Introduction to the Chapter
Chapter 11 of Hoshea is one of the most touching chapters in the book. It opens with a description of Hashem's love for Israel from the days of their youth in Egypt, moves on to depict the ingratitude of Ephraim who calls out to the Ba'alim instead of calling to Him, and reaches its climax in the great dilemma that the Holy One, blessed be He, so to speak, grapples with: if I distance Myself from them, the king of Assyria will destroy them; yet if I return to dwell among them, I will not be able to tolerate their deeds and will destroy them Myself like Admah and Tzevoyim. Out of this dilemma is born the middle path presented in the chapter, which concludes with a promise of return and redemption. We will proceed through the verses in order, primarily guided by the Malbim, alongside Rashi, Radak, Ibn Ezra, and Targum Yonatan.
Verse 1: Love from Youth
כִּי נַעַר יִשְׂרָאֵל וָאֹהֲבֵהוּ וּמִמִּצְרַיִם קָרָאתִי לִבְנִי׃ - For Israel was a youth and I loved him, and out of Egypt I called to My son.
"For Israel was a youth" - when the people of Israel were still tender in years, still in swaddling clothes, in the days of Egypt. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: even then, "and I loved him," already back then I loved him. "And out of Egypt I called to My son" - even though he did not call out to Me, for the people of Israel were not in a state where they would turn to Hashem, I called to him out of My love. Like a father who loves his son and calls him to come to him, even though the son is not looking for his father, and out of great love the father seeks out his son. This is how most commentators explain it.
Targum Yonatan explains differently: "And from Egypt I called them sons." That is, it does not mean I called him to come, but rather that I named him: already from Egypt I called him by the title "My son."
Verse 2: They Call - and No One Answers
קָרְאוּ לָהֶם כֵּן הָלְכוּ מִפְּנֵיהֶם לַבְּעָלִים יְזַבֵּחוּ וְלַפְּסִלִים יְקַטֵּרוּן׃ - They called to them, so they went away from them; to the Ba'alim they sacrifice, and to graven images they burn incense.
Radak explains: the prophets whom I sent called out to them constantly to return to Hashem, but they would not listen, nor would they remove their evil deeds from before them; rather, they continued sacrificing to the calves and burning incense to their graven images. Rashi explains similarly.
The Malbim explains in an entirely different manner: "They called to them" - the worshippers of the Ba'al are the ones calling out to the Ba'alim. The beginning of the verse connects to its end: whom did they call? The Ba'alim and the graven images mentioned at the end of the verse. And observe: they call to them, yet "so they went away from them" - the Ba'alim do not answer them, but walk away from them. This is why idolatry is called atzabbim, because it saddens (ma'atzivah) its worshippers, as it never answers them. And this is the sharp contrast: I said, "and out of Egypt I called to My son," yet they "called" to the Ba'alim. See the stark contrast between the kindnesses I bestowed upon them and the evil they perform toward Me.
The Malbim notes a precision in the distinction between "to the Ba'alim they sacrifice" and "to graven images they burn incense": slaughtering a sacrifice is the primary act of worship, the slaughter of the offering, and it is offered to the Ba'alim themselves. Burning incense, by contrast, is a secondary act of worship, and was therefore offered to the statue in its honor. There is the entity of the idol itself, and there are the statues made in its honor, to which the secondary act of burning incense was dedicated.
Verse 3: I Taught Ephraim to Walk
וְאָנֹכִי תִרְגַּלְתִּי לְאֶפְרַיִם קָחָם עַל־זְרוֹעֹתָיו וְלֹא יָדְעוּ כִּי רְפָאתִים׃ - And I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them upon His arms, but they knew not that I healed them.
Why is Ephraim specifically mentioned here? Because it was Ephraim who made the golden calves. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: How could they do such a thing to Me, after I performed so much kindness for them and accustomed them to My Torah and My service? Rashi explains tirgalti from the root of habituation (hirgalti): I sent before them a leader who gently accustomed them. The word tirgalti appears only once in Tanach and does not recur. "Taking them upon His arms" - this refers to Moshe Rabbeinu, as it is said, "as a nursing father carries the suckling," and as Moshe was told, "Carry them in your bosom," and he bore them upon his arms.
