel to be photographed from every angle, swapping yarmulkes - one day knitted, one day black, one day small - to curry favor with every constituency. The speech and external displays do not correspond to what is happening inside the heart.
Therefore, the Malbim aligns the verse as follows: "'They shall no longer say: The Ark of the Covenant of Hashem, nor shall it come to mind' - there will no longer be a state where people proclaim 'the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem' while the matter does not enter their hearts. In the future, anyone who says 'the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem' will possess a genuine intention in his heart, a deep reverence for the Ark, and will fulfill what is written in the Ark. His heart will not be divided from his deeds, nor his speech from the faith in his heart. Likewise, 'nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it' - it will not be like today, where they recall and note the Ark of the Covenant in their thoughts, yet 'nor shall it be made anymore,' meaning he remembers, he speaks, but does not act upon what is written. And what value is there in remembering and noting without action? Rather, in the future, the moment they remember, they will immediately act. In simple terms: thought and action will run in unison along a single track, unlike today, where thought is estranged from deed. The Malbim elaborates at length in his 'Be'ur HaMilim' section to establish this interpretation based on the grammar of the Holy Tongue, but we will not dwell on that here.
"They Shall Call Jerusalem the Throne of Hashem"
בָּעֵת הַהִיא יִקְרְאוּ לִירוּשָׁלַ͏ִם כִּסֵּא ה', וְנִקְווּ אֵלֶיהָ כׇל הַגּוֹיִם לְשֵׁם ה' לִירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם, וְלֹא יֵלְכוּ עוֹד אַחֲרֵי שְׁרִרוּת לִבָּם הָרָע. (יז) - "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Hashem, and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Hashem, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart." (17)
Not only will the nations no longer come to Jerusalem to wage war - as the Radak explained that this is the meaning of "they shall no longer say, 'The Ark of the Covenant of Hashem,'" that they will not need the Ark for battles - but the nations themselves will call Jerusalem "the throne of Hashem." "And they shall be gathered [venikvu] unto it" is related to mikveh, a gathering of water: the nations will stream and gather unto it to serve Hashem. Pilgrimages will arrive here, not for their vanities, but to bow down before Hashem.
There is a textual difficulty here in the verse: If it already says "and they shall be gathered unto it," and "unto it" clearly means to Jerusalem, why does it need to repeat and say "to Jerusalem"? The Radak explains that each person will say to his fellow: "Come, let us go to Jerusalem." The name of Jerusalem will be on everyone's lips; not only will they go there, but they will encourage one another.
"Neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness [sherirut] of their evil heart" - neither Israel nor the nations. The Radak explains according to its plain sense, from the root of shrir (hardness): a hardened heart, as in the legal phrase "shrir vekayam" (firm and enduring), where shrir means strong and hard. Rashi explains differently, and the Malbim follows his direction: sherirut is related to vision and sight, as in "from the hills I behold him [ashurenu]" (Bamidbar 23:9), and as in "its branches ran over the wall [shur]" (Bereishit 49:22) - where shur means a wall, so called because from there people would look out and observe, as in the phrase "look, gaze [shuru], and see." Accordingly, "they shall not walk after the sherirut of their evil heart" means they will not follow the skewed vision of their heart, for their heart previously saw only evil and was drawn toward evil. And similarly, "I see him, but not now; I behold him [ashurenu], but not nigh" (Bamidbar 24:17), which is also an expression of seeing.
The Malbim adds a profound explanation: Until now, when people want to describe the dwelling place of the Holy One, blessed be He, they say in Heaven - "Hashem has established His throne in the heavens" (Tehillim 103:19). And what does "in the heavens" mean? That His providence operates, so to speak, according to the laws of the heavens, according to the laws of nature, and not in an overt, miraculous manner. But at that time, they will call Jerusalem the throne of Hashem: there will be a miraculous providence above nature, to the point where it will seem as if Hashem is sitting right here with us; this is the throne upon which He sits, watching over and reigning over us openly.
