Yeshayahu chapter 13: The burden of Bavel that Yeshayahu son of Amotz beheld. The Malbim says: it is well known that the downfall of Bavel came about because the officers of Belshatzar rebelled against their masters. There was Nevuchadnetzar, and after him Evil Merodach, and after him Belshatzar. And regarding Belshatzar it is said, "On that night Belshatzar was slain." When did this happen? Whoever wishes to hear in greater detail can do so; there is Ezra, Nechemyah, Daniel, all of it is there, in lessons that have been delivered on this. And there one can gain some grasp of everything that happened there.
In any case, it is written there in the book of Daniel that Belshatzar saw some terrifying vision in the middle of the feast, when he brought out all the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash. He saw a terrifying vision, a hand coming forth and writing on the wall: Mene Mene Tekel u'Farsin. And he brought all the sages and the astrologers and all the magicians, and none of them could decipher it. He brought Daniel, and Daniel read it and translated it for him. He told him: God has numbered your kingdom, and it has been weighed and found wanting. Mene Mene Tekel u'Farsin. "Wanting" means it has been divided. To whom was his kingdom divided? To Persia and Media. This is Achashverosh, the kingdom of Persia and Media, these are the ones who came to conquer Bavel.
Now, how did they come to conquer Bavel? On that very night when this prophecy was delivered upon the wall of the hall of Belshatzar's palace, on that very night his servants rose up and murdered him, and invited the officers of Persia and Media to come and conquer Bavel. That is to say, Bavel fell through a fifth column that was within it, which simply handed it over into the hands of Persia and Media.
The Malbim says: the prophet carries this burden, describing how the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, designated those cruel forces, namely Persia and Media, to come and destroy Bavel, and they came from a distant land, and God summoned men from within Bavel who would call to them to come and aid them in conquering the country.
"Upon a bare hill raise a banner, lift up the voice to them, wave the hand that they may enter the gates of the nobles." Now at first he speaks about the officers who rebelled against Belshatzar. They will raise a banner, the banner of rebellion, in order to call to them. To whom? To Persia and Media, to say to them: come, conquer the country here.
Now he describes this in stages. First, "raise a banner." A banner is a tall pole, so that it can be seen from afar. After they draw nearer, when they are already within earshot, then "lift up the voice," they will shout to them: here, here, come here. Afterward, when they draw still closer, when they are already at a distance where they can be perceived by the eye, then he already waves his hand at them, saying: here, here I am, I am right here. And this is as a sign to say: here, come this way. And through this "they may enter the gates of the nobles." They will come through the gates of the nobles of the sons of Bavel. What is the connection to nobles? The Malbim says: just as the noble opens the doors of his house in order to bring in guests, so too the sons of Bavel, those who rebelled against Belshatzar, will be like nobles, saying to them: here, come, the doors are open, just come in. Relax and dine, here, come, sit. They will invite them in.
"I have commanded My consecrated ones, I have also called My mighty ones for My anger, those who exult in My grandeur." This refers back to what we said in the previous verse. All of this I have commanded to My consecrated ones. Who are My consecrated ones? They are the sons of Belshatzar, those whom God consecrated in order that they rebel against their master, as Daniel said in his prophecy. And also "I have called My mighty ones." He calls them "My consecrated ones," as it were: I consecrated them for this purpose. "Consecrated" here is not from the sense of holiness, but rather like "I designated," I set them apart. I set them apart for this. "I have called My mighty ones" - who are My mighty ones? These are the forces of Persia and Media that came to conquer. "For My anger, those who exult in My grandeur" - "for My anger" means in order to fulfill through this the vengeance of My burning anger. "Those who exult in My grandeur," that they will rejoice in the fact that My grandeur will be shown through them. The meaning is that, as it were, I have an interest here, and they have an interest. Their interest is that they conquer the place. And My interest, as it were, says God, is that through this My grandeur will be seen, that behold, I am exacting retribution from the kingdom of Bavel, the wicked kingdom, that those who destroyed the House of God, now I am exacting retribution through them.
The Malbim says: among the men of war who go out to battle there are two types. There are those who go out only to destroy lands, because they are cruel, they crave to spill blood. Charvonah. Yes, you know, Charvonah was a demolition contractor. That was his role, and so he was called Charvonah, from the word "churban," destruction. Yes, this is how it is brought. Charvonah was appointed over destruction. In any case, there are those warriors whose only aim is to murder, to annihilate, to kill, to spill blood. In contrast, there are those who go out in order to magnify their name and their king, to show how strong we are, that our nation is the strongest, to make a name for themselves, to display their might so that they will have a name among the nations.
