Introduction
We continue with Chapter 66. As recalled, the Malbim divides the chapter into four themes: Hashem's general governance according to nature; miraculous governance above nature; the story of King Menashe regarding his imprisonment and rescue; and finally, an address to the people of Israel. In the section before us, we conclude the topic of miraculous governance and move on to the personal story of Menashe. The Radak, by contrast, interprets the entire chapter as referring to the future redemption and our departure from exile.
He Turned the Sea into Dry Land - When Seeing the Hand of Hashem
הָפַךְ יָם לְיַבָּשָׁה, בַּנָּהָר יַעַבְרוּ בְרָגֶל, שָׁם נִשְׂמְחָה בּוֹ. - He turned the sea into dry land; through the river they passed on foot; there we rejoiced in Him.
The Radak explains: This is one of the awesome deeds - that Hashem turned the sea into dry land when He brought Israel out of Egypt. "Through the river they passed on foot" - they crossed the Jordan on foot, even though a person normally crosses a river by boat; here they crossed on foot. "There we rejoiced in Him" - so too are we destined to rejoice when we emerge from exile, for according to the Radak, all the verses here speak of the redemption, in the sense of "As in the days of your coming out of the land of Egypt, I will show him marvelous things."
Rashi writes: "'There we rejoiced in Him' - I found: there was something in which it was rejoicing, that is, the sea saw the Holy One, blessed be He." These words are quite baffling, and their plain meaning remains elusive. Some attempted to explain, but their explanations are forced. An examination of the book Parshandatha reveals that the textual reading differs from what lies before us. This is an important rule: when encountering puzzling expressions or disjointed sentences, something is usually missing - words are lacking, or a word was altered; something became corrupted. Such is the case here. First of all, in the manuscripts the words "that is, the sea saw the Holy One, blessed be He" do not appear at all. Indeed, even if one were to say the sea saw the Holy One, blessed be He - had it not seen Him until now? And if Hashem revealed Himself at the Red Sea, what does "it was rejoicing in Him" mean? Did the sea rejoice because of that? Where do we ever find that the sea rejoiced? Moreover, the verse says nismekhah - "we shall rejoice"; how can this be interpreted to mean the sea rejoiced? The variant reading in the manuscripts is: "There was something in which we rejoiced" - and this is completely understandable. When Hashem turned the sea into dry land and split the Jordan for us, there was indeed something in which we rejoiced.
The Malbim explains: Hashem turned the sea into dry land for the people of Israel, and likewise they crossed the river on foot, and "there we rejoiced in Him" - because we recognized that Hashem watches over everything that happens to mankind in detail, altering nature for their sake. This is what was explained earlier regarding "Come and see the works of God, awesome in deed toward the children of man": when we observe nature we do not see Hashem's hand, but when the Holy One, blessed be He, turns the sea into dry land and leads them through the river on foot, here the hand of Hashem is clearly visible. Take care, then, for in a single moment Hashem can overturn the laws of nature.
He Rules by His Might Forever - Do Not Cast the Eyes of Hashem on High
מֹשֵׁל בִּגְבוּרָתוֹ עוֹלָם, עֵינָיו בַּגּוֹיִם תִּצְפֶּינָה, הַסּוֹרְרִים אַל יָרוּמוּ לָמוֹ סֶלָה. - He rules by His might forever; His eyes watch the nations; let not the rebellious exalt themselves, Selah.
The Radak explains: When Hashem redeems His people Israel from exile, through this Hashem will rule forever over all the nations - meaning everyone will acknowledge His dominion and kingship. This is what we pray for: "And Hashem shall be King over all the earth; on that day Hashem shall be one and His name One," and then all nations will know Him and serve Hashem with a clear language. Everything will become a reality in which all recognize how Hashem in His might rules the world.
"His eyes watch the nations" - the eyes of Hashem, as it were, will watch the nations to observe their deeds and repay them according to their actions. For until that time, the Holy One, blessed be He, shows them patience; we see that today the nations commit great injustices and great wickedness, yet Hashem is patient. But when that time arrives - "His eyes watch the nations" - Hashem will examine their deeds and punish them according to what they have done. And those who are rebellious, Hashem will bring low: "Let not the rebellious exalt themselves, Selah," so that they will not elevate themselves or attain prominence. And as Rashi explains: "Let them not exalt themselves" - their hand will not be high; rather, they will be brought low.