Because of this, the nations will stream to it - not to wage war, but to eat of its fruit for the sake of Hashem's Name. The Malbim also addresses the repetition of "unto it... to Jerusalem," explaining that it is due to the great significance of the city: Jerusalem will be a city of immense prominence. The United States will yet regret the many years it refused to place its embassy in Jerusalem; as if they determine what Jerusalem is, as if they are the ones who decide! Rest assured - in the end, even Obama will come here on all fours. They will come to Jerusalem for the sake of Hashem's Name, to pray and to acknowledge the Name of Hashem. "Neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart" - they will no longer follow their own perspective, through which they look and see only what they wish to see, referring to the claims of heresy and the denial of Hashem's path. Rather, everyone will acknowledge Hashem's kingship, Hashem's unity, and Hashem's Torah.
The Unification of Judah and Israel, and the Ingathering of the Exiles
בַּיָּמִים הָהֵמָּה יֵלְכוּ בֵית יְהוּדָה עַל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְיָבֹאוּ יַחְדָּו מֵאֶרֶץ צָפוֹן עַל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הִנְחַלְתִּי אֶת אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם. (יח) - "In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers." (18)
"The house of Judah shall walk with [al] the house of Israel" - they will join them and be united with them to form a single kingdom. The Radak explains that "al" here means "with [im]," just as in the verse "And the men came with [al] the women" (Shemot 35:22), meaning together with the women. "And they shall come together out of the land of the north" - the tribes were exiled to a northern land: Halah, Habor, the river of Gozan, the cities of the Medes, and Sepharvaim, all of which are to the north and east, beyond Babylonia.
And if you ask, what does the house of Judah have to do with this, seeing that the house of Judah were exiled to Babylonia and returned? The Metzudat David explains that this refers to those who were exiled from the cities of Judah by Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and did not return during the Second Temple era; therefore, they will need to be gathered from the land of the north. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I will gather them all, and they will walk alongside the house of Israel - the Ten Tribes, as it is written, "and He shall assemble the dispersed of Israel" (Yeshayahu 11:12) - and unite as one. It will not be as it was during the time of the prophecy, when the kingdom was divided, but in the future there will be a unified kingdom and a single king, unlike the reality in which the kingdom split after the death of Shlomo.
The Malbim analyzes the precise wording, "al ha'aretz [concerning/for the land] which I gave for an inheritance" - why does it not say "el ha'aretz [to the land]"? Rather, "al" here has the meaning of "for the sake of." A person can leave another land and come here for one of two reasons: either because the Land is holy, precious, and exalted, and he desires to come because of its inherent virtue; or - and unfortunately, this has often been the primary reason - because he is persecuted there, and he finds refuge and sanctuary here. In the second case, the virtue is far lesser, for one arrived as a fugitive rather than out of appreciation for the Land's greatness, and had things been good for him there, he would have continued living there. Regarding this, the prophet states that in the future it will not be so: "And they shall come together out of the land of the north al ha'aretz" - for the sake of the Land, their entire coming will be for the sake of the Land itself.
"How Shall I Place You Among the Children" - The Holy One's Plan
וְאָנֹכִי אָמַרְתִּי אֵיךְ אֲשִׁיתֵךְ בַּבָּנִים וְאֶתֶּן לָךְ אֶרֶץ חֶמְדָּה נַחֲלַת צְבִי צִבְאוֹת גּוֹיִם, וָאֹמַר אָבִי תִּקְרְאִי לִי וּמֵאַחֲרַי לֹא תָשׁוּבִי. (יט) - "And I said: How shall I place you among the sons, and give you a desirable land, a heritage of beauty among the hosts of nations? And I said: You shall call Me, 'My Father', and you shall not turn away from following Me." (19)
"And I said" - in My heart, explains Rashi. "How shall I place you among the sons" - how can I place you, My congregation and nation, among the rest of the sons, meaning together with the other nations? And therefore I separated you from them and gave you a desirable land, so that the other sons would not corrupt you; I planned to set you apart, so that you would have no attachment to the other nations.