The Malbim says: those first ones, who come only to destroy and demolish, cause more destruction than those who come only to display their pride. Those who come to display their pride, the moment they win the battle, it is over, they got what they wanted. Everyone will see that I am the strongest here. In contrast, those who come to destroy come with the purpose of destroying, cruelty. He does not come exerting himself to display his might, but what does he come for? To destroy everything. But if these men of the army have both of these interests, they are both cruel, loving to destroy, and on the other hand they also seek to display their greatness and their pride, then the Malbim says: in this case they will both raise a banner to display their might, so that in fact he will not rest until all see how mighty I am, and on the other hand he will not be content with conquest, but rather what? He will want to destroy those whom he conquers.
And this is what he says: the camp of Media and Persia had both of these traits. First, he tells you they will raise a horn, first, because they are prepared "for My anger," meaning for My wrath, cruelty, and they will come with poured-out fury, this refers to cruelty, they can. On the other hand, "those who exult in My grandeur," they come with exultation in order to display pride, to display dominance, to display that we are the successful nation, and then he will not rest until all know who is the strong nation, who is the mighty nation. So there are here both traits that will cause the war against them to be very difficult.
"The sound of a multitude in the mountains, the likeness of a great people, the sound of an uproar of kingdoms of nations gathering together, the God of Hosts musters the army for war." Now he describes the camp that will come suddenly upon Bavel. As it were, there is some man sitting securely in his palace, and now the camps arrive to conquer them. So at first, in his palace, what does he hear? "The sound of a multitude in the mountains." He hears some murmuring sound. "Multitude" we explained once is from the word for murmuring. He hears some sound. Now he does not know what it is. It could be shepherds, harvesters, a celebrating crowd, parties, it could be an army for war. He does not know, it is just a multitude, it sounds to him like a murmuring in the mountains. Afterward, as they draw closer, then he already perceives "the likeness of a great people." And they draw closer still, and he perceives that it is "the sound of an uproar of kingdoms of nations." So now he understands, these are kingdoms of nations coming for war, the noise of kingdoms of nations. After they draw still closer, then he already takes notice of who is gathering here. If these are kingdoms of nations gathering, he takes notice of who is at their head. "The God of Hosts musters the army for war." He will see that the God of Hosts is, as it were, the commander who musters the army of war. That is to say, they did not go out at the command of an officer or a ruler, but rather at the command of God, may He be blessed. The word of God through the angel. And if so, behold, the angel is the one who wrote Mene Mene Tekel u'Farsin, he as it were summoned them. Here is the word of God bringing them. So this is a very difficult war, since you are not fighting against a general, you are fighting against God, may He be blessed.
"They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, God and the instruments of His wrath, to destroy the whole earth." Now they are already closer, and, as it were, the one who has been sitting in the palace until now calm and quiet begins to inquire: who are you? What are you? In response to the question of where they came from, they will tell him: we have come from a distant land. From where? From the end of the heavens. The end of the heavens is, as it were, the end of the inhabited world. In response to the question who they are, what are you, who are you? They will tell him: we are the instruments of God and His wrath. "God and the instruments of His wrath." As it were, we are the emissaries of God, may He be blessed. And in response to the question of what purpose they are going toward, they tell him: our purpose, from which we will not return until we complete it, is to destroy the whole earth. Until all the land of Bavel is ruined. And this, as it were, comes to indicate that they came upon a people quiet and secure; the sons of Bavel did not prepare for this battle. Suddenly the sons of Persia and Media will come upon them, in one moment they will not sense them, and suddenly they will conquer them.