"And they knew not that I healed them" - did they truly not know that healing comes from Hashem? Rashi explains: They did know, but they trampled it underfoot and acted as if they did not know. Therefore it says, "and they knew not," as if they were unaware that healing came from Me.
The Midrash Aggadah (Rabbi Tanchuma) expounds the verse in reference to the sons of Yosef. When Yosef brought Ephraim and Menasheh before Yaakov to bless them, Yaakov saw through divine inspiration (Ruach HaKodesh) that wicked individuals were destined to descend from them - from Ephraim would come Yarov'am and Achav - and the Ruach HaKodesh departed from him. He said, "Who are these?" - meaning, who are these who are unworthy of blessing? Yosef pleaded for mercy, and the Ruach HaKodesh rested upon Yaakov once more, and he blessed them. This is the meaning of "And I taught Ephraim to walk (tirgalti)" - I accustomed My Ruach HaKodesh to come upon Yaakov for Ephraim's sake, and for him to take them upon his arms, as in: "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them." And yet see how in return, Ephraim commits corrupt deeds.
The Malbim explains tirgalti from the root regel (foot): as it were, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, I am Ephraim's feet. The feet are the foundation upon which one stands, and upon what does Ephraim stand? Upon whom? Hashem says: Upon Me. "Taking them upon His arms" - Ephraim carries the Ba'alim in his arms and stands with them, but in truth he is standing upon My feet. I am the One who bears everything: I uphold Ephraim, and Ephraim holds up the Ba'alim! And what happens as a result? "And they knew not that I healed them": when healing comes to him, he is certain that the Ba'alim he carries in his arms are what healed him, whereas in truth I was the One who healed him. You and your Ba'al both stand upon My feet, yet you carry it as though healing came from it, imagining that the idol was the one that saved you.
Verse 4: With Cords of Man, with Bands of Love
בְּחַבְלֵי אָדָם אֶמְשְׁכֵם בַּעֲבֹתוֹת אַהֲבָה וָאֶהְיֶה לָהֶם כִּמְרִימֵי עֹל עַל לְחֵיהֶם וְאַט אֵלָיו אוֹכִיל׃ - I drew them with cords of man, with bands of love, and I was to them like those who lift a yoke from their jaws, and I gently offered him food.
The prophet already compared Ephraim to a heifer, like a "trained heifer" that is not trained for harsh labor but only for threshing, for light work, and here he continues that metaphor. A heifer is pulled with a rope: a rope is tied to its head and it is dragged against its will. Hashem says: I drew Israel "with cords of man" - not with an animal's rope, but in the manner that a person draws another person. And how does one draw a fellow human being? Rashi explains throughout the Torah on phrases like "Take Aharon" and the like: take them with persuasive words. For when someone is told, "take the cup," he picks it up; when told, "take the ox," he grasps the rope and pulls it. But a human being cannot be taken like that: taking a person means motivating him, persuading him, and inspiring in him the desire to come on his own. This is "with bands of love" - by way of gentle persuasion.
"And I was to them like those who lift a yoke from their jaws" - the Radak explains: like someone who has mercy on the heifer so it does not plow excessively, lifting the yoke off its neck and resting it upon its cheeks so that it may rest a bit. That is how I treated them: I lifted the yoke from their necks, meaning I removed the burden from them. "And I gently offered him food" - and even while it rested from its toil, they would bring its food right to its place. Ochil is from the language of food (ma'achal). One might have expected: There is no longer a yoke upon your neck, so go graze and seek food on your own. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: No, rather, gently and tenderly I brought food to where it was standing. The analogy applies to Israel - I did not make the yoke heavy upon them; I provided all their needs in the wilderness without any burden, bread and meat. Yet despite this, they acted corruptly and did not conduct themselves in accordance with the goodness I gave them.
