| 1. Woe to those who plot iniquity and work evil in their beds; when the morning becomes light they perform it, for their hand has the power. |
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| and work evil on their bed: All night they decide in their hearts how they will perform evil in the morning. |
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| 2. And they covet fields, and they rob; and houses, and they take; and they oppress a man and his house, and a man and his heritage. |
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| and houses, and they take: This refers back to “and they covet.” They covet houses. |
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| and they take: Heb. וְנָשָׂאוּ, like וְלָקָחוּ, and they take. |
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| 3. Therefore, so said the Lord: Behold! I plot evil against this family, from which you shall not remove your necks, nor shall you walk erect, for it is a time of evil. |
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| and you shall not walk erect: You shall not walk with an upright stature. |
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| 4. On that day he shall take up a parable against you, and he shall lament, "A lamentation has come about"; and he shall say, "They have robbed us! He changes the portion of my people! How will He turn to me to return our fields, which he divides?" |
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| and he shall lament, “A lamentation has come about…5”: Heb. נְה ִי נִהְיָה וְנָהָה. וְנָהָה is a future tense, like וְעָשָה, and he shall make, and וּפָנָה, and he shall turn. The lamenting one shall lament and say, “A lamentation has come about in the world. Now what is the lamentation that has come about?…” |
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| They have robbed us!: Heb. שָׁדוֹד נְשַׁדֻּנוּ. Our enemies have robbed us, The prophet uses the expression נְשַׁדֻּנוּ, in which there is a “nun” in the beginning, and does not use שַׁדוּנוּ, because נְשַׁדֻּנוּ serves in two voices, the passive voice and the active voice. Had the prophet written נְשַדֹנוּ, in the passive voice, the expression would refer to the robbed and not to the robbers. Had he written שַדוּנוּ, in the active voice, the expression would refer to the robbers and not to the robbed. This way, it refers to both: we were given into the hand of those who robbed us. In Old French, there is the expression somes degatert nous, we were ravaged. Another explanation: נְשַׁדֻּנוּ means we brought upon ourselves that they robbed us. |
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| He changes the portion of my people: The inheritance of the portion of my people has been exchanged to the enemy. |
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| How will He turn to me to return our fields, which he divides: How will He turn again to me, to return our fields to us, which this enemy divides for himself? How is it possible to return them to me anymore? All these are the words of the lamenting one who takes up the parable. |
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| How will He turn to me: Kome se destornera amois ? As in (Jud. 4:18) “Turn to me…. And he turned to her.” |
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| 5. Therefore, you shall not have anyone who casts a line by lot in the congregation of the Lord. |
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| who casts a line: Divides a heritage. It is customary to divide a heritage with a measuring line. |
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| 6. "Preach not, those who preach; they shall not preach to these; [then] they shall not take shame." |
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| “Preach not, those who preach”: Do not prophesy to reprove them. To you, the prophets who constantly preach, I say this. |
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| they shall not take shame: Lest disgraces from them overtake them, as the matter is stated (Prov. 9:8): “Reprove not a scorner.” Every instance of טִיף is an expression of prophecy, as in (Amos 7:16) “And do not prophesy (תַטִיף) concerning the house of Isaac” and (Ezek. 21:2) “And prophesy (וְהַטֵף) to the south.” |
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| 7. Is that what is said by the house of Jacob? Has the Lord's patience grown short? Are these His deeds? Do my words not benefit the one who goes straight? |
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| Is that what is said by the house of Jacob?: Do (the people of) the house of Jacob say this when they hear the evil that my prophets prophesy for them? |
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| Has the Lord’s patience grown short?: Is He now unable to do good, or does He not (now) have the patience that He had in the early days to do good? |
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| Are these His deeds?: I.e., to do evil? |
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| Do not My words benefit the one who goes straight?: I am not impatient, neither are these My deeds, except to the wicked; but with the one who goes straight, I do good. |
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| 8. And the matter for which My people causes [Me] to rise as an enemy, because of the garment and the mantle that you strip from those who pass by confidently, who return from the war. |
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| And the matter for which My people causes [Me] to rise as an enemy: Heb. וְאֶתְמוּל. The verse is connected to the one preceding it. I am good and do good, but the matter for which and because of which My people make me rise as an enemy to them… |
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| because of the garment, and the mantle that you strip: Because you rob the garment, and you strip the glorious raiment from all those who pass you by on the road. |
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| from those who pass by confidently, who return from war: Instead of passing by confidently, as they expected to, they became like men returning from war without clothing or food, for their enemies took everything they had. |
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| who return: Heb. שׁוּבִי, as in (Jer. 2:21) “A degenerate (סוּרֵי) wild vine” and (Zeph. 3:18) “Those taken away (נוּגֵי) from the appointed season.” |
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| 9. The wives of My people you drive away from the house of her delights, from her infants-you take away My glory forever. |
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| The wives of My people you drive away from the house of her delights: For you slay their husbands, and they sit as widows. Alternatively: since you take their husband’s money, and they (the husbands) sit and grieve and do not bring joy to their wives. |
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| 10. Arise and go, for this is not the tranquility; in order to contaminate it, it forms bands, and the band is clarified. |
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| Arise and go, for this is not the tranquility: Arise and go into exile from the land, for it was not in this manner that I gave it to you for tranquility. |
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| in order to contaminate it, it forms bands, and the band is clarified: In order to contaminate it [the land], it [the people] forms a band of groups of wicked men. |
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| it forms bands: Heb. תְּחַבֵּל. This is an expression of companies, as in (I Sam. 10:5) “a band (חֶבֶל) of prophets”; (Ps. 119:61) “Bands of (חֶבְלֵי) wicked men.” And so did Jonathan render: And they band together upon it, an expression of a band. |
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| and the band is clarified: Heb. וְחֶבֶל נִמְרָץ. And at the time of their banding together, they already took counsel among themselves and explained for what purpose they were banding together. |
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| clarified: Heb. נִמְרָץ. A thing explained clearly, as in (Job 6:25) “How clear (נִמְרְצוּ) are right words” ; (ibid. 16:3) “What clarifies (יַמְרִיצְ) to you” ; (I Kings 2:8) “A clear (נִמְרֶצֶת) curse.” |
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| 11. If a man walking in wind and falsehood lies, "I will preach to you of wine and strong drink," he shall be a preacher for this people. |
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| If a man walking in wind: If they (the people) would find a man walking in wind, a false man prophesying to them that they become drunk with wine and strong drink, he would be an acceptable prophet to this people. |
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| 12. I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of you; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; together I will make them as sheep in a fold, as a flock within its stall shall they stir with people. |
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| I will surely assemble: Days will yet come when I will assemble you. |
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| as sheep in a fold: Like many sheep placed in the fortresses of the sheep folds. |
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| within its stall: Heb. הַדָּבְרוֹ. Jonathan renders: And as a flock within a stall, the place where they are led; and likewise (Isa. 5:17): “And lambs shall graze as their wont (כְּדָבְרָם).” |
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| shall stir with people: The cities shall be noisy because of the large number of people in their midst. |
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| 13. The breaker has gone up before them; they broke and passed through a gate and went out through it; and their king passed before them, and the Lord was at their head. |
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| The breaker has gone up: Their savior, who breaks the fences of thorns and the hedges of briers, to straighten the road before them. |