"Wail, for the day of God is near, it comes as destruction from the Almighty." "Wail" - now he begins to speak to the sons of Bavel themselves. You have no more hope, the prophet says to them, wail and weep. "Wail" is from the word for wailing. Wail and weep, for the day of God is near. When the report comes in a country that an adversary and enemy will come to conquer the land, the Malbim says: there is a difference whether the report is of something near or far. There is a difference whether they inform you it will be in three months, versus if they inform you it will be in two hours or two days. What is the difference? The Malbim says: if they inform you that it is near, there is a great disadvantage in this, terrible fear. For I have been calm until now, and suddenly in one moment they tell me: in two hours there is a war. So first there is terrible fear. But on the other hand there is a great advantage, because we all understand the urgency and the haste, we all immediately grab, each one a weapon from whatever is at hand, in order to fight. In contrast, if the time of war is announced as, for example, in four months, then on the one hand our hearts do not melt so much, we are not so afraid. Ah, there are still four months, by then God is great. Secondly, we do not rush to stockpile weapons of war, because we say: ah, there is still time, there is still time, we will manage. The "we will rely on it" approach. But here he says there will be two disadvantages. First, the day of God is near. It will come swiftly, so the fear is terrible and dreadful. So what will you say? But when the fear is terrible and dreadful and it is near, then immediately they take up weapons of war, they will come to fight, they do not think there is still time, so immediately they organize, as happened in the Yom Kippur War, when they immediately organized. But if they say there is a war in the future, yes, until we pass the budget, until this and that, let us see how we organize. But if it is immediate, on the spot everyone is taken, dressed in something, and immediately sent to the battlefield. So he says: do not think this will help them because everyone will immediately arm themselves. Because the enemy, as it were, of Bavel who will come, this is the day of God, "it comes as destruction from the Almighty." This is from Shaddai. Shaddai is the One who said to His world "enough," this is the One who possesses ability. There is no counsel and no might against God. So there will be both disadvantages here. First, terrible fear, because it will be immediate. What will you say, it is immediate so we organize immediately? He tells you: no, there is nothing for you to organize, this is against God. Can you organize against God? Do you have the ability? There is no counsel and no might against God.
"Therefore all hands will grow feeble, and every man's heart will melt." Since "it comes as destruction from the Almighty," as we said, from the One who possesses ability, you cannot contend against Him, then all hands will grow feeble. No one will run to obtain weapons of war, his hands grow feeble. And since it is near, what did we say when the war is immediately near, what does that cause a person? His heart falls, terrible fear. Consequently, "every man's heart will melt." Consequently this will cause terrible fear so that his heart will melt.
"And they will be terrified, pangs and throes will seize them, they will writhe like a woman in labor, each will look in astonishment at his fellow, their faces are faces of flame." Now he describes how the Babylonian people will look when the trouble comes. So he says: at first they will be terrified, because it will come suddenly. Afterward, throes, "pangs and throes will seize them." Pangs and throes that come upon a woman when the child begins to emerge will seize them. The Malbim explains, first of all, what is being terrified? The Malbim says: "terror" is an expression synonymous with the expression "fear." But what is the difference? That fear is not necessarily something that comes swiftly. In contrast, terror is something that is immediate, coming swiftly. How do we say "in haste we went out of Egypt"? "BiVhilu." "BiVhilu" means immediately. So you notice, terror is fear, but it is fear of something immediate. In one moment I was terrified, as opposed to fear, which may extend over a period of time. So here first there will be terror. Secondly, pangs and throes. What is the difference between pangs and throes? The Malbim says: "pangs" (tzirim) refers to the opening of the hinges of the doors of the womb. Therefore it is called "tzirim," and this corresponds to a door that has hinges (tzirim). As it were, the womb has doors, and the doors open; this is called "tzirim." As it is written, "the door turns on its hinge." "Throes" (chavalim) are the pains that come after the labor. That is, following the opening of the doors of the womb, these are the pains of labor throes, the pains that come to her afterward. And afterward, the third stage is "they will writhe." "They will writhe" is the trembling that the woman begins to tremble from the pain of childbirth, and from the pain that stems from the labor. And this is "they will writhe like a woman in labor," like a woman trembling in all her limbs because of the throes.
"Each will look in astonishment at his fellow." Beyond the fact that each one will be terrified on his own, their astonishment and bewilderment will grow even more when they look at one another. Like some person who is in sudden terror that has come upon many, then if I see that the others are calmer, then I too somewhat, my fear diminishes. But if I see that everyone is terrified, then this puts me into even more dread. That is to say, there truly is something here that is extremely terrifying. So this will not merely be personal fear. "Throes will seize them, they will writhe like a woman in labor, each will look in astonishment at his fellow." Each one will look around him and see how everyone is astonished, from the word for bewilderment, meaning terrible fear.
"Their faces are faces of flame." That is, he will not need to tell him: you know, I am afraid. No. Rather, upon his face the fear will be evident, that his face will resemble flames of fire. Just as the flame, the Malbim says, the more you add wood and straw, the flame grows. So too, "their faces are faces of flame." Each one, as it were, will look at the other, and it is like adding wood to the bonfire. That is, if I am burning, and I look at you, I see you burning, this ignites me even more. Therefore he gives the example of a flame, of fire, where every piece of wood you add, adds more to the blaze. As it were, we will have such terrible fear, that we will look at one another and the fear will grow greater.