The Malbim explains differently: "I drew them with cords of man" - I brought a man upon them, namely Ashur, who bound them with ropes. As Rashi explains, when Ashur came, he took us captive, bound us in chains, and exiled us. These are the cords of man, the one who bound us under the yoke of that king. On the other hand, Hashem says: "with bands of love" - I draw them to Myself to be under My domain and under My providence out of My love for them, and bands are stronger than ropes. If Nebuchadnezzar pulls with ropes, I pull with bands. And how? "And I was to them like those who lift a yoke from their jaws" - I eased the burden upon them; "and I gently offered him food" - I brought them food gently, like the Radak's parable of one who pities the beast pulling under the yoke, where the yoke weighs it down and prevents it from eating, so he lifts the yoke and brings food near its mouth. Hashem says: Even though I drew them with cords of man, My true desire was to draw them with bands of love - to help them, support them, and nourish them.
The Malbim explains the difference between a cord (chevel) and a thick band (avot): an avot consists of three cords braided together, just as in the verse "a bough of a thick-branched tree" (anaf eitz avot) concerning the hadas (myrtle), which must have three leaves emerging from a single socket; if it does not have three, it is not considered avot.
Verse 5: He Shall Not Return to the Land of Egypt
לֹא יָשׁוּב אֶל־אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וְאַשּׁוּר הוּא מַלְכּוֹ כִּי מֵאֲנוּ לָשׁוּב׃ - He shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be his king, because they refused to repent.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: I wanted to lighten their yoke. True, because of their sins they were destined to fall into the hands of Assyria - "Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger" - but had they not corrupted their ways further, their situation would have been far easier. Had they not rebelled and sent emissaries to So, king of Egypt, as we saw earlier, the fury of the king of Assyria would not have been aroused against them: "I conquered you, you are my subjects, and you seek to rebel against me and turn to So, king of Egypt, to rescue you from me?" This is what made his yoke so heavy upon them.
Therefore, I warned and counseled them: "He shall not return to the land of Egypt, but Assyria shall be his king." Since "they refused to return" to Me, they inevitably had to endure suffering, and I brought the king of Assyria upon them. It was wrong for them to violate their covenant, return to Egypt, and rebel against the king of Assyria, for if they insisted on warding off affliction and seeking alternative routes through the king of Egypt - the king of Assyria would only intensify his yoke and the devastation would be immense. In summary: even though "I drew them with ropes of a man," meaning the king of Assyria, I was still bound to them with cords of love; and had you not acted to cast off the ropes, you would have seen that I was drawing you with cords of love and keeping you close to Me. But you sought to remove them, and as a result, the wrath of the king of Assyria blazed, and he exiled everyone. See how you brought ruin upon yourselves.
Rashi explains: When I redeemed them from Egypt, I promised them, "You shall never see them again," and this promise meant that there would be no exile. And what did you do? Behold, "Assyria is his king." And why all this? "Because they refused to return." I took you out of subjugation, yet you corrupted your deeds and ended up in another subjugation. And what did you gain? If not Egypt - then Assyria. Had you only returned to Hashem, you would not have been subjugated at all.
Verse 6: “And It Shall Consume Them Because of Their Counsels”
וְחָלָה חֶרֶב בְּעָרָיו וְכִלְּתָה בַדָּיו וְאָכָלָה מִמֹּעֲצוֹתֵיהֶם׃ - And the sword shall whirl through his cities, and consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.
The Malbim explains: They did not heed My counsel; they insisted on sending messengers to the king of Egypt, and because of this Assyria came and exiled them. And if a sword whirled through his cities, consumed his branches and boughs, and devoured everything - says the Holy One, blessed be He, your grievances cannot be directed at Me; the blame lies within you. This is the meaning of "and devour them, because of their own counsels": everything that happened here stemmed from your own schemes; your own counsel brought this upon you. Had you listened to My advice, you would have bowed your head before the king of Assyria, accepted his yoke and borne it, and afterward the Holy One, blessed be He, would have drawn you with cords of love. But you decided to cast off that suffering, and consequently the Holy One, blessed be He, brought far harsher afflictions upon you.
Radak explains ve-chalah ("shall whirl") as an expression of falling and resting, as in yachulu al rosho ("they shall fall upon his head"). "And consume his branches [baddav]" - the baddim are the branches, which symbolize the villages: the fortified cities are like the trunk, and the branches are the outlying villages and distant settlements. Since the verse already mentioned cities, "his branches" refers to the villages far from the city itself.