The Malbim explains: "He rules by His might forever" - Hashem rules over the world and nature is subservient to Him; He possesses the might to overcome the laws of nature, just as He performed miracles for Israel during the Exodus from Egypt. "His eyes watch the nations" - to repay them for their wickedness. Therefore, henceforth, "let not the rebellious exalt themselves" - let them not, as it were, elevate the eyes of Hashem, claiming that Hashem's eyes are focused on high and do not oversee this lowly world. This is the meaning: do not cast Hashem's eyes upward. As discussed in earlier verses, the nations conceptually kick the Holy One, blessed be He, into the heavens, so that people can do whatever they please - "Hashem is not here; He is elevated, exalted, and transcendent." To this, the verse responds: no more. Once Hashem's hand is seen overturning the natural order, one can no longer say that the eyes of the Holy One, blessed be He, are directed upward and do not gaze upon what occurs down here; rather, "His eyes watch the nations" - Hashem's eyes gaze downward to supervise the deeds of the nations. "Selah" - here the matter concludes.
And as recalled, according to the Malbim, "Selah" always signifies the conclusion of a topic, whereas according to the other commentators, "Selah" denotes eternity, forever. Thus, here ends the second theme - the miraculous Providence - and from here onward begins the third theme, in which Menashe recounts what he endured during his imprisonment and salvation.
Bless Our God, O Peoples - The Miracle of the Nation's Survival
בָּרְכוּ עַמִּים אֱלֹהֵינוּ, וְהַשְׁמִיעוּ קוֹל תְּהִלָּתוֹ. - Bless our God, O peoples, and make the voice of His praise heard.
Israel will say to the nations: You now experience and see the guidance of Hashem, you see His power, you see how He overturns the laws of nature - now is the time for you to praise Hashem. "Bless our God, O peoples" - you see the wonders He performed for us, and you also see the greatest wonder of all. The Ya'avetz says that in his eyes, it is greater and more precious than all the miracles and wonders of the Exodus from Egypt: the survival of one nation among seventy wolves, all seeking to devour it, yet it still endures. Who could believe it? The Jewish people have lived for thousands of years, three thousand three hundred years, against all odds. There was no king or nation that did not seek how to destroy them, kill them, deplete them, and diminish them - and to this very day: the European Union, the Palestinians, Iran, and who not. The world has not changed, yet despite all this, the Jewish people endure forever. When the nations see this, they will be astounded, and then we will say to them: "Bless our God, O peoples, and make the voice of His praise heard" - praise Hashem! Here is the nation you so desperately wanted to destroy, see how many thousands of years it still endures.
And by the way, this is something unprecedented and unparalleled. Even if you find ancient peoples - you might tell me China is an ancient nation, but it sits in its own land. But what nation is scattered among the nations and still survives? There is no such nation in the world. Within a short period, a matter of a generation or two, its history is erased and its members become part of the new host nation. America is a melting pot of all kinds of nations, and anyone you ask there is an American, and everyone intermarries, even across diverse backgrounds. The reality is that only one nation managed to survive for three thousand three hundred years outside its land - and by the way, even today we are not fully gathered in our land, as the majority of the Jewish people are still in the Diaspora - yet despite all this, Am Yisrael has survived, endured hardships, endured trials, and continues to survive. Concerning this it says: "Bless our God, O peoples."
The Malbim explains: You nations should bless our God, for Hashem watches over us with individual Divine Providence (hashgachah pratit). Until now we spoke of the governance of nature, and now he transitions to speaking about individual Providence. Hashem's Providence over the nations is general - "His eyes watch the nations" - whereas over us, Providence is individual. The entire topic of Divine Providence is subject to a dispute among the Rishonim: Is there Providence over the nations or not? Is Providence there individual or general? Is there Providence over animals? Is there Providence even over a small leaf, or over a tiny worm upon which the Holy One, blessed be He, had mercy and caused a leaf to fall and cover it, as taught by the Baal Shem Tov and others? There are various approaches among the early authorities regarding this, and for whoever wishes - in Siftei Chaim by Rav Friedlander there is a structured, comprehensive presentation explaining the entire matter: what the word "hashgachah" means, and how Providence concerning the Jewish people fundamentally differs in its reality from Providence concerning a non-Jew.
"And make the voice of His praise heard" - the Malbim explains, as is his approach in many places, that praise is treated as an abstract entity: the praise itself gives voice to Hashem's glory, as if going forth and singing His praise - and you are to make it heard, spread it, and publicize it.
Who Places Our Soul in Life
הַשָּׂם נַפְשֵׁנוּ בַּחַיִּים, וְלֹא נָתַן לַמּוֹט רַגְלֵנוּ. - Who has placed our soul in life, and has not allowed our foot to slip.
