Introduction: Another Prophecy Concerning Babylon
Chapter 21 opens with a prophecy concerning the downfall of Babylon. Rashi asks an obvious question: We have already seen a prophecy concerning Babylon in chapters 13 and 14, where very harsh things were said about it - that it would be desolated and never rebuilt, "neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there" - and historically we have seen that the prophecy was fulfilled, as ancient Babylon lies in ruins to this day. Why, then, is another prophecy against Babylon repeated here? Rashi explains: Sometimes a prophecy comes through the prophet in one style, and after some time it comes in another style. Such is the way of prophecy.
The Malbim explains why Babylon is referred to here as "the desert of the sea" (Midbar Yam): Media and Persia lay to the northeast of Babylon, meaning that Babylon was to their southwest. "Sea" (yam) denotes the west, and "desert" (midbar) denotes the south (wherever scripture refers to the south, it speaks of "the wilderness land" or "the southland"). Moreover, it is called "desert" because a wilderness lay between Babylon and Media-Persia, and through this wilderness the enemies approached - and it is the arrival of these enemies that the prophet describes here.
Background: The Narrative in the Book of Daniel
To understand the prophecy, we must first briefly recall the narrative in the Book of Daniel. When Media and Persia fought against Babylon, Belshazzar succeeded in driving the enemies away and prevailing over them, and they retreated to their land. "On that night" (be-leilya), Belshazzar made a great feast and brought out the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash, confident that Israel would no longer be redeemed. At that moment, fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote upon the wall of the palace: "Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Farsin" - the Holy One, Blessed be He, has numbered your kingdom and found it wanting, and has therefore decreed to divide it. None of the wise men could decipher it, but Daniel interpreted that he was to lose his kingdom. "On that night Belshazzar was slain" - that very night, Belshazzar was killed in an internal rebellion, and those rebels rushed to notify Media and Persia, who were already on their way back to their homeland: "Come, Belshazzar has been killed!" They returned and conquered Babylon.
The prophecy before us is an early vision depicting that very reality. The prophet portrays two watchmen: One is a Babylonian watchman standing that night upon the wall of Babylon, seeing the Persian camp returning. At first, the camp appears to him like dust carried by the desert wind, and only later does he learn of the rebellion and realize that the enemies are now coming to destroy Babylon, leaving him seized with dread, fear, and trembling. The second watchman is from Israel, waiting and yearning: Master of the Universe, when will Your promise regarding Babylon's downfall be fulfilled? He too witnesses these same scenes, but not with fear and trembling like the Babylonian watchman; rather, with joy and exultation, seeing that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is finally exacting retribution from Babylon, which had so severely oppressed and afflicted Israel.
Verse 1: Sighting Dust from the Desert
מַשָּׂא מִדְבַּר־יָם כְּסוּפוֹת בַּנֶּגֶב לַחֲלֹף מִמִּדְבָּר בָּא מֵאֶרֶץ נוֹרָאָה׃ - The burden of the desert of the sea: As whirlwinds in the south sweeping through, it comes from the wilderness, from a dreadful land.
The Babylonian watchman speaks. At first, he describes: It seems to me as though I see whirlwinds sweeping through the arid wilderness, kicking up great dust (the Negev is so called because it is dry of water, wiped dry [menugav], generally denoting an arid wilderness). Then he looks closer and says, "it comes from the wilderness" - the whirlwind and dust are advancing from the direction of the desert. Looking even further, he says, "from a dreadful land" - this is Persia, of which the Babylonians were so fearful and terrified. The armies arriving now are from a dreadful land: those very Persian forces returning that night to conquer Babylon, having heard that Belshazzar was slain by the rebels.
Verse 2: The Treacherous Deals Treacherously and the Spoiler Spoils
חָזוּת קָשָׁה הֻגַּד־לִי הַבּוֹגֵד בּוֹגֵד וְהַשּׁוֹדֵד שׁוֹדֵד עֲלִי עֵילָם צוּרִי מָדַי כָּל־אַנְחָתָהּ הִשְׁבַּתִּי׃ - A harsh vision is declared unto me: the treacherous deals treacherously, and the spoiler spoils; go up, Elam! Besiege, Media! All sighing caused by her have I made to cease.
The observer gazes closely and says: This is no mere storm and dust, but rather, "A harsh vision is declared unto me." What becomes clear to me is that "the treacherous deals treacherously" - a mutiny and betrayal has occurred among King Belshazzar's men, and because the traitor betrayed and went to summon the entire enemy force to advance here, "the spoiler spoils" - through this, the spoiler now comes, the Persian army returning to plunder and wage war against Babylon once again.