Verse 7: “And My People Are in Suspense About Returning to Me”
וְעַמִּי תְלוּאִים לִמְשׁוּבָתִי וְאֶל־עַל יִקְרָאֻהוּ יַחַד לֹא יְרוֹמֵם׃ - And My people are in suspense about returning to Me; though they call them on high, none at all will exalt Him.
Rashi explains: When the prophets instruct them to return to Me, they are "in suspense" (telu'im) - hanging in doubt, wavering whether to return or not, and only with great difficulty do they return to Me. Radak raises a difficulty with this explanation, for we never find the word meshuvah used in Scripture except in a derogatory sense (waywardness or backsliding), whereas here it is interpreted in the sense of teshuvah (repentance), which is positive. Targum Yonatan also interprets it positively here, but the explanation remains difficult, because the term meshuvah is always linked to mischief, wayward deeds, and straying from the proper path.
"Though they call them on high" - Rashi explains: To the lofty calling toward which the prophets summon them together, My people do not exalt it, nor are they willing to do it. The prophets urge them to elevate themselves, to reach a high spiritual plane, to rise upward and serve Hashem, yet all together cry out - "he will not exalt," he does not elevate himself, remaining stuck in his materialism and idolatry. Rashi also cites an alternative interpretation: harsh and evil misfortunes strike him, with el here meaning strength (as in yesh le-el yadi, "it is in the power of my hand"). However, this is difficult to accept, because here el is vocalized with a segol (אֶל), whereas in le-el yadi it is with a tzeireh (אֵל); thus it is far more likely that el here denotes direction - toward that place - rather than power. Rashi also cites Targum Yonatan: "Together they will not exalt" - together, they will not walk with an upright stature.
Radak explains telu'im from the language of being suspended or hanging, but in his view they are not hanging in hesitation whether to repent, but rather suspended between distress and relief: their situation is not stable, sometimes good and sometimes bad. And the reason - limshuvati, because of the backsliding (meshuvah) they commit, as the term meshuvah is always negative. Had they not rebelled against Me, they would have been in constant tranquility. Radak also brings an additional interpretation in the name of his father: telu'im limshuvati - they are hanging in doubt regarding My commandments. In order to rebel against Me, they constantly raise doubts: Did Hashem truly command this? Is this really what Hashem wants? Is it obligatory? And from where do all these doubts stem? Limshuvati - out of a desire for backsliding and rebellion, they continually stir up doubts regarding the commandments of Hashem. "And though they call them to the Most High" - the prophets call upon them to return to the Supreme God, yet "none at all will exalt Him" - all together, not one among them returns to Hashem to exalt and magnify His Name with his mouth. Ibn Ezra explains following Targum Yonatan, that they do not lift their heads, and interprets yeromem as if it were vocalized with a patach, meaning that no one truly succeeded in ascending to the level he thought he would reach.
Malbim: The Allegorical Picture - Hashem Stands Between Heaven and Earth
Malbim explains this entire prophecy as a single parable. The king of Assyria has conquered Shomron and wishes to annihilate everyone, and the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, has withdrawn from them and returned to His place in heaven. For when He exercises His providence on earth, the Shechinah as it were descends here, and when He abandons us to natural misfortunes, the Shechinah is uprooted and departs the place, as we have seen in the stages of exile where the Shechinah departed until He said, "I will go and return to My place." Notice, however: He has not yet distanced Himself completely, but stands, so to speak, between earth and heaven. On the one hand, because of the sins committed on earth, He desires to withdraw entirely and return to His exalted dwelling place; on the other hand, He has compassion and mercy upon us, and from this perspective He desires to extend His mercy, descend to us, and govern us with compassion.
