Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

עיר עז לנו ישועה ישית To a city which is strength to us, he will appoint salvation. To Jerusalem, which is strength unto us, God will appoint salvation. חומות וחל For walls and bulwarks. חֵל הַחוֹמוֹת = חֵל the fence of the walls.. Note 2; on 21:11, Note 22.

Open ye gates, etc. The gates of that city should only be opened for righteous people like the Israelites, to enter and to dwell in it.

יצר סמוך תצר שלום Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee. Others are of opinion that שלום may be used as masculine and feminine.

Trust ye, etc. Therefore fathers will say to their children, Trust in the Lord, etc. ביה In the Lord. ב is a preposition, and has its usual meaning., גיה ,ביה ,איה, and so on. In his commentary on the book of Psalms (68:5), I. E. rejects this opinion, but without giving the explanation which is promised here., גיה ,ביה ,איה, and so on. In his commentary on the book of Psalms (68:5), I. E. rejects this opinion, but without giving the explanation which is promised here., גיה ,ביה ,איה, and so on. In his commentary on the book of Psalms (68:5), I. E. rejects this opinion, but without giving the explanation which is promised here. צור עולמים Everlasting strength. ביה In some books all the letters of the Alphabet are combined with this word (יה), which consists of one-half the number of letters composing the full name of God, in order to form new names for the Divine Being. In the book of Psalms (68:5) I shall explain this.

השח He bringeth down. A verb ע״ע like הֵקַל he afflicted slightly (8:23). Them that dwell on high, etc. This refers to the heathens. ישפילנה ישפילה He layeth it low, he layeth it low. He will continually lay it low; comp. עזי ומעזי My strength and my fortress (Jer. 16:19).

The foot shall tread it down, etc. He will bring it so low, that it will be trodden not by the foot of the noble but by that of the poor. רגלי = פעמי feet. Comp. פעמים (Ex. 23:14) = רגלים (ibid. 17) times.

The way of the just, etc. And why is all this? because there is no path for the righteous but that of rectitude, and Thou, O Lord, art most upright and dost weigh the path of the just. תפלס Thou weighest.

We waited for thee, O Lord, even for the way of Thy judgment, etc. These are the words of the righteous that hope in the Lord, that He will show His judgment in the universe; for the soul is longing for Thy name. Before ארח path supply the preposition ל for.

נפשי My soul, that is, the thought of my soul, was בלילה אויתיך I have desired Thee in the night; Yea the thought of my spirit within me, was אשחרך I will seek Thee early. Man has נפש soul and רוח spirit, as I explained in Koheleth. When Thy judgments are, etc. When Thy judgments appear on the earth the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. תבל World. The inhabited part of the earth.

יחן Let favour be shewn. A verb ע״ע; it is a form like יוסב is turned (28:27).—God is merciful to the wicked, but they will not learn righteousness; He has patience with them for a long time, they might perhaps improve. In the land of uprightness. In the place where the people are upright, they (the wicked) will do wrong. נבחות Straightforwardness. It is related to נכח before (Ex. 26:35); comp. נכחים right (2 Sam. 15:3). And will not behold, etc. He does not wish to consider the greatness of God.

רמה ידך בל יחזיון When Thy hand is lifted up they will not see. יחזו ויבשו קנאת עם But they shall see and be ashamed for their envy at the people; let them show their envy of Thy people, and be ashamed, אף אש צריך תאכלם And let the fire devour Thine enemies. Some explain the former phrase thus: Let them see Thy punishment inflicted upon all of them. According to this explanation, the phrase has the same meaning as the words אף אש צריך תאכלם yea, even the fire, which shall devour thine enemies.

תשפות Thou wilt ordain. Comp. שפות set on (Ez. 24:3). For thou also hast wrought, etc. For Thou hast always done for us what we do not know how to do.

Other lords, besides Thee, have had dominion, etc. For we worshipped Thee even when others became our masters. בעלונו Had dominion over us, were our masters (בעלים); comp. לבעליו unto the owner of them (Ex. 21:34). But by Thee only we make mention of Thy name. Nevertheless we praised Thy name. לבד בך But by Thee. Thou hast helped us, therefore we were able to praise Thee.

They are dead. Those our masters, that have owned us, are now dead.

יספת Thou hast continued. Thou hast removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. The more Thou hast chastised Thy people, the more they acknowledged Thy glory, even when exiled from their country.

In trouble. In their trouble. צקון They poured out. The נ is paragogic, as in ידעון they knew (Deut. 8:3); the word is besides irregular; the regular form is יצקו; the first radical is dropped in צקון; comp. ירד=רד he went down (Judg. 19:11). As to the phrase they poured out a prayer, comp. he will pour out his prayer (Ps. 102:1). מוסרך למו Thy chastening upon them. They mention in their prayer the punishment which thou hast inflicted upon them.

Like as a woman, etc. This verse describes the chastening mentioned in the preceding verse. תקריב That draweth near Lit. that bringeth near, namely, herself.

We have conceived, we have been in pain with, as we have brought forth, wind. We have conceived, and we have been in pain with wind, and so we have also brought forth wind. We had no strength to deliver ourselves; this is the meaning of the following ישועות בל נעשה we have not wrought any deliverance. We were not able to bring any deliverance. ארץ In the earth. Supply ב; comp. בששת=ששת (Ex. 20:11). ובל יפלו Some say, that א is omitted, as in ויפלו (Neh. 6:16); but the latter has its usual meaning (and they fell), as will be explained by me. I explain בל יפלו we could not help their falling.

Thy dead men shall live. Only Thy dead men shall live; God is addressed. Generally, it is believed, that this phrase contains some reference to the resurrection of the dead. Some explain it as a contrast to They are dead, they will not live, (ver. 14), they, that is, our masters, are dead, but we, who were considered as dead, are living. My dead body. The first person refers to the prophet, who is one of the Israelites, that are considered as dead. Let Thy dead men live, and let the dead of my people rise, as if they heard the cry: Awake, etc. טל אורות A dew of light. A dew acccompanied by light. Thy dew. God is addressed in these words. According to others, אורות means herbs; comp. 2 Kings 4:39; it signifies a kind of herb, which turns toward the sun and moon. וְהָאָרֶץ = וָאָרֶץ. And the earth Shall cast out the dead, out of itself. תפיל Shall cast out, shall bear; comp. כנפל אשח As the untimely birth of a woman (Psalm 58:9). Others explain, Thou alone hast given life to Thy dead; for it is the nature of the earth to throw the dead into its midst.

Come, my people, etc. R. Moses Hakkohen explains this verse to mean that the people shall shut themselves in Jerusalem, because of Sennacherib. חבי Some explain this word as a regular form of a verb (חבה) ל״ה; the feminine form חבי is used, because עם is sometimes feminine; comp. וחטאת עמך And thy people sinneth (Ex. 5:16). R. Jehudah, the Grammarian, says, חבה. that חבי is a noun like שבי captivity. The first explanation is the right one.

The Lord cometh out. The decrees of the Lord come out. Her blood. The slain, that are buried in the earth.