According to the Radak: Hashem kept us alive in exile and did not allow our foot to falter. This is what Israel will say after all the exiles - those who remain, regarding whom it is said: "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested." Those who will be refined, purified, and cleansed, will say: "Who places our soul in life" - thank Hashem for keeping us alive.
The Malbim explains that Menashe's own words begin here: Even though I was in grave danger at the hands of the enemy, Hashem placed my soul in life and did not allow my foot to slip - through the suffering he repented and did not collapse, and by virtue of this, Hashem restored him to his kingdom.
For You Have Tested Us - The Testing and Refining
כִּי בְחַנְתָּנוּ אֱלֹהִים, צְרַפְתָּנוּ כִּצְרׇף כָּסֶף. - For You have tested us, O God; You have refined us as silver is refined.
Rashi and the Metzudat David explain: The troubles that befell us were meant to test us, to see whether we remain steadfast in our faith in Hashem or not. All the tribulations were an instrument to test the Jewish people. "You have refined us (tzeraphtanu)" - from the term for a silversmith (tzoreif), like a refiner who removes the dross from silver by smelting it in fire. And how does one refine in fire? One takes the silver and melts it down; when other metals are mixed into it, each metal melts at a different temperature, and by gradually raising the heat, the metals separate from one another. Thus, "You have refined us as silver is refined" - through this we were purged of our sins and rendered worthy of redemption.
The Malbim explains that this, too, refers to Menashe: the fact that Hashem refined him through suffering is comparable to refining silver in fire, removing its dross and transforming it into a vessel fit for use. This is particularly apt according to what Chazal taught, that the king of Babylon cast Menashe into a copper cauldron and stoked a fire beneath it - the imagery is literal: they placed us inside the pot and ignited the fire, and Hashem did this in order to refine, purify, and cleanse us. And what is the difference between "You have tested us (bechantanu)" and "You have refined us (tzeraphtanu)"? The Malbim explains that testing precedes refining: first one inspects the silver to see if it contains dross, and once an imperfection is found, one refines it. There are two distinct stages: the testing stage and the refining stage.
You Brought Us into the Net
הֲבֵאתָנוּ בַמְּצוּדָה, שַׂמְתָּ מוּעָקָה בְמׇתְנֵינוּ. - You brought us into the net; You placed an oppressive burden upon our loins.
"You brought us into the net" - into a confined space, into imprisonment. "You placed an oppressive burden (mu'akah)" - a restrictive bond; anything that oppresses and torments is called a mu'akah. The Malbim explains that this also refers to Menashe: when they imprisoned him, they put him in a metzudah, which is a prison, and "You placed an oppressive burden upon our loins" means that they encircled his waist with iron bands so that he could not move from his place. As is well known, when they wished to restrict a prisoner severely, they would fasten his feet in stocks - securing his legs with iron chains or in special stocks, perhaps made of wood with a lock, so that he could not move his feet. In the same way, they also had a device to immobilize his waist, ensuring that he could neither turn over nor move at all.
You Caused Mortal Man to Ride Over Our Heads - Through Fire and Through Water
הִרְכַּבְתָּ אֱנוֹשׁ לְרֹאשֵׁנוּ, בָּאנוּ בָאֵשׁ וּבַמַּיִם, וַתּוֹצִיאֵנוּ לָרְוָיָה. - You caused mortal man to ride over our heads; we came through fire and water, and You brought us out to abundance.
The Radak explains: Before the exile, Israel's sovereign rule belonged to You alone, Master of the Universe; but once we went into exile, "You caused mortal man to ride over our heads" - You took a mortal man and placed him as head over us. At one time it was Nebuchadnezzar, at another Achashverosh; each time a different mortal became our master. You subjected us to the rule of the nations. "We came through fire and water" - we passed through harsh afflictions, for suffering is compared to fire and water: fire burns and consumes, while water floods and sweeps away; yet through all of this, thank Hashem, we were not destroyed. "And You brought us out to abundance (la-revayah)" - You brought us out to a well-watered land, a land in which we are saturated and thriving. The Radak notes: observe that the letter lamed has a kamatz, and this vowel expresses the definite article (the heh ha-yedi'ah). Just as a heh with a patach or a kamatz indicates the definite article - if one says "bring me a cup," any cup will do; but if one says "bring me the cup," it refers to a specific, known cup - so too here: revayah would mean any abundance, but la-revayah denotes that well-known, celebrated abundance, which is the Land of Israel, the exquisite and extraordinary land. And what is the meaning of "You caused mortal man (enosh, in the singular) to ride over our heads," when many nations were involved? Rashi explains: from each and every nation we had a mortal ruler set over our heads, an overlord who dominated us.