And Israel awaits His mercy and lifts their eyes to Him to save them. This is the meaning of "And My people are suspended" - suspended and lifting their eyes on high, pleading limshuvati, for My return, that I should return to them and be close to them, for Hashem is, as it were, standing in the middle, having not yet decided whether to leave completely or return and rule over them. "And to the Most High they will not exalt Him" - all of Israel plead: Master of the Universe, it is enough that You are distant from us; do not elevate Yourself further, returning to Your lofty dwelling and ceasing to watch over us altogether! First of all, they hope that I will return to them; and if I do not return, at least that I should not distance Myself further and withdraw the Shechinah entirely. This connects to what was stated earlier: "I will go and return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face" - I will go and return to My place, and then they will acknowledge their guilt, seeing that their corrupt deeds brought troubles upon them, and then they will seek My face.
Pasuk 8: The Great Dilemma
אֵיךְ אֶתֶּנְךָ אֶפְרַיִם אֲמַגֶּנְךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֵיךְ אֶתֶּנְךָ כְאַדְמָה אֲשִׂימְךָ כִּצְבֹאיִם נֶהְפַּךְ עָלַי לִבִּי יַחַד נִכְמְרוּ נִחוּמָי׃ - How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah, set you like Tzevoyim? My heart turns over within Me; My compassions are kindled together.
You are suspended and lifting your eyes on high to plead for My return, and I am, as it were, in a great dilemma regarding how to act with you. On the one hand, out of immense mercy, I wish to return to Shomron, for if I withdraw completely, the king of Assyria will destroy them and leave neither remnant nor survivor. On the other hand, their wickedness is as great as that of Sodom and Gomorrah, and I cannot return there - what have I to do in a city where deeds that provoke Me are committed? And when the Holy One, blessed be He, descended to Sodom and Gomorrah, what did it bring about? Destruction and overturning. Thus: if I return to you, your end is destruction and overturning, for I cannot bear to see how they provoke Me right before My eyes. Staying far away is no solution - the king of Assyria will destroy them; drawing close is no solution - I will destroy them.
This is the meaning of the verse: on the one hand, "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?" - how can I deliver you into the hands of the king of Assyria, related to the expression "delivered [migen] your enemies into your hand," and therefore I want to return. But on the other hand, I cannot return, because if I return - "How can I make you like Admah, set you like Tzevoyim?" Admah and Tzevoyim are cities of Sodom, and I would overturn you just as I overturned the cities of Sodom when I descended into their midst. And how is this dilemma described? "My heart turns over within Me" - My heart churns within Me: should I abandon them and let the king of Assyria annihilate them, or watch over them closely and destroy them Myself? "My heart turns over within Me" out of the desire to descend and protect them; "My compassions are kindled together" - yet along with this, I want to show mercy and relent from the evil I decreed upon them at the hands of the king of Assyria, descending to rescue them, except that then I would be compelled to destroy the city Myself like Admah and Tzevoyim. If I relent from the harm wrought by Assyria, the destruction will be carried out by Me! What, then, shall I do with Ephraim: how can I save him from Assyria without having to strike and kill him Myself?
Malbim adds: Why is Ephraim specifically mentioned? Because Ephraim is the royal tribe, and they were the ones who incited the people to sin, and everything started with Yeravam. Thus: if even you, Ephraim, who are the primary offender, are hard for Me to give over to Assyria, how much more so "hand you over, Israel" - the rest of the tribes, who did not sin so severely and merely followed after Ephraim - all the more so is it difficult for Me to surrender them. And amaggencha ("hand you over") denotes surrender into the enemy's hands, which is harsher than mere giving.
Malbim further analyzes the two expressions etencha ("I give you") and asimcha ("I set you"): What is the difference between giving (netinah) and placing or setting (simah)? Simah specifies the quality of placement - when one places an object in its spot, he sets it down in a careful, proper manner, as the Sages expounded on "vesamo" - gently, and placed so as not to scatter. Therefore: "How can I give you up" refers to giving in any manner, whereas "how can I set you like Tzevoyim" means: I wish to set you down gently and properly, so how could I do such a thing to you? Therefore, "My heart turns over within Me" - the turning over of the heart is a reversal of will. "My compassions are kindled [nichmaru nichumai]" - nechamah implies relenting or regret, and nichmaru denotes heating, for the root k-m-r always signifies heat, as in the rabbinic term for a vessel in which fruit and olives were placed to warm up, called a komer, where they heat up so oil can be extracted from them. Here too: nichmaru means they became warm; from what My eyes behold of your deeds, My compassions - the regrets I felt over your impending punishment - have been intensely kindled.