Radak explains that everything seen up to this point will be fulfilled by the Holy One Blessed be He in the End of Days, and even though you will be in exile for many days, you are destined to be redeemed. However, in his view, this verse is explained specifically regarding the prophet's own time, not the future. The prophet tells them: until now I have spoken to you about the future redemption, that after you are exiled, the House of Judah and the House of Israel will gather here and there will be a complete kingdom and all will be well; but now I want to speak to you about the present. "And I said, how shall I place you among the sons" - after all, "You are children to the Lord your God," and I am thinking right now how to place you as children. "And give you a desirable land" - right now, not in the future. That is to say, it is still within your power not to go into exile; put aside what will be in the future, come change reality right now, and I will keep you in the land.
"A desirable land" [eretz chemdah] - which everyone covets. "A heritage of beauty" [nachalat tzvi] - tzvi is related to desire [ratzon], that everyone wants it and desires it. And for "the hosts of nations," the Targum translates "the joy of the praise of the nations," for all the nations praise it. And how will this come about? Through the fact that "I place you among the sons" and give you a desirable land, you will call Me "My Father" and not turn away from following Me - and then you will remain here. And why should we speak of the future if the present can still be changed?
The Malbim, on the other hand, explains that all of this refers to the past: the Holy One Blessed be He is telling them what He originally planned and how they dissolved all of His plans. If according to Radak the message is "change now," according to the Malbim the message is "come, let Me tell you what My plans were." The Holy One said: from the very beginning this was My plan - to separate you from the nations, so that you would have no attachment to them, so that you would have a land of your own, a unique land.
And he compares this to a daughter among many sons, whose father is afraid to establish her dwelling among them lest they mistreat her, harm her, or corrupt her. What does he do? He gives her a special estate of her own, a field and a vineyard, an inheritance unconnected to the others, so that she will not spiritually deteriorate among the other sons. This is the meaning of "And I said, how shall I place you among the sons" - you will not mingle with the nations, and I gave you a desirable land. "A desirable land" - in its own right, for all covet it; "a heritage of beauty" - nachalah denotes something enduring forever, for all generations. And I said in My heart: since it is a desirable land, "You shall call Me, 'My Father'" - you will recognize that I am your Father and that I bestow only good upon you, and you will show Me gratitude. And since it is a heritage of beauty, an enduring gift, the Land of Israel being ours forever - "and you shall not turn away from following Me," you will not rebel against the word of Hashem. This is what I intended.
"Surely as a Wife Treacherously Departs from Her Companion" - Plans Gone Aground
אָכֵן בָּגְדָה אִשָּׁה מֵרֵעָהּ, כֵּן בְּגַדְתֶּם בִּי בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל נְאֻם ה'. (כ) - "Surely as a woman betrays her husband, so have you betrayed Me, O House of Israel, says the Lord." (20)
And yet, what happened in reality? The wonderful plans ran aground. You did not behave like a daughter whose father had benefited her, but like a woman who betrays her companion, that is, her husband. "So have you betrayed Me, O House of Israel."
The Malbim is troubled by the wording: why does it say "a woman betrays me-rei'ah [away from / because of her companion]" rather than be-rei'ah [against her companion]? After all, she betrayed him, not from him. He explains that me-rei'ah means because of the companion: as if because the companion betrayed her first. "So have you betrayed Me" - as though the betrayal you are committing against Me were caused by Me, as if I did not treat you properly. To this, the Holy One Blessed be He says: Did I not treat you properly? Was not everything I gave you far above and beyond what you deserved? See how much goodness I bestowed upon you, and what did you do - "Surely as a woman betrays her husband, so have you betrayed Me, O House of Israel, says the Lord."
"A Voice is Heard on the High Places" - The Shepherd and the Sheep
קוֹל עַל שְׁפָיִים נִשְׁמָע בְּכִי תַחֲנוּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, כִּי הֶעֱווּ אֶת דַּרְכָּם שָׁכְחוּ אֶת ה' אֱלֹהֵיהֶם. (כא) - "A voice is heard on the high bare heights, the weeping of the supplications of the Children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Hashem their God." (21)
Radak explains that "shefayim" refers to high places. People ascend the heights so that their voice can be heard from afar. In their time, there were no public address systems or high-decibel loudspeakers; rather, one would simply climb up the mountain and shout. There is a "mountain of shouting," there is an echo, and from the high place the voice carries far. This was also how they would muster an army for war - by means of shouting.
