Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

בוקק. He maketh empty. Comp. Hos. x. i. ובולקה And maketh it waste. This word is met with a second time in the book of the vision of Nahum (Nah. 3:10). ועוה And turneth it upside down.

And it shall be, etc. All men shall be alike in this catastrophe. כעם ככהן וגו׳. As with the people, so with the priest. etc. When two nouns with the prefix כ follow each other, the phrase is elliptical; the complete sentence would be: as with the people so with the priest, and as with the priest so with the people, as with the servant so with the master, and as with the master so with the servant, etc. כמלוה As with the lender, as with him who gives away money without security. נושה The capitalist. אשר נושה בו He who borrows money on security.

הבוק תבוק. Shall be utterly emptied. Comp. בוקק (ver. 1); הבוק is infinitive Niphal of a verb בקק) ע״ע to empty). חבוק is formed like יסוב is driven back (Ps. 114:3.) הבוז תבוז Shall be utterly spoiled. The same.—Since God decreed this, there will not remain to man any cause to exalt himself above his fellow.

The earth mourneth, because the King of Assyria has destroyed many countries. נבלה Fadeth away. Niphal of בלל, to confound; comp. ונבקה, and it will be emptied (19:3); ונסבה and it will be surrounded (Ez. 41:7); the second נבלה might, however, be the Kal of נבל, to fade; comp. נבול תבול, thou wilt surely wear away (Ex. 18:18). יושבי מרום=מרום they that sit on high, the chiefs of the land.

תורות The laws. The laws which are dictated by common sense, in which all agree. are generally distinguished by saying that the former refers to those laws which society would make even without revelation; the latter, to such laws as would not be made without direct command in Scripture. This distinction is not applicable here, because the prophet speaks in this passage of laws that concern all nations. The explanation, however, given here by I. E., does not agree with his remark on Gen. 26:5, where תורה is explained to refer to the law of circumcision. What I. E. means by the laws contained in the natural order of things or by the covenant of the universe is more clearly stated in his commentary on Gen. 26:5, namely, שילך אדם אחרי מעשיו Man shall follow the ways of God displayed in his works. Comp. I. E. on Lev. 19:19. חלפו They have abolished. Comp. יחלוף, he shall abolish (2:18). חק Ordinance. The laws of God, contained in the natural order of things; and this is likewise the meaning of ברית עולם, the covenant of the universe.

באלה = אלה By a curse; comp. בששת = ששת, in sin (Ex. 20:11); according to others, the preposition תחת, for, is to be supplied; comp. פ׳ שפ׳ ונ׳ תחת = ונשלמה פרים שפתינו. And let us bring our lips (that is, the words of our lips, our prayer) instead of bulls (Hos. 14:2). חרו They are burned. Comp. וחרה, and may be burnt (Ez. xxiv. II).

The new wine mourneth, etc. Because there is none to dress the vine and to dig the ground. The merry-hearted. For wine maketh glad the heart (Ps. 104:15)

The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, from the feasts. The noise of them that rejoice, when they are drunk.

They shall not drink wine with a song, for the strong drink shall be bitter. יֵמַר is according to my opinion a verb ע״ע—comp. וָאֵקַל And I was despised (Gen. 16:5)—Niphal of מרר

The city of vanity. The city whose inhabitants go after vain things. Every house is shut up, that no man can come in. For every one will go out into the streets because of the great trouble.

צוחה A crying. על מקום היין = על היין In the place of wine. In the streets. Publicly. ערבה Is darkened. Comp. עֶרֶב evening.

ושאיה And with destruction. שאיה is a noun derived from שאה to be waste;comp. שואה desolation (10:3). In the city is left desolation. This phrase is used by the prophet improperly; comp. Better is he than both they, who hath not yet been (Eccles. 4:3).

בנקף As the shaking. נקף is similar in meaning to ונקף and he shall cut down (10:34). As the gleaning grapes, that is, only a few; for when the vintage is over, the gleaning grapes are left.

They shall lift up, etc. All commentators agree that from the words, Behold, the Lord maketh, etc. (ver. 1), the prophet refers to the remote future, to the war of Gog and Magog; only R. Moses Hakkohen refers this prophecy to the king of Assyria, and finds in a feast of fat things (25:6) the indication of the destruction of the hosts of Sennacherib, which remains the subject of the prophecy until the words, Woe to the crown of pride, etc. (28:1).— They shall lift up, etc., they that escaped, etc. ירנו They shall shout. Comp. הרנה the proclamation (1 Kgs. 22:36). They shall cry aloud from the sea. They that go on the sea, shall cry, etc. צהלו They shall cry aloud. Comp. צהלת הסום the neighing of the horse.

באורים Some explain it, In the countries; comp. כשרים אור the land of the Chaldæans (Gen. 11:31); others: In valleys. The former explanation is the right one. שם The name. Supply כבדו glorify; for the verb כבדו in the first half of the sentence refers also to the second. They (ver. 14) can also be explained to refer to the righteous.

מכנף From the uttermost part. The word כנף corner, is used here to signify a great distance, because the earth is round. צבי Glory. The word is derived from a Chaldaic root. And I said. Each nation will say so. Have we heard, etc. The same. רז׳ Leanness. Comp. רזון leanness (Ps. 106:15). The repetition indicates that these words are said every moment. בגדים בגדו וגו׳ Treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, etc. For all people deal treacherously again and again.

Fear and the pit, etc. And therefore the evil is come to all people; for when any person is in fear, and a kind of pit is near him, and his foot is besides caught in a snare, he must instantly fall.

Windows from on high, etc. A figure for decrees of the Lord.

רעה Is broken. Comp. תרועם thou wilt break them (Ps. 2:9); a word found frequently in the Targum. פור התפוררה Is broken asunder. Comp. ויפרפרני and he hath broken me asunder (Job 16:12); פוררת thou hast divided (Ps. 74:13)

The earth shall reel, etc. The inhabitants of the land will flee from one place to the other, and be moved like the cottage of the watchman; for the watchman changes the place of his abode. And shall be heavy, etc. When they will be about to move and to flee, their transgression will be too heavy for them, and they will fall. קום To rise. It is infinitive; comp. אלקום no rising up (Prov. 30:31 ).

Many refer this prediction to an eclipse of the sun and moon; but more correctly it is referred to the angels, that are ready to assist or to attack a nation. Comp. Dan. 10:13, 20. These words are therefore followed by: the kings of the earth on the earth; for the reign of the kings is in connexion with the reign of the angels.

באסיר = אסיר As a prisoner. As prisoners are gathered, etc. As people who are brought to the prison to be shut in are often left there for a long time before they are visited to be supplied with their food. The idea contained in this simile is, that this evil will last a long time. יפקדו they shall be visited, may also be compared with ומימים רבים תפקד and after many years thou wilt be visited (Ez. 38:8), and explained in an evil sense.

Then the moon, etc. Sun and moon, the rulers of heaven, are used here in a figurative sense for the kings of the earth, who will be ashamed; but it is also possible that an eclipse of sun and moon is meant by the prophet. The kingdom of God will then appear on the mount of Zion, and honour will be given to those that remain faithful to God. According to others this passage refers to the worshippers of the heavenly bodies; but this explanation is at variance with the context.