| 1. Sound a shophar in Zion and sound an alarm in My holy mountain; all the inhabitants of the land shall quake, for the day of the Lord has come, for it is near. |
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א. |
| Sound a shophar: to announce to them that they should repent before the evil befalls them. |
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| the day of the Lord: which we mentioned above. |
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| 2. A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness, like the dawn spread over the mountains; a numerous and mighty people, the like of which has never been, and after it there shall be no more until the years of the generations. |
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ב. |
| like the dawn, spread over the mountains: The increasing locusts and the shearing locusts are spread over the mountains as the dawn is spread over the entire world. |
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| the like of which has never been: that all these species should come one after the other, but the species of arbeh alone did not equal that of Egypt, concerning which it is stated: (Exodus 10:14) “And after it there shall not be so.” |
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| 3. Fire consumes before it and a flame blazes after it; before it, the land was like the Garden of Eden, and in its wake is a desert wasteland; neither does it have a remnant. |
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ג. |
| Fire consumes before it: They destroy everything as though a fire consumes before them and a flame blazes after them. |
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| like the Garden of Eden: was the land before it came, and, after it goes, it leaves the land like a desert wasteland. |
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| 4. Like the appearance of horses is its appearance, and like horsemen, so do they run. |
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| Like the appearance of horses is its appearance: I.e., in their running. |
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| 5. Like the sound of chariots on the mountaintops, they leap, like the sound of a flame of fire consuming stubble, like a mighty people arrayed for battle. |
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ה. |
| like the sound of a flame: A flame, consuming stubble, makes noise. |
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| arrayed for battle: Heb. עֱרוּ. Since it is in the construct state, it is vowelized with a “hataf segol.” |
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| 6. Peoples quake from before it; all faces gather blackness. |
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| gather blackness: Heb. ק ִבְּצוּ פָּארוּר. Blackness like a pot, Cf. (Num. 11: 8) “And they cooked in a pot (בַּפָּרוּר).” The “aleph” is superfluous, and it is not read. |
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| 7. Like mighty men they run, like men of war they scale the wall; each one goes in his ways, and they do not make their ways crooked. |
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| and they do not make… crooked: Heb. וְעַבְּטוּן. This has no comparison, but its interpretation according to its context is: they do not make crooked. |
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| 8. And no one pushes his neighbor, each one goes in his path. They rest upon the swords and do not receive monetary gain. |
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ח. |
| and upon the swords: Heb. וּבְעַד הַשֶּׁלַח, (verse 9) “through the windows (בְּעַד הַח ַלוֹנִים).” Upon the weapons they fall and camp. |
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| they do not receive monetary gain: Heb. לֹא יִבְצָעוּ. They do not receive monetary gain. And Jonathan interpreted it (הַשֶּׁלַח) as an expression of an errand. Because of the errand of the Holy One, blessed be He, they cast themselves down, and they do not receive monetary gain. |
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| 9. In the city they clatter; they run on the wall; they go up into the houses; through the windows they come like a thief. |
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ט. |
| In the city they clatter: Heb. יָשֹׁקּוּ. This is an expression of making a din. Cf. (Isa. 33:4) “like the roaring (כְּמַשַּׁק) of the cisterns” ; (Prov. 28: 15) “A growling (שּׁוֹקֵק) bear” ; (Zeph. 2:9) “the clattering of (מִמְשַׁק) the thorns.” Jonathan, however, renders it as an expression of arms (נֶשֶק). They are armed. |
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| 10. Before it the earth quakes, the heavens tremble; the sun and moon darken, and the stars withdraw their shining. |
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י. |
| the heavens tremble: Because of the retribution coming upon Israel, they quake and tremble. |
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| withdraw their shining: Take in their light. |
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| 11. And the Lord gave forth His voice before His army, for His camp is great, for he who performs His word is mighty, for the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can abide it? |
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יא. |
| And the Lord gave forth (upon them) His voice: by the statement of His prophets prior to His sending this host of His. |
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| for His camp is great: I.e, the camp He will send against you if you do not improve. |
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| 12. And even now, says the Lord, return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting and with weeping and with lamentation. |
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יב. |
| 13. And rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and He repents of the evil. |
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יג. |
| and not your garments: for I do not pay heed to the rending of your garments. Another explanation: Rend your hearts and you will not need to rend your garments because of mourning. |
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| and He repents of the evil: I.e., He turns to another thought. |
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| 14. Whoever knows shall repent and regret, and it shall leave after it a blessing, a meal offering and a libation to the Lord your God. |
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יד. |
| Whoever knows: that he is guilty of iniquity. |
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| shall return and repent, and it shall leave: I.e., the hasil and the gazam will leave a blessing after it; through the repentance, a blessing will come in the produce. |