And what is the meaning of this? Radak says: It would have been fitting for their voice to be heard far away upon the heights. After all that you have done, this is what I ought to have heard - people standing on the mountains weeping and pleading, confessing "for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Hashem their God." Had they repented, wept, and said, "We have forgotten Hashem," I would have accepted them and said to them, "Return, wayward children, I will heal your waywardness," and they would have answered, "Behold, we come to You, for You are Hashem our God" - which is the continuation of the verses. But you do not act this way.
The Malbim poetically describes two distinct voices here: one - "A voice is heard on the high bare heights," a voice resounding over the high mountains; and the second - a voice rising from the valley, "the weeping of the supplications of the Children of Israel." The parable is: The Jewish people are like a stray sheep, a wandering ewe, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, is like a shepherd standing upon the mountain, searching for his sheep and calling out to her. This is "A voice is heard on the high bare heights": the shepherd stands on the heights and cries out, "Where are you? Where is my sheep?" And the sheep, down below in the valley, weeps and grieves - this is "the weeping of the supplications of the Children of Israel." And the reason she does not answer: she has forgotten the shepherd's voice and fails to recognize that the one calling to her is her shepherd.
And why are these two voices heard? "For they have perverted their way" - this is why they weep in the valley, having lost their way; "they have forgotten Hashem their God" - this is why they do not recognize the voice of the Shepherd calling from the heights. Had they known Hashem and remembered Him, they would have recognized the voice and returned; but because they forgot, the Shepherd's voice is heard on the heights - the Holy One, Blessed be He, calls to the Jewish people - while the Jewish people still wander in the valley like a lost sheep, failing to realize that the voice calling to them is the voice of the Holy One, Blessed be He.
"Return, Wayward Children" - The Shepherd's Voice and the Sheep's Response
שׁוּבוּ בָּנִים שׁוֹבָבִים אֶרְפָּה מְשׁוּבֹתֵיכֶם, הִנְנוּ אָתָנוּ לָךְ כִּי אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ. (כב) - "Return, wayward children, I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we have come to You, for You are Hashem our God." (22)
According to the Malbim, this is the meaning of the two voices mentioned: corresponding to "A voice is heard on the high bare heights" - what voice is heard there? The voice of the Shepherd calling out, "Return, wayward children, I will heal your backslidings." This is the Holy One, Blessed be He, calling in His voice for Israel to return. And corresponding to "the weeping of the supplications of the Children of Israel" - what does the sheep reply? "Behold, we have come to You, for You are Hashem our God." As for the vocalization: according to the commentators here, both Radak and Minchat Shai, it is not "Hinen-nu" with a dagesh, but rather both letters nun are without a dagesh (rafé).
אָכֵן לַשֶּׁקֶר מִגְּבָעוֹת הָמוֹן הָרִים, אָכֵן בַּה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ תְּשׁוּעַת יִשְׂרָאֵל. (כג) - "Truly, in vain is from the hills, the multitude of mountains; truly, in Hashem our God is the salvation of Israel." (23)
The Malbim continues the parable: The word "hamon" (multitude or clamor) is always related to "hemyah" (murmuring or commotion), for wherever there is a crowd there is talking, noise, and commotion; therefore, any large multitude is called a "hamon." Here the prophet describes that in response to the voice echoing among the mountains, the hills answer with an echo - the one standing on the mountain cries out, and from the hills the echo reverberates again and again. Consequently, the one standing in the valley hears not one voice but many voices: the original voice itself and the reverberating echoes. Thus, he does not know where the truth lies. This is the meaning of "Truly, in vain is from the hills, the multitude of mountains" - that is, Israel says: We are ready to return, "we have come to You," but we do not recognize Your voice and we do not know where we must return.
And the meaning of the parable: The true prophets tell us to return to Hashem, while the false prophets call on us to worship idols, and we do not know how to discern the voice of truth. We call them the false prophets, and to us it is obvious that it was falsehood; but to them, it sounded very real. All those prophets who called for idol worship are like the echoes of the voice calling out upon the mountains, and because of them Israel became confused and did not know where the Holy One, Blessed be He, was, or where to return.