"Go up, O Elam; besiege, O Media!" - The lookout describes the words of the traitor: Go up, Elam, against Babylon! He invites Elam, Persia, and Media to march against Babylon, for we have already solved your problem and eliminated the king. "Besiege, O Media" - do not fear Belshazzar, and have no dread of him. "All sighing I have brought to an end" - all that sighing and dread inspired by the Babylonians, all that fear and trepidation, I have brought to an end. You have nothing to worry about; you will never fear them again. Belshazzar is slain; you need only come and take the kingdom.
Pasuk 3: Shuddering Like the Pangs of a Woman in Labor
עַל־כֵּן מָלְאוּ מָתְנַי חַלְחָלָה צִירִים אֲחָזוּנִי כְּצִירֵי יוֹלֵדָה נַעֲוֵיתִי מִשְּׁמֹעַ נִבְהַלְתִּי מֵרְאוֹת׃ - "Therefore are my loins filled with shuddering; pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor; I am contorted from hearing, I am dismayed from seeing."
Rashi explains that this refers to the prophet, who is merciful, groaning over the downfall of the nations. Rashi himself also cites that according to the plain sense (peshat), the prophet recites the lament as if Babylon itself were groaning, serving as its mouthpiece - not that he grieves over its fall, but rather that he gives voice to its groaning and pain. The Malbim, however, explains that all of this is the continuation of the words of the watchman and lookout who witnesses these events unfolding, and he trembles at the sudden, harsh report that the enemies are coming to conquer Babylon: "Therefore are my loins filled with shuddering."
Not only this, but "pangs have seized me, like the pangs of a woman in labor." Labor pangs (tzirim) are named after the hinges of doors, as the Gemara explains that a woman's womb has hinges like doors, and when she gives birth, the door as it were opens. That is to say: such pangs came upon me, such torment and pain. This was the second stage. Then, "I am contorted from hearing, I am dismayed from seeing" - "na'aveiti" (contorted) connotes disorientation and frenzy; my mind was so overwhelmed by what I witnessed that I was unable to hear, and all bodily faculties became distorted. Furthermore, I was terrified to the point that I could not even bear to look. In this manner the lookout describes the terror that gripped him when he saw the enemies advancing.
Pasuk 4: From Great Joy to Utter Dread
תָּעָה לְבָבִי פַּלָּצוּת בִּעֲתָתְנִי אֵת נֶשֶׁף חִשְׁקִי שָׂם לִי לַחֲרָדָה׃ - "My heart wanders, horror has terrified me; the twilight of my desire has He turned into trembling for me."
"My heart wanders" - a further collapse and panic in the lookout, to the point that his entire body was paralyzed and his vitality drained away. Moreover: "horror has terrified me" (palatzut bi'atatni) - palatzut implies a bursting apart, as though all the sinews of the body and blood vessels ruptured, as if the entire body disintegrated.
And why? "The neshef of my desire has He turned into trembling for me." The Malbim explains: "Cheshki" (my desire) is my will, and it was "nashef" - displaced and dislodged from its place. "Neshef" relates to the Aramaic expression "shaf midukteih" - it slipped and shifted out of place. Similarly, the twilight (neshef) of the night is called neshef because the day departs and the night enters, leaving its place while another takes over. The Gemara notes that there is a daytime neshef (dawn) and a nighttime neshef (dusk), and daytime neshef is so named because the night has passed, shifted from its place, and day has arrived. Here too, "the neshef of my desire" - that desire and delight I previously possessed was abruptly displaced by the terrible fear that overcame me.
The Malbim adds a fundamental insight into human psychology: when sudden terror strikes a person, it causes great shock. But if terror strikes at the very moment he is immersed in great joy, the shock and dread are multiplied sevenfold. This doubles the disorientation and bewilderment by violently wrenching the body and senses from celebration into profound dread, leaving the person in such confusion that he cannot comprehend whether he is in joy or in awful terror. And this is the most overwhelming panic of all.
The Radak explains "the neshef of my desire" differently: on that very night Belshazzar held a banquet (neshef) and feast, and everyone was rejoicing, when suddenly, in a single instant, that banquet of delight turned into dreadful terror. The most joyous hour became the most frightening and horrifying moment. In such a state, a person begins to imagine things and mistake the shadows of mountains for mountains, seeing terrifying, alarming sights, because his soul was wrenched in an instant from immense joy into panic and overwhelming dread.
Pasuk 5: Between the Table and the Shield
עָרֹךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן צָפֹה הַצָּפִית אָכוֹל שָׁתֹה קוּמוּ הַשָּׂרִים מִשְׁחוּ מָגֵן׃ - Prepare the table, post the watch, eat, drink; arise, O princes, anoint the shield!