The Malbim explains that this, too, refers to Menashe: "You caused mortal man to ride over our heads" refers to the warden of the prison where Menashe was incarcerated, who stood over him and tormented him with suffering. "We came through fire and water" - according to what Chazal taught, this is remarkably precise: they placed him inside a pot, with water inside and fire burning beneath it from the outside, which literally fulfills "we came through fire and water." And if we say that they placed him in a pot without water, the Malbim explains that they made the fire blaze beneath him, and afterward took him out and plunged him into cold water; this alternating back-and-forth was intended to torture him. The Malbim further explains based on the metaphor of refining silver mentioned above: after silver is refined in fire, it is immediately plunged into water to cool, which tempers and strengthens it. Likewise, whenever metal is heated red-hot, it is immediately placed in water to temper it. This is "we came through fire and water": after refining us with fire, He immediately plunged us into water. "And You brought us out to abundance" - and after all this suffering, Menashe says, You delivered me from Babylon, for a wind came, lifted him up, and restored him to his kingdom.
The Gemara in Megillah expounds: "We came through fire" - in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, who cast them into the fiery furnace; "and through water" - in the days of Pharaoh, who cast them into the Nile; "and You brought us out to abundance" - in the days of Haman, when the Holy One, blessed be He, delivered us from his hand through the miracle of Purim. The Sforno explains: "We came through fire and water" - these are the harsh decrees of the nations; "and You brought us out to abundance" - as in the case of Haman the Agagite and others like him, where Hashem rescued us from under his power. And in Likutei Amarim it is cited: "Through fire" - this refers to Avraham Avinu in the fiery furnace; "and through water" - this refers to Nachshon ben Aminadav who cast himself into the waters, throwing his life into the sea so that it would split.
I Will Come into Your House with Burnt-Offerings - Fulfilling Vows
אָבוֹא בֵיתְךָ בְעוֹלוֹת, אֲשַׁלֵּם לְךָ נְדָרָי. אֲשֶׁר פָּצוּ שְׂפָתָי, וְדִבֶּר פִּי בַּצַּר לִי. - I will enter Your house with burnt-offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You. Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth has spoken, when I was in distress.
Here it speaks in the singular, explains the Radak, because it speaks collectively on behalf of the people of the exile. The people of the exile will say: We will come to the Beis HaMikdash with burnt-offerings to fulfill the vows we made in exile - that if Hashem redeems us, we will sacrifice and perform our obligations. Now is the time, for according to the Radak this refers to the ultimate Redemption. According to Rashi, it means: When You rebuild the Beis HaMikdash, we will pay the vows we pledged while in exile. And according to the Malbim, Menashe says: When I was in distress, in prison, perhaps inside the bronze cauldron, I made vows that if Hashem would save me, I would act and bring offerings - and now, "I will enter Your house with burnt-offerings; I will fulfill my vows to You." "Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth has spoken, when I was in distress" - what I uttered and vowed while under the dominion of the Chaldeans, I will now offer as burnt-offerings upon Hashem's altar and fulfill my vows.
From here, explains the Malbim, begins the fourth section, the part addressing the Jewish people: Shout joyfully to God, accept His kingship - for the blast of the horn signifies the acceptance of the King, that Hashem is King over all the earth.
עֹלוֹת מֵיחִים אַעֲלֶה לָּךְ עִם קְטֹרֶת אֵילִים, אֶעֱשֶׂה בָקָר עִם עַתּוּדִים סֶלָה. - Burnt-offerings of fat animals I will offer to You with the sweet smoke of rams; I will prepare cattle with he-goats, Selah.
"Burnt-offerings of fat animals (meichim)" - from the word mo'ach (marrow), meaning sheep that are rich in marrow and fat. "With the sweet smoke of rams" - the burning of the fats of the rams. (Incidentally, in our printed editions of the Radak, a typographical error crept in where it reads "the fats of the iyim", omitting the letter lamed, but the correct reading is "the fats of the eilim - rams".) "I will prepare cattle with he-goats" - "I will prepare (e'eseh)" is like "and he hurried to prepare it (la'asoto)", meaning to arrange and prepare: I will prepare an offering of cattle with he-goats, which are types of fattened animals. And what is "Selah"? The Metzudas David explains that it means forever - that is, if this refers to the Redemption as the Radak maintains, then once the Third Temple is rebuilt it will stand forever, never to be destroyed again.