And then Israel presents an additional claim: "Behold, we have come to You, for You are Hashem our God; truly, in Hashem our God is the salvation of Israel" - Master of the Universe, we lack the strength to return, we are so very impoverished; we need Your help. If Hashem draws us near and delivers us from trouble - then we will return. This is the perpetual debate between the Congregation of Israel (Kenesset Yisrael) and the Holy One, Blessed be He: The Holy One, Blessed be He, says, "Return, wayward children," while Kenesset Yisrael says, "Bring us back to You, Hashem, and we shall return." Who should begin? The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: You begin, and then I will open for you an opening like the opening of the Temple hall. And we say: Master of the Universe, behold, we come to You, but we are weak and have no strength, so You must initiate the action and You must bring us back to You.
The Malbim further notes the precision in the distinction between atanu ("we have come") and banu: atanu denotes an absolute, resolute arrival. As if Israel were saying, "We have come to You" - we have come to You entirely, to entreat Your favor. But the prophet says: surely it is in vain. For in reality, what are they waiting for? For Hashem to act, for Hashem to bring them back, for Hashem to be the One who does it all. If so, did you truly come? It turns out that this entire declaration of "we have come" is "truly in vain from the hills, the tumult of the mountains."
Rashi and Radak's Explanation: The Formula of Confession
According to Rashi, this entire verse is the prophet's instruction on how to confess. The Holy One, blessed be He, says, "Return, wayward children, I will heal your backslidings," and "I will heal" denotes healing. Radak explains that this refers to forgiveness, used as a metaphor: just as healing cures the body, so the Holy One, blessed be He, says that all your backsliding and rebellion I will heal - removing the corruption of the soul. And the healing of the soul is not accomplished through medicaments, but through reproof and the fear of Heaven.
And the prophet says: How should you confess? Say, "Behold, we come to You, for You are Hashem our God," and say, "Truly, in vain from the hills is the tumult of the mountains" - all that we went and served idols upon the mountains was a lie. The idolaters had their gods upon the hills, and it has become clear to us that it was all in vain, of no benefit whatsoever: idolatry did not save us, nor did it help us. "Truly, in Hashem our God is the salvation of Israel." This is what you must say to the Holy One, blessed be He, when you return to Him, and through this He will accept your repentance.
Radak further explains "in vain from the hills": the hills represent the nations, and we expected that a multitude of nations from the mountains would come to our aid - but this expectation was futile; we looked to a nation that could not save. "In Hashem our God is the salvation of Israel" - His eyes are upon us for good when we walk in His ways, unlike the other nations; therefore Hashem is called "the salvation of Israel," for salvation comes through Him alone, and there is divine providence over the Jewish people.
The Malbim, as is his way in many places, explains hamon in the sense of a tumult, a loud voice and great noise. "The tumult of the mountains" - because when we cry out to the mountains, we receive the echo as a returning sound. This accords with what he explained above: the Holy One, blessed be He, calls out, "Return, wayward children, I will heal your backslidings," and Israel responds: We hear a tumult from the mountains and do not know who or what it is; we cannot distinguish between the voices - when it is a voice from Hashem and when it is the voice of idolatry. "In vain" - we do not know where the voice of truth comes from.
"And Shame Has Consumed the Labor of Our Fathers"
וְהַבֹּשֶׁת אָכְלָה אֶת יְגִיעַ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִנְּעוּרֵינוּ, אֶת צֹאנָם וְאֶת בְּקָרָם אֶת בְּנֵיהֶם וְאֶת בְּנוֹתֵיהֶם. (כד) - "And the shameful thing has consumed the toil of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their cattle, their sons and their daughters." (24)
What is "the shame"? This refers to idolatry. The proof for this is that Yerubaal was also called "Yerubeshet." Why was he called Yerubaal? Because he took a stand against the Baal - "let Baal contend with him." And "Yerubeshet" conveys the very same idea: "let the shameful thing contend with him." It follows that the Baal is called shame, because there is only shame and humiliation for whoever engages with the Baal; whoever deals with idolatry derives no other benefit from it, only shame and disgrace.
"Toil" refers to the produce of the field. That is, the Baal brought about that as punishment for the sin of idolatry, blight, mildew, locusts, and enemies devoured the crops; likewise, it consumed the flocks and the cattle, and the sons and the daughters who died in the plague - all because of the sin of idolatry. And this is the language of confession: we acknowledge that all the harm that befell us came about because of the corrupt path we walked, because of the Baal we worshipped from the days of our fathers.
"Let Us Lie Down in Our Shame" - Shame Within, Disgrace Without
נִשְׁכְּבָה בְּבׇשְׁתֵּנוּ וּתְכַסֵּנוּ כְּלִמָּתֵנוּ, כִּי לַה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ חָטָאנוּ אֲנַחְנוּ וַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִנְּעוּרֵינוּ וְעַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה, וְלֹא שָׁמַעְנוּ בְּקוֹל ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ. (כה) - "Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us, for we have sinned against Hashem our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of Hashem our God." (25)
Just as our fathers were casual with their shame, so too we follow in their footsteps - "Let us lie down in our shame." And what is meant by "let us lie down"? Radak explains: A person in great distress who does not know what to do often reaches a state of total paralysis. He lies in bed, despairing, covers himself with a blanket, and does nothing, because he is in such anguish, depression, and despair that he has no desire to see anything or do anything. So say the people of Israel: We are in such profound distress that there is nothing for us to do; it is as if we have no solution. This echoes the biblical expressions, "though you lie among the sheepfolds," "and you shall be like one who lies down in the heart of the sea," or "like one who lies down on top of a mast."
"And let our humiliation cover us" - as it is said, "and the shame of my face has covered me." "From our youth" - we did evil just as we saw our fathers do, and therefore our humiliation covers us: "for we have sinned against Hashem our God, we and our fathers, from our youth," and over this, shame envelops us.
Metzudas David explains "let us lie down in our shame" as a metaphor: shame is depicted as bedding upon which we lie, while humiliation covers us from above. Shame is the mattress underneath, and humiliation is the covering above.
The Malbim explains that this state of lying down in shame signifies that we can do nothing. He adds an important distinction: there is a difference between shame (boshet) and humiliation (kelimah). Shame is always internal, from oneself - I feel ashamed of myself without anyone actively shaming me; I look at my deeds, feel regret, and shame covers me. Humiliation, by contrast, comes from the outside: one does not speak of humiliation covering him unless someone else has publicly disgraced him. Shame comes from within; humiliation comes from without.
Therefore, the phrasing is exact: "Let us lie down in our shame" - we are like one lying with shame, as a person lies with the wife of his bosom, joined to what belongs to him, for a wife is as his own body; so too we are bound to shame, which is an intrinsic part of us. But as for "and let our humiliation cover us" - since humiliation comes from the outside, it covers from above. It is not something bound to me, nor something I lie down with, but something that comes from the outside and covers me. In this light, the words of Metzudas David regarding the bed beneath and the covering above become clear, and according to the Malbim it is even more profound: humiliation is considered external to me, not something clinging to me and forming part of who I am.
In summary:
The prophet opens with a great promise: even if we are reduced to "one from a city and two from a family," we will be fruitful and multiply in the Land. In the future to come, mouth, heart, and action will unite - no longer will anyone say "the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem" while his heart is far away, nor will anyone remember and visit it without acting. Jerusalem will be called the Throne of Hashem, under a miraculous providence transcending nature, and the nations will stream to it for the Name of Hashem rather than following the sight of their evil heart. The House of Yehudah and the House of Yisrael will unite and come from the land of the north "upon the land" - for the sake of the Land and on account of its sanctity, rather than as refugees fleeing. On the other hand, the Holy One, Blessed is He, recalls His original plan: to set His daughter apart from the sons and grant her a desirable land, a heritage of beauty, so that she would call Him "My Father" and never turn away from Him - and the betrayal that ruined it all. At the end of the chapter, the prophet teaches us the path of teshuvah: the Shepherd's voice calls from the high places, "Return, wayward children," while the lost sheep weeps in the valley, failing to recognize the voice. We must recognize that everything else was a falsehood, that there is no salvation except in Hashem, and confess with internal shame and external humiliation: "For we have sinned against Hashem our God... and we have not obeyed the voice of Hashem our God."