The Malbim explains: Here the poetic voice depicts a person seized by madness, swinging back and forth from terror to great rejoicing, and from great rejoicing back to terror, while everyone is in panic. These two conflicting thoughts together throw him into turmoil. Therefore, he cries out, "Prepare the table" - set the table and feast; but on the other hand, "post the watch" - be on guard, keep watch, war is coming! Then once more he calls, "Eat, drink" - there is a banquet, there is revelry; yet on the other hand, "Arise, princes, anoint the shield" - there is a battle! This erratic oscillation stems from the terror and shuddering that struck in the midst of the celebration, leaving the person disoriented and overwhelmed with confusion.
What is the meaning of "anoint the shield"? The commentators explain that when going out to battle, it was customary to smear the shield with oil so that the arrows and swords striking it would slide off. This is also the meaning of the verse concerning Yehonatan: "the shield of the mighty was stripped (niga'al)." What does hag'alah mean in the Holy Tongue? As in the verse, "His bull genders, and does not fail (yag'il)" - yag'il means discharges, for hag'alah is an expelling or discharging. Thus, "the shield of the mighty was stripped" means that the oil absorbed in the shield, which was meant to deflect the arrows, was expelled and lost; consequently, the arrows could pierce the shield and the sword could slash through it, bringing about defeat. Thus, the phrase "anointed with oil" describes a strong shield that still retains its coating of oil. Rashi offers an additional explanation for "tzafoh hatzafit": set up the candelabra. At that feast they set up the candelabras, as candelabras were a sign of prestige and royalty, fitting their custom.
Verse 6: The Second Watchman
כִּי כֹה אָמַר אֵלַי אֲדֹנָי לֵךְ הַעֲמֵד הַמְצַפֶּה אֲשֶׁר יִרְאֶה יַגִּיד׃ - For thus has the Lord said to me: Go, set a watchman; let him declare what he sees.
Here the prophet describes the second watchman, who stands at the word of Hashem. He is the mitzapeh, the one who waits and yearns for the downfall of Babylon to finally come, and for the visions described in chapters 13 and 14 to be realized.
Rashi explains who this watchman was: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Yeshayahu, "One of your disciples is destined to challenge My attributes concerning the prolonged tranquility of Babylon." He will lodge a complaint: Master of the Universe, why is Babylon still at peace when there are such harsh prophecies against it? Why do You not exact retribution from it? And who was this? It was Chavakuk, who said, "I will stand upon my watch and station myself upon the tower, and look out to see what He will speak to me," and drew a circle, stood inside it, and said: I will not move from here until the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts retribution from Babylon. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Yeshayahu: Post that watchman and assure him on My behalf that he should stand at his post, and whatever he sees regarding the downfall of Babylon, he should declare. As if to say to him: Behold, now I am exacting retribution from Babylon, and I want him to describe what unfolds, showing that just as I promised, so have I ultimately fulfilled.
The Malbim, as mentioned, does not identify a specific individual, but rather contrasts what the Babylonian lookout sees and the terror and shuddering that seize him, with what the lookout from Israel sees as he waits for the prophecy to be fulfilled and Babylon to fall. The Malbim also distinguishes between a tzofeh and a mitzapeh: A tzofeh is someone who positions himself to see what is yet to come, watching for something not yet before his eyes, as in "I have made you a watchman (tzofeh) to the house of Israel." A mitzapeh, on the other hand, is one who looks forward with hope to seeing a specific thing, as in "Yet I will look (atzapeh) unto Hashem," or "In the morning I direct my prayer unto You, and keep watch (va'atzapeh)" - he harbors longing and hope for it.
Verse 7: A Pair of Horsemen Alone
וְרָאָה רֶכֶב צֶמֶד פָּרָשִׁים רֶכֶב חֲמוֹר רֶכֶב גָּמָל וְהִקְשִׁיב קֶשֶׁב רַב־קָשֶׁב׃ - And he saw a chariot, a pair of horsemen, a rider on a donkey, a rider on a camel; and he listened intently, with great alertness.
The watchman has stood at his post for a long time, eagerly waiting to see when Babylon will finally fall. And when the moment of tidings arrives, what does he see? He thought he would see heavy artillery, numerous surrounding nations marching into battle; instead, he sees a mount with two horsemen, a rider on a donkey and a rider on a camel. Just two riders, one on a donkey and one on a camel! Could the downfall of Babylon really come from this? What he did not realize was that these two were the two ministers who fled Babylon that very night and ran to the king of Persia to announce: "Turn back and come; we have cleared the way for you." It was they who killed Belshazzar, and they brought about Babylon's downfall.