Pasuk 9: The Middle Path
לֹא אֶעֱשֶׂה חֲרוֹן אַפִּי לֹא אָשׁוּב לְשַׁחֵת אֶפְרָיִם כִּי אֵל אָנֹכִי וְלֹא־אִישׁ בְּקִרְבְּךָ קָדוֹשׁ וְלֹא אָבוֹא בְּעִיר׃ - I will not execute the fierceness of My anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not enter the city.
The Malbim explains: The Holy One, blessed be He, says, I have chosen the middle path. When one does not lean to one extreme or the other, often the middle path is the true resolution. "I will not execute My fierce anger" - I will not withdraw completely to heaven and leave them abandoned to the king of Assyria, who would destroy them totally, as I originally decreed. "Nor will I return to destroy Ephraim" - and on the other hand, I will not return to dwell with them in Samaria, for if I were to return, I would be compelled to destroy Ephraim like Admah and Zeboiim.
"For I am God and not a man" - this is the reason for the compromise. What is the difference between "God" (El) and "man" (ish)? "Ish" represents the attribute of strict justice, as in "Hashem is a man of war"; "El" represents the attribute of loving-kindness, as in "the chesed of El endures all day." The Holy One, blessed be He, says: Since I am God and not a man, I will not deal with you through the attribute of strict justice, but through loving-kindness. Therefore, I will choose the middle path - I will not execute My fierce anger and completely destroy you, nor will I return to you so that I would have to destroy you. Consequently, "the Holy One in your midst, and I will not enter the city": I will remain holy in your midst and will not withdraw from you, but I will not enter the city. My distance will not extend all the way up to My Throne of Glory above, which would mean abandoning you entirely into the hands of Assyria to complete annihilation; nor, on the other hand, will I enter the city, for if I enter, I would be forced to destroy them. I will be "in your midst" - not directly among them, but hovering over them. By virtue of this, the king of Assyria will exile them, but will not completely ruin or destroy them. Here, then, is a middle outcome between the desire to protect them, through which I would have had to destroy them, and handing them over to Assyria, through which he would have destroyed them: I will neither withdraw completely nor draw completely near.
There are other interpretations of this verse, which we will mention briefly. The Radak cites Rav Saadiah Gaon: "The Holy One in your midst, and I will not enter the city" - I will not enter any other city, but only Jerusalem; in your midst, in Jerusalem, there My Shechinah rests, and I will not enter another city. Targum Yonatan similarly translates: "And I will not replace Jerusalem with another city." Ibn Ezra interprets it as a question: "Is the Holy One in your midst" even though I do not enter the city? - in the style of, "Will God indeed dwell with man on earth?" - is it conceivable that there should be holiness in your midst when I am not there?
Chazal themselves ask this question: Because "the Holy One is in your midst," therefore "I will not enter the city"? Seemingly, this is an internal contradiction, for if there is holiness in your midst, on the contrary, I ought to enter the city! They answer: I will not enter the heavenly Jerusalem until I have rebuilt the earthly Jerusalem. Meaning, when will I enter the city? When the Holy One is in your midst, when the holy city of Jerusalem is established in your midst - then I will enter the heavenly Jerusalem. The Gemara asks: Is there, then, a Jerusalem above? And it answers: Yes, as it is written, "Jerusalem built as a city bound firmly together."
In connection with this, here is another verse that is commonly misunderstood. Ask people what "a city bound firmly together" means, and they will tell you: East Jerusalem and West Jerusalem joined together, and once the American embassy moves here, that is it - bound firmly together. But the truth is that "a city bound firmly together" means that the earthly city is joined with the heavenly Jerusalem. When Jerusalem here below becomes truly spiritual - not a Jerusalem of Teddy Stadium and shopping malls, but a Jerusalem of avodat Hashem - then it is bound together with the Jerusalem above, and then Hashem will enter the heavenly Jerusalem.