"Come, Hear, and I Will Tell"
לְכוּ שִׁמְעוּ וַאֲסַפְּרָה כׇּל יִרְאֵי אֱלֹהִים, אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְנַפְשִׁי. - Come, hear, and I will tell, all who fear God, what He has done for my soul.
The Radak explains: At the time of the Redemption, each person will say to his fellow - fear God, come and let me tell you of Hashem's miracles and the redemption with which He redeemed us. This will be the headline news, this will open every broadcast, this is what everyone will be talking about: Come and listen, fear God, hear what wonders Hashem has performed. Rashi explains that "all who fear God" refers to converts - righteous converts, to whom they say: Come and let us tell you what we endured, the afflictions we suffered, and see the lovingkindness of Hashem upon us as He came and redeemed us. "Come, hear" - the Radak notes that this is an expression of urging: hasten to hear what Hashem did for my soul in rescuing me. And the Metzudas David explains that this is language of persuasion: lest your heart waver and you say, "I do not believe," I tell you that what I am recounting actually happened to me personally, so that through this you will believe that Hashem will perform miracles and wonders for you as well - that is, you will place your trust in Hashem's providence.
The Malbim explains that here Menashe addresses the people of Israel after returning to his land and his kingdom, telling them: Come and hear all that Hashem has done for my soul - how Hashem accepted his repentance, and how Hashem's divine providence became known to him. This is as Scripture states, "And he commanded Judah to serve Hashem, the God of Israel" - this was after his return, when he instructed Judah to go and serve Hashem.
"To Him I Cried with My Mouth" - The Mouth and the Tongue
אֵלָיו פִּי קָרָאתִי, וְרוֹמַם תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנִי. - To Him I cried with my mouth, and He was exalted under my tongue.
Rashi explains: When we were in exile we called out to Him, sought Hashem, prayed to Him, and recounted His praises - that is, His wonders and greatness. The Malbim explains this regarding Menashe: As recalled, at first he cried out to every idol in the world - there inside the cauldron he began turning to every deity and pagan power, searching if perhaps there was some god he had not known well enough or heard about. In short, none answered. When he saw that he could find no god, he said: Now I turned to Hashem. However, he had not yet uttered the words fully from his mouth, but rather "and He was exalted under my tongue" - when I called to Hashem, it was not yet with a full mouth, but under my tongue, the speech still internal within the mouth. As is well known, the Malbim explains in several places that there is a difference between "tongue" (lashon) and "mouth" (peh): the mouth denotes external speech, while the tongue signifies something more internal, an inner essence. When one seeks to express an inward thought, one uses "lashon," and when expressing something outward, one uses "peh." Here he meant to say: See that the matter was still within my innermost being - the exaltation of Hashem was still deep inside my mouth, under the tongue, and I had not yet expressed it outwardly.
If I Saw Iniquity in My Heart
אָוֶן אִם רָאִיתִי בְלִבִּי, לֹא יִשְׁמַע אֲדֹנָי. - "If I contemplated iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not hear."
Radak explains: Even if I saw iniquity in my heart to do it - meaning I harbored an aspiration to do evil, and even though such a thought opposes the will of God and is considered as though I had uttered it with my lips - nevertheless, they did not listen to it; it is not counted against me as an iniquity. All the commentators here note that this verse expresses what Chazal taught: an evil thought is not joined by the Holy One, blessed be He, to action. When a person contemplates wicked thoughts in his heart, Hashem does not reckon it against him for bad; "the Lord would not hear" - as if to say: That, I did not hear.
However, one must know that this does not apply to everything, as discussed previously and recalled here briefly. First, regarding thoughts of idolatry - "In order to catch the house of Israel in their heart" - a person is indeed held accountable for the thoughts of the heart. This is straightforward: thinking of idolatry means contemplating the worship of another deity, essentially saying, "You are not God to me; I have another god" - by doing so, he is already an idolater and a heretic, and that thought itself constitutes the transgression. Second, "Do not stray after your heart" - thoughts of immorality and the like, as in "A person should not harbor immoral thoughts by day lest it lead him to nocturnal impurity," where the very thought is a prohibition and a sin. Third, if a person is habitual in committing evil deeds, he is punished for the planning even if it was not ultimately carried out. Why is it that, normally, Hashem does not punish for the planning - where if you planned to steal but did not steal, you are not punished for the planning? Because the Jewish people are holy and pure, and we assume that even if such a thought entered his mind, he might not have actually executed it in practice. But if his track record shows that he routinely carries out such thoughts, one cannot say he will go unpunished for the thought; on the contrary, he certainly would have done it, but was prevented by circumstances beyond his control: he planned for a friend to join him to steal and the friend did not show up, or he saw police in the area and went home. Will he not be punished? In Heaven, he will be punished as though he stole. Thus, it is not always true that Hashem does not punish for evil thoughts.