And why "a rider on a donkey, a rider on a camel"? Because that is the way of fugitives. A person who prepares in advance readies chariots, horsemen, and everything required; but one who flees in an instant - if he spots a donkey, he leaps onto it and flees; if he spots a camel, he mounts it and flees. He has no time to find proper transport. "And he listened intently, with great alertness" - he hears and perceives that the fugitives are making their voices heard with urgent attention, as if to say: From us comes the tidings of Babylon's end; we are the bearers of the news.
Pasuk 8: Standing by Day and Stationed by Night
וַיִּקְרָא אַרְיֵה עַל־מִצְפֶּה אֲדֹנָי אָנֹכִי עֹמֵד תָּמִיד יוֹמָם וְעַל־מִשְׁמַרְתִּי אָנֹכִי נִצָּב כָּל־הַלֵּילוֹת׃ - And he cried as a lion: Upon a watchtower, my master, I stand continually by day, and at my post I am stationed all the nights.
Then he thinks to himself: My hope has been dashed. I anticipated the fall of Bavel, and instead I see one man on a donkey and another on a camel. So he stands and cries out like a lion: Master of the Universe, "I stand continually by day, and at my post I am stationed all the nights" - where is the promise You made? I have been standing here for so long, and this is what I see?
The Malbim notes a precise distinction: regarding the watchtower, the text says omed ("standing"), whereas regarding the watch, it says nitzav ("stationed"). The difference, as we have seen several times in the Malbim's commentary, is that omed merely indicates that one is not sitting, while nitzav refers to someone bracing himself firmly on his feet, standing steadfastly with strength and power. Therefore, at the watchtower, where he is merely watching to see something, it says omed. But on guard duty, where he guards against approaching enemies and is prepared to fight them - there he is nitzav.
Rashi, following his usual approach, explains that Yeshayahu's prophecy came to comfort Chabakuk, to whom the Holy One, Blessed is He, says: Here, what you have anticipated so deeply is now arriving. "And he cried as a lion [aryeh]" - this refers to Chabakuk, who drew a circle, stood inside it, and said: I am standing and stationed here, and I will not budge from this place. An allusion to this is that "aryeh" has the same numerical value (gematria) as Chabakuk. The prophet, as it were, addresses him and comforts him in this matter.
Pasuk 9: Fallen, Fallen Is Bavel in a Single Instant
וְהִנֵּה־זֶה בָא רֶכֶב אִישׁ צֶמֶד פָּרָשִׁים וַיַּעַן וַיֹּאמֶר נָפְלָה נָפְלָה בָּבֶל וְכָל־פְּסִילֵי אֱלֹהֶיהָ שִׁבַּר לָאָרֶץ׃ - And behold, here comes a troop of men, a pair of horsemen; and he spoke up and said: Fallen, fallen is Bavel, and all the carved images of her gods He has shattered to the ground.
The watchman stands and says: Master of the Universe, what am I seeing? I stand by day and am stationed all night, and for what? "Here comes a troop of men, a pair of horsemen" - is this the downfall of Bavel that You promised? Will this destroy the mighty empire of Bavel? But while he is crying out like this to Hashem, he suddenly realizes that he hears voices, and what are they shouting? "Fallen, fallen is Bavel!" Those riders of the donkey and the camel arrive before the king of Persia and shout to him: Bavel has fallen, come and take the city, Belshatzar has been killed!
And what does the prophet wish to convey through this? That the downfall of Bavel will take place in a single moment, in one second. Do not imagine that there will be a siege, that many nations will arrive, and that there will be prolonged wars. Not at all. One moment he sees a rider and horsemen and thinks: What is this? Where is the downfall here? And a second later they announce: It is finished, Bavel has been wiped out, Bavel has fallen! The Persians turn back and take Bavel effortlessly, so to speak, without any need for wars or battles. A moment earlier such a thing never crossed their minds, and a second later Bavel is no more. This is the prophecy that the prophet receives from Hashem: the downfall of Bavel will happen in a single instant.
Pasuk 10: My Threshed One and the Child of My Threshing Floor
מְדֻשָׁתִי וּבֶן־גָּרְנִי אֲשֶׁר שָׁמַעְתִּי מֵאֵת ה' צְבָאוֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הִגַּדְתִּי לָכֶם׃ - O my threshed one and the child of my threshing floor, that which I have heard from Hashem of Hosts, the God of Israel, I have told you.
The prophet says to them: In this prophecy, I am foretelling to you how the downfall of Bavel will begin, and how they will conspire against Belshatzar, their master. But the slaughter and destruction that the armies of Persia and Media will wreak in Bavel, how they will take vengeance upon them and slay them - that I am not describing to you here, for I have already described it in chapters 13 and 14, where a detailed account is given of just how severe the downfall of Bavel will be.
And the prophet terms that prophecy "my threshing and the son of my threshing floor": the prophecy in which I prophesied concerning the threshing with which Hashem will thresh Babylon. Threshing is the process performