Rashi on the Prophets and Writings

The end has come Because I had said (Deut. 4:25): “and you will have grown old (וְנוֹשַּׁנְתֶּם) in the land, and you will practice corruption, etc., so that you will be lost.” [The word] וְנוֹשַּׁנְתֶּם has the numerical value of 852, but they stayed there for [only] 850 years: 440 from the time they entered it until the Temple was built, and [then] the Temple stood 410 years.

An evil, a singular evil Heb. רָעָה אַחַתרָעָה, a total, special evil, worse than all evils; that is the destruction of the Temple.
behold it comes Heb. בָאָה. Its accent is on the ‘aleph.’ It is in the present tense.

The dawn has set Heb. בָּאָה הַצְפִירָה. Its accent is at the beginning of the word, and it is in the past tense. The צְפִירָה has already set. The light of the dawn and the glory has already set.
and not the shout of the mountains [Jonathan renders:] And not to escape into the strongholds of the mountains. [The word] הֵד means the cry of the announcement to rise and flee to the mountaintops, like (Isa. 16: 10): “the shout [of joy] (הֵידָד) have I abolished.” Also (Jer. 51:1): “and they shall raise a battle-cry (הֵידָד) against you.” The shout of those who carry the load of grapes to the winepress and those who load on the beam.

Speedily Heb. מקרוב, [lit. from close.] Quickly.

Behold the day Behold the day has come.
behold it is coming The evil.
the dawn has gone forth The dawn of the day of the evil.
the staff has budded to strike you.
the willful wickedness has blossomed The wicked Nebuchadnezzar has revealed himself.

The violence has arisen, etc. The violence in your hands has risen upon you as a staff of wickedness to destroy you.
neither from them So said the Holy One, blessed be He, to the Destroyer: You are not required to spare a soul [from the wicked of Israel], for no good will come from them or from their children or from their multitude.
and no one among them longs No one among them longs or gives thought to Me, as in (I Sam. 7:2): “and all the house of Israel longed (וַיִנָהוּ) for the Lord.” This is an Aramaism: “And they longed (וְאִתְנְהִיאוּ) for My worship,” an expression of desire and longing. Menachem (p. 69) associated it with יללה, an expression of wailing, and the word retains only the ‘hey’ as a radical.

neither will the seller mourn Although one who sells his field usually grieves, he will not grieve because you are destined to go into exile.

For the seller will not return to that which was sold Once he goes into exile, he will not return and will no longer see the field that he had sold; so why should he mourn?
as long as they are alive All the days of their lives they will not return to their place.
for when the prophecy was [directed] to all her multitude, etc. For the prophets prophesy concerning all their multitude to repent, but they do not repent.
and each man’s soul is in his iniquity The life and soul of every one of them is attached to his iniquity.
they do not strengthen themselves They do not strengthen their heart over their evil inclination, to return to their Torah.

They sound the shofar When the enemy comes upon them, they prepare themselves for war, but no one will go out to fight.

like the doves of the valleys It is customary for doves to congregate in the valleys and moan there. They [the survivors] will moan on the mountains, where they will flee, each one for his iniquity, like the doves of the valleys, which all moan.

will go [like] water from the sweat of fright.

will be repugnant It will be disgusting for them.

And the beauty of His adornment of the Holy One, blessed be He, that He made for their pride. This is the Temple, called the pride of their might, as it is said (24:21): “Behold I profane My sanctuary, the pride of Your might.” They made in it the images of their abominations, therefore, etc.

My secret place The place where I was hidden among them.

Make the chain Heb. הָרַתּוֹק, the chain. It is a symbolic sign that they will go into exile bound in fetters.
crimes of bloodshed [lit. judgment of blood. Targum renders:] Crimes deserving of death.

the most wicked of the nations Heb. רָעֵי גוֹיִם. The most wicked and cruel of the nations.
and they will deliver as an inheritance Heb. וְנִחֲלוּ, they will give over to others as an inheritance.
their meeting places Heb. מְקַדְשֵׁיהֶם. The temples of the high places, where they would gather at appointed times; an expression of a house of their appointment.

A cutting off comes Heb. קְפָדָה like (Isa. 38:12): “I severed (קִפַּדְתִּי) like a weaver, my life”; a term denoting cutting off.

Happening upon happening Heb. הוָֹה עַל-הוָֹה, happening upon happening, being after being. Menachem (p. 70) associated it to a term for a breach.
and instruction will be lost from a priest who usually gave instruction, as is said (Mal. 2:7): “and teaching should be sought from his mouth.”