The Malbim explains: Chazal say that Menasheh declared during his prayer that if Hashem did not help him, then, as it were - Heaven forbid - He was no better than the other deities to which he had turned and which had failed to help him. Thus, at the moment he turned to Hashem, he was still in doubt, and his faith in Hashem was not yet fully clear to him. This is what the verse means: Even though I still saw iniquity in my heart - meaning wicked thoughts still lingered within me and I was not whole in my faith in Hashem - I wondered whether "the Lord would not hear." I thought that perhaps Hashem would not listen, that perhaps, Heaven forbid, He was like all the other deities to which I had prayed and received no answer.
Indeed, God Heard
אָכֵן שָׁמַע אֱלֹהִים, הִקְשִׁיב בְּקוֹל תְּפִלָּתִי. - "Indeed, God has heard; He attended to the voice of my prayer."
The Malbim explains in his characteristic way that the word achen ("indeed") always comes to refute what was previously thought: I had indeed thought so, but now I learned otherwise. Here, too: I thought "the Lord would not hear," but indeed I realized I was mistaken, for Hashem did hear my prayer and knew my plight, and as soon as I began to pray, He accepted me in repentance and restored me to my kingdom. And what is meant by "God has heard; He attended to the voice of my prayer"? The Malbim notes: Attending (hakshavah) is always from afar - not only did He hear my prayer, but He also attended to it while the prayer was still distant; already from that moment, He listened to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed Is God, Who Has Not Turned Away My Prayer
בָּרוּךְ אֱלֹהִים, אֲשֶׁר לֹא הֵסִיר תְּפִלָּתִי וְחַסְדּוֹ מֵאִתִּי. - "Blessed is God, Who has not turned away my prayer, nor His lovingkindness from me."
According to Radak: "Who has not turned away my prayer" - He did not reject it, but accepted it willingly, nor did He remove His lovingkindness from me. This speaks of the redemption: Hashem redeemed us, and for all that we prayed during thousands of years of exile - He did not turn away our prayer, but accepted it, and behold, He brought us and redeemed us.
The Malbim explains that this concludes the words of Menasheh: Blessed is God, Who has not turned away my prayer - for by strict justice, it ought to have been rejected, just as the ministering angels went and shut and sealed the gates of prayer. It is unfitting to accept someone who sets conditions before the Master of the Universe - in such a dire state, you still make conditions? Yet despite all this, "He has not turned away my prayer"; it was fitting that He should reject it, yet He did not. "Nor His lovingkindness from me" - He did not deal with me according to strict justice and judgment, but everything He did for me was out of His lovingkindness, even though I was unworthy. For given the way I approached Him, the attribute of strict justice certainly demanded retribution against me for all the wrongs I had committed in the past, and all the more so since even now I did not come with a broken heart, but still laid down conditions. Certainly, without any doubt, this was Hashem's lovingkindness - that the Holy One, blessed be He, listened to me nevertheless. And this is the meaning of "nor His lovingkindness from me": that Hashem did not withdraw His immense lovingkindness, even though I was undeserving of it.
In summary:
In this part of the psalm we learned of the pinnacle of miraculous providence - "He turned the sea into dry land", in which the hand of Hashem is revealed overriding the laws of nature, showing that no person may ever claim that Hashem's eyes are focused on high without supervising what is below. From here stems the call to the nations to bless our God for the individual providence (Hashgachah Pratit) we have been granted, and for the wonder of our nation's survival among seventy wolves. And from here on, according to the Malbim, Menasheh recounts his personal story: the testing and refining like the refining of silver, the net and the affliction, the fire and the water inside the copper cauldron, his vows during his distress and their fulfillment in the House of Hashem, his call that was still under his tongue and with a doubting heart - "If I saw iniquity in my heart" - and ultimately the realization: "Truly God has heard." And the conclusion of it all: "Blessed is God, Who has not turned away my prayer nor His lovingkindness from me" - for the prayer deserved to be rejected, yet by Hashem's lovingkindness alone it was accepted. And with this, we conclude Psalm 66.