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| 15. Sound a shophar in Zion; proclaim a fast, call an assembly. |
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טו. |
| 16. Gather the people, prepare the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the infants and the sucklings; let a bridegroom come out of his chamber and a bride from her canopy. |
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טז. |
| assemble the elders: Heb. קִבְצוּ. This is of the form of (I Kings 18:19) “Send and gather (קְבֹץ) for me,” an expression which is weak and light. |
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| 17. Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep, and let them say, "O Lord, have pity on Your people, and do not make Your heritage a derision, for nations to make them an example. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' " |
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יז. |
| a derision: Heb. לְחֶרְפָּה |
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| for nations to make them an example: Heb. לְמְשָׁל, an expression of, (Deut. 28: 37) “for an example (מָשָל) and for a conversation piece.” |
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| 18. And the Lord was zealous for His land, and He pitied His people. |
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יח. |
| And the Lord was zealous for His land: Heb. וַיְקַנֵּא, an expression similar to (Num. 11:29) “Are you zealous (הַמְקַנֵּא) for me?” Their distress entered His heart, and He fought their battle and engaged in their necessities. Our Sages explain it as an expression of warning. He warned the locusts concerning His land. [from Sotah 3a] |
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| 19. And the Lord replied and said to His people: Behold I send you the corn, the must, and the oil, and you shall be sated by it, and I will no longer make you a derision among the nations. |
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יט. |
| derision: Heb. חֶרְפָּה, a derision, that they will call you ill- provided. |
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| 20. And the northerner I will distance from you, and I will drive him to a land barren and desolate; its face to the eastern sea and its end to the western sea, and its stench shall ascend and its ill savor shall ascend, for it did great things. |
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| And the northerner: Heb. הַצְּפוֹנִי. This can be interpreted as referring to the host of locusts, upon which the expression, “and I will drive him to a land barren and desolate,” fits aptly. Another explanation: The people that come from the north, viz., the kings of Assyria. And our Sages (Sukkah 52a) state: This is the temptation, which is hidden (צָפוּן) in a person’s heart. |
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| the western sea: the eastern sea. And our Sages, who interpreted it [i.e., הַצְּפוֹנִי] as a reference to temptation, interpreted these two seas as the First Temple and the Second Temple. I.e, they explain הַקַּדְמוֹנִי as first and הָאַחֲרוֹן as last. And so they explained it: Because he directed his face toward the First Temple and the Second Temple and destroyed them. [God says: I will drive him out to a land barren and desolate, where he will find no one to incite. That will be because he set his sights for the First Temple and for the Second Temple and, because he incited the people to sin, they were destroyed. The two Temples, where everyone would gather during the three Pilgrimage Festivals, are symbolized by the sea, where water of the streams gather.] And, according to the Targum , who explains it as a reference to the king of Assyria, we must explain “his face to the eastern sea, and his end to the western sea” to mean that part of his army I will send to the east and part of it to the west. |
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| its ill savor: Heb. צַחֲנָתוֹ. The word בָאְשוֹ, its stench, indicates concerning that it is an expression of filth. |
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| for it did great things: I.e, it did a great evil, for it stretched forth its hands upon the great. |
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| 21. Have no fear, O land; rejoice and jubilate, for the Lord has performed great things. |
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כא. |
| Have no fear, O land: I.e, the land of Israel, when you repent. |
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| 22. Fear not, O beasts of the field, for the dwelling places of the wilderness have become covered with grass, for the trees have borne their fruit, the fig tree and the vine have given forth their strength. |
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כב. |
| 23. And the children of Zion, rejoice and jubilate with the Lord your God, for He gave you the teacher for justification, and He brought down for you rain, the early rain and the late rain in the first month. |
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כג. |
| the teacher for justification: Heb. מוֹרֶה. Your prophets who teach you to return to Me, in order to justify you. |
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| the early rain and the late rain.: Heb. מוֹרֶה, like (Deut. 11:14) “the early rain (יוֹרֶה) and the late rain (וּמַלְקוֹש).” |
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| in the first month: In Nissan. Although the early rain is the first rain, which falls on the seeds, and that is in Marcheshvan, that year they sowed in Nissan, as is explained in Tractate Taanith (5a) that the grain grew in eleven days. |
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| 24. And the granaries shall be filled with grain, and the vats shall roar with must and oil. |
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כד. |
| shall roar: Heb. וְהֵשִׁיקוּ, an expression of making noise when the stream runs down from the winepress into the vat (הַיֶקֶב), which is the pit before the winepress |
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| 25. And I will repay you for the years that the increasing locust, the nibbling locust, the finishing locust, and the shearing locust have devoured-My great army, which I have sent against you. |
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כה. |
| 26. And you shall eat, eating and being sated, and you shall praise the Name of the Lord your God, Who has performed wonders with you, and My people shall never be ashamed. |
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כו. |
| 27. And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and I am the Lord your God, there is no other; and My people shall never be ashamed. |