The Malbim says: it is written here "yitmehu" (will be astonished). What is the difference between "tameah" (astonished) and "mitpaleh" (amazed) and "mishtaeh" (wondering)? The Malbim says: amazement and wonder are in the intellect. I look at this, and what you say amazes me, because I knew something different. This is meant in an intellectual analysis. The same with wonder. But in contrast, astonishment is a loss of feeling in the heart, not in the intellect. A person is astonished, like "standing as a man stunned," "He will strike every horse with astonishment," "and the men looked in astonishment at one another." This is something momentary that causes fear in the heart, some astonishment in the heart, not intellectual puzzlement where I contemplate it and have a question, but rather it is astonishment in the heart. And therefore this shows how great the shock here will be.
"Behold, the day of God comes, cruel, with wrath and burning anger, to make the earth a desolation, and He will destroy its sinners from it." "Behold, the day of God comes, cruel and with wrath" - this day will hold cruelty and wrath and burning anger against Bavel. The Malbim explains that now he describes the day itself, and he likens the day, as it were, to a day that is cruel and rends without mercy, like a day wrapped in the shadow of death without order. And now let us see how the matters here are constructed. First, "cruel and with wrath." The Malbim explains: a person who becomes wrathful but is not cruel by nature, or one who is cruel but not at a time when he is angry, there is still something to expect and hope for. But if he is both cruel by nature and also in his time of wrath, he says, this is the greatest danger. Let us explain. The Malbim says: "evrah" (wrath) means anger that exceeds the proper measure. It is always "evrah." This is always the Malbim's explanation in numerous places, that the matter of "evrah" differs from anger. Anger is according to measure; "evrah" is anger that exceeds the measure. Yes, there are several places where we see such an expression, "and God became wrathful with me for your sakes," and in several other places we see the expression of "evrah" in the sense of anger that exceeds its measure. A person who is angry but not cruel by nature, then his anger, let us define it, one can survive it. Likewise, a person who is cruel by nature but is not now angry, one can also survive this. But if the person is both angry and cruel by nature, he says, this is a very great danger. He says: to survive this is very, very difficult. And this is what he says here: this day will be cruel in terms of its nature, and also "evrah," that there is great anger in it, as we said, anger that exceeds the measure.
"Wrath and burning anger." The Malbim explains: what is burning anger? Burning anger is generally only against one who has sinned against Him. So there is burning anger against him, this is the anger. "Evrah," as we said, is going beyond. Sometimes, for example, when there is burning anger from God, there is a situation where when the destroying angel goes out to destroy, it does not distinguish between righteous and wicked. What is that, is that burning anger? No, that is "evrah." Since the righteous one does not deserve to be punished. Why then? Because this is an aspect of "evrah," what is called exceeding the measure. The anger exceeds the measure. About this he says here: this day will come upon the sinners, as we said, they are the ones who do deserve the punishment, and in His "evrah," which exceeds the measure, He will destroy the entire country, even one who was not actually a sinner. In response to those who were, as we said, in response to the "evrah," about this he says "to make the earth a desolation." This is the entire land, all of it will be desolate, because there is "evrah," anger that exceeds its measure. And we said the sinners against them there is burning anger, which is according to measure, about this he says "and He will destroy its sinners from it." Its sinners He will destroy from it, this is burning anger. Why will He destroy the entire country? This is in the aspect of "evrah," which exceeds the measure and destroys them all.
"For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light, the sun is darkened at its rising, and the moon will not shine its light." The stars of the heavens and their constellations. The Radak explains: the prophets always speak by way of metaphor. When they want to say of a person that trouble has come upon him, they say that he sits in darkness. The sun does not shine for him, the stars do not shine upon him. This is an expression that he is in great trouble. They do not mean to say that his sun was extinguished. But that the sun has darkened over him is an expression by which they want to say that a person is in trouble. As we express it, we say of a person who is in a difficult situation: he sits in darkness. He does not know what to do, he does not know where to turn. So this is an expression for trouble. This too is what is written here: "the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light, the sun is darkened at its rising, the moon will not shine its light." All of these are expressions to show the magnitude of the trouble that will be there in Bavel. According to the Radak, what is written here, "the moon will not shine its light" (yagiah oro), the Radak says, is as if it said it will not give its light. This is the meaning of "yagiah," like "He will brighten his darkness." Yes, the meaning is it will illuminate the darkness.
The Malbim explains here too, step by step. The Malbim says: he now describes the day, that this day its sun has darkened. The sun has set, so this means they are in darkness. So you will say: fine, but there are still stars. He says: the stars of its twilight, the stars that are above and shine even in the time of darkness, they too are, as it were, extinguished. They too will not give their light. The Malbim says: "yahelu" (will give light) - what is the difference between "or" (light) and "nogah" (radiance) and "yahel" (glow)? These are three expressions whose meaning is to illuminate. To illuminate, radiance, its glowing light. What is the meaning and the difference between them? The Malbim says: "or" is that which illuminates something else. It shines upon something else. "Nogah" is the opposite, it is that which receives the light, and it actually transmits from what it received. If you like, the sun is "or," the moon is "nogah." Since the moon receives the light of the sun and this it transmits onward. And "yahel," the Malbim says, like "yahel oro," this is what we see that has light within it but does not illuminate others. "Yahel," what we today call "hilah" (halo). What is a halo? A halo means that you see light around it, but it does not transmit this to others, rather there is only light that shines upon it. Therefore he says: the stars, there will be there no light of their own at all, for the star receives its light. So therefore the stars will not glow. The sun will darken. It will not be like at night, when the sun is dark but the moon at least still gives light. About this he says: also the moon will not shine its light. Also the moon will not transmit its light, to display its light toward the earth from what it receives from the sun. The Malbim says that the word "yagiah" has another meaning in the Holy Tongue, that it is from the sense of removing. Like "remove the dross from the silver," "strayed from the path." The meaning is they removed it from the path, it deviated from the path. So if so, when we want to say to bring out, that is, the moon receives the light of the sun and brings it out and transmits it outward, therefore this is called "yagiah oro," it brings out its light.
"And I will visit upon the world its evil, and upon the wicked their iniquity, and I will put an end to the pride of the insolent, and the haughtiness of the tyrants I will humble." "And I will visit upon the world" - upon the land of Bavel I will visit upon them the evil that they did to the people of Israel. Upon the wicked, these are the Chaldeans, who are wicked, who did evil to Israel and exceeded the measure, as it is written, "I was but a little angry and they helped for evil," so they too will receive their punishment. "The pride of the insolent" - they were people of pride, men of insolence, I will put an end to their insolence. This is what "and I will put an end to the pride of the insolent" means. The Malbim explains: "pakadti" (I will visit/appoint) is from the sense of appointment. As you say, he commands (mefaked). Or there are those appointed (pekudim) whom I place in charge. The meaning is a role that a person received, this is the sense of "pakadti," the sense of a role. He describes for us here how the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, appoints the evil, which is actually something abstract, appoints the evil to be placed in charge over Bavel. That the evil will exact retribution from Bavel. It will be the ruler that pays them according to their evil. "And I will visit upon the world its evil." The Malbim explains: this is like we saw in verse 9, that the Holy One, blessed be He, will punish the sinners, and then afterward there will also be "evrah," so it will pass also to those who did not sin. As we said, there will be a general blow also to those who did not sin, this is the aspect of "evrah." And therefore here he explains: "and I will visit upon the world its evil," the evil will cleave to the entire world, even those who did not sin, since this is "evrah," it exceeds the measure. And the iniquity, in contrast, will be upon the wicked one who sinned. And this is what is written, "and I will visit upon the world its evil, and upon the wicked their iniquity." As we saw, the wicked one will receive his punishment according to his iniquity, and afterward the "evrah" will express the passing over also to the world, even to those who did not actually sin.
"And I will put an end to the pride of the insolent." The Malbim explains: the insolent, the deliberate ones, the sinners, the Holy One, blessed be He, through this will put an end to their pride, their haughtiness, their power. The tyrants, these are the strong ones, but they did not deliberately sin, He does not call them sinners. They only became prideful in their kingdom, they are tyrants. "Tyrant" is always an expression for a person who expresses pride and might. So they are the tyrants, as we said, there is here an aspect of power, of might. Even though, the Malbim says, their pride is only their power and their wealth, and their wealth is not hated in the eyes of God since they did not deliberately sin, they did not sin. But since they became prideful, their pride is hated in the eyes of God. And therefore "I will put an end to the pride of the insolent, and the haughtiness of the tyrants I will humble." Therefore he says I will humble the haughtiness of the tyrants, because with the tyrants what is despised in the eyes of God? It is their haughtiness, that they act haughtily. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: this I will humble. This is despised in the eyes of God, this is hated in the eyes of God. Now, how does the expression here, where do the matters here fit in the analogy? The Malbim says: the officers of Bavel, they sinned, they were insolent toward God, they did evil to the people of Israel in practice. And therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, will punish them for their insolence, and will put an end to their kingdom. But in contrast, the multitude of the people who did not sin, but nevertheless behaved with haughtiness, God will humble their haughtiness, since they became prideful from the power of the kingdom of Nevuchadnetzar. That is, every person who walked in Bavel felt that he belonged to a superpower kingdom. They had haughtiness. So for their haughtiness, them God will punish, even though they did not actually sin. The Malbim explains: what is the difference between "gaon" and "gaavah"? "Gaavah" (haughtiness), the Malbim says, is what the person imagines himself to be more than he actually is. The person who becomes prideful, this is called "gaavah." "Gaon," in contrast, is outside the essence of the prideful one. Its meaning is: the causes of pride. For example, wealth, honor, might, all of this is called "gaon." "Gaon" means what brings you to pride. "Gaavah" is already within the person in practice, that the person becomes prideful.
"I will make man more precious than fine gold, and mankind than the pure gold of Ophir." The Malbim says: why will the fury and anger be so great against Bavel? Because even "enosh," meaning the blood of Jews, is more precious to Me than fine gold. And "adam," mankind, more precious than the pure gold of Ophir. And let us explain. The Malbim in several places explains that "enosh" is always an expression for the lower stratum of the human species. And "adam" always expresses the man of stature, one who resembles the Most High. "Enosh," "what is enosh that You should remember him." "Enosh" is always an expression, "mankind is like grass, enosh." Yes, it is always an expression for the lower stratum. So he says: with the Holy One, blessed be He, why will the fury against Bavel be so great? Because since they spilled the blood of Israel, with Me "I will make enosh more precious than fine gold." The lowly, low Jew, with Me, says God, is more precious than fine gold. And in contrast, "adam," mankind, of whom we speak here as the man of stature, he is more precious than the pure gold of Ophir. "The pure gold of Ophir" is an expression for an ornament, for gold that is more prestigious than fine gold. So if so, says the Holy One, blessed be He, understand why the exactitude and anger over their deeds.
"Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will shake from its place, in the wrath of the God of Hosts and in the day of His burning anger." Therefore God says: I will make the heavens tremble. After the blood of human beings, the people of Israel, is so important in My eyes, so precious in My eyes that their blood was spilled by the sons of Bavel, God says: I will make the heavens tremble. Their downfall will not be only below, but rather their downfall will also be above. And we have already explained several times that a nation that is uprooted below is first uprooted at its root above. And as we learned this at length in the book of Daniel, how it describes: "I saw the officer of Persia go out," and so on, and the officer of Bavel. That is to say, when there is a war it is actually conducted in the heavens. The Holy One, blessed be He, says: wars I have made. The war is conducted in the heavens. After in the heavens there is a decision of the war, then it materializes here in practice on earth. The decisions in the heavens are not determined by an arsenal nor by the type of weapon. The wars in the heavens are determined by merits. That is it, only that. If we have merits, then the officer of Israel prevails over the officer of the nations. If we have no merits, then the accusation prevails, the measure of iniquities is filled, and the officer of the nations, the officer of Israel is handed over beneath them. And then through this, here in practice there is a reality that the nations harass Israel, pursue Israel, wage war against Israel. This is already the materialization of what happens above. It emerges then that the total loss of a nation begins from above. This is what he says here, "therefore I will make the heavens tremble." Its meaning: the downfall will not be only here below, but will also be above, that I will uproot them from the root, from the heavens. And then he describes, as it were: He makes the heavens tremble, the heavens is the aspect encompassing the earth here, and then consequently the earth will shake from its place. For when a thing happens in the heavens, we said, it affects here below. So when "I will make the heavens tremble," then the earth already through this will shake from its place. The earth here shakes from the power of what happens above in the heavens. And this will be "in the wrath of the God of Hosts and in the day of His burning anger." As we explained above, His burning anger is upon the sinners, the wrath of God is what passes beyond, and He will punish also the world, those who did not actually sin but for their haughtiness, as we explained.