Rashi cites another interpretation, noting that some explain "be'ir" (in the city) as an expression of enmity, as Shmuel said to Shaul, "Hashem has departed from you and become your enemy (eirecha)" - eirecha meaning your enemy. According to this, it means: I will not enter a place of hatred, or I will not enter out of hostility.
Verses 10-11: The Lion's Roar and the Return Home
אַחֲרֵי יְהֹוָה יֵלְכוּ כְּאַרְיֵה יִשְׁאָג כִּי־הוּא יִשְׁאַג וְיֶחֶרְדוּ בָנִים מִיָּם׃ - They shall walk after Hashem; He will roar like a lion. For He will roar, and the children will tremble from the west.
Rashi explains according to the plain meaning: Hashem will yet roar to them like a lion to leave the exile and follow after Him, and He will roar like a lion to take them out of exile. "And the children will tremble from the west" - as Targum Yonatan renders, "and the exiles will gather from the west," from the side of the sea.
The Malbim explains: "They shall walk after Hashem" - when they are outside the city, there they will find Hashem. For as we said, Hashem does not descend into the city, but neither does He abandon them completely; therefore, when they go out into exile, they will find Him and follow after Him. "He will roar like a lion" - Hashem deals with them through the celestial minister of Assyria, and the minister of Assyria is a lion; thus Hashem roars through the lion, as it were clothing Himself in the minister of Assyria, and he roars. And through that roar, "the children will tremble from the west" - the children will tremble and be awed by the lion's roar, which is truly the roar of Hashem, and out of that trembling, they will repent.
יֶחֶרְדוּ כְצִפּוֹר מִמִּצְרַיִם וּכְיוֹנָה מֵאֶרֶץ אַשּׁוּר וְהוֹשַׁבְתִּים עַל־בָּתֵּיהֶם נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה׃ - They shall tremble like a bird from Egypt, and like a dove from the land of Assyria, and I will settle them in their houses, says Hashem.
They will hasten with trembling like a bird to leave Egypt, and like a dove to leave the land of Assyria. And why specifically the example of a dove? The Malbim explains: Certain species of doves recognize their home from great distances - migratory doves and carrier pigeons - which, even when they have flown far away, know how to return to their nest. So too, those in the land of Assyria are called "lost" because they wandered so far and seemed lost, yet they too will tremble with longing to return to their nest. "And I will settle them in their houses" - meaning in their homes; they will return to their homes, and the complete redemption will come.
Radak asks: Why did the verse mention only Egypt and Assyria, when in fact they were exiled to the entire world? He answers that although there were other lands of exile, the verse specifically singled out the two places where they had sought help and instead received a slap in the face: they thought to turn to Egypt, and Egypt proved to be a crushed reed; they thought to turn to Assyria, and Assyria brought them no salvation at all, but rather exiled them. Thus, the two places where they had sought assistance were the very places where they stumbled and to which they were exiled. Therefore, the verse specifically mentioned them, even though in truth the redemption will be an all-encompassing redemption from all places, speedily.
In summary:
The chapter opens with love: Hashem loved Israel when they were a youth, called them His child, and called them out of Egypt; accustomed them to His Torah, carried them in His arms, drew them with human cords and bands of love, eased the yoke from upon them, and provided their food. In contrast, they call to the Ba'alim who do not answer them, sacrificing and burning incense, not realizing that Hashem is the One Who healed them and is the very ground upon which they stand. When they refused to return, the afflictions of Assyria came upon them, and instead of accepting them, they turned to Egypt - and out of their own schemes, the sword fell upon their cities. And then the depth of mercy is revealed: Hashem stands, as it were, between heaven and earth, deliberating - if I withdraw, Assyria will annihilate them, and if I return, I Myself will destroy them like Admah and Tzvoyim - and He resolves upon the middle path, "For I am God and not man": the Holy One in your midst, and I will not enter the city, bringing neither utter annihilation nor complete ruin, until the earthly Jerusalem once again becomes a Jerusalem of the service of Hashem. And ultimately, Hashem will roar like a lion, the children will tremble and return in repentance, returning like a bird from Egypt and like a dove from the land of Assyria: "and I will settle them in their homes, says Hashem."