Ibn Ezra on Isaiah

כקרח אש המסׁים As when the melting fire burneth, and mountains melt in the heat of the fire, and. מים תבעה אש Like the water, which the fire causeth to boil. As to תבעה causeth to boil (lit. swelleth) comp. אבעבעות blains (Ex. 9:9). מפניך גוים ידגזו Thus the nations would tremble at Thy presence.

בעשותך When thou didst. נוראות Terrible things. It is an adjective, and a noun must be supplied. Comp. עזות rough words (Prov. 18:20). לא נקוה Which we looked not for. ירדת When thou camest down. מפניך הרים נזלו Then the mountains flowed down at Thy presence. Such things Thou hast already done in the past.

לא שמעו ונו׳ Men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, etc. יעשה What he will prepare. למחכה For him that will wait.

פגעת וגו׳ Thou didst meet him, etc. When thou wast angry in former days, thou didst meet the righteous; comp. Had not Moses, his chosen, stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath? (Ps. 106:23). It may also be rendered, Thou acceptedst the prayer of him, etc. Comp. לא אפגע אדם I will not accept the prayer of any man (47:3; 53:12). את שש Him that rejoiced. The righteous man that rejoiced in God. In Thy ways. The ways which Thou hast taught us through the faithful of Thy house. הן אתה קצפת ונחטא But now Thou art wroth, for we have sinned, or Behold Thou wast angry, for we had sinned. בהם Through them, that is, through the righteous men. עולם The disappearance of the wrath. ונושע And we were saved. It is the imperfect.

ונהי כטמא כלנו But now we are all as an unclean thing. עדים Filthy rags. It is derived from עַד spoil (Gen. 49:47); for the garment of the spoil is usually stained with blood. וַנָּבֶל And we fade away. The radical נ and the prefix of the first person plural are contracted into one letter. The root of the word is נבל. Comp. נבלת, fading (1:30). There is no other word similar to it in form.

מתעורר That stirreth up himself. It is an adjective. להחזיק To take hold with his hand. ותמוגנו And hast consumed us. Comp. נמנו they melt (Ex. 15:15)

But now do unto us according to Thy will; there is no strength in us; for we are like clay, etc.

Be not wroth very sore, for Thou hast been very angry. We are all Thy people now.

The holy cities, etc. Supply הבט, see from the preceding verse. Look at the towns which Thou hast sanctified with Thy name, and which are now desolate.

Our holy and our beautiful house. The temple. Where our fathers praised Thee through the mouth of the Levites, the singers. by singing, and this was done in the temple by the Levites. In a more general sense it is paraphrased in Targum Jonathan: דפלחו קדמך אבהתנא where our ancestors worshipped Thee.

תחשה Wilt Thou hold Thy peace? Wilt Thou not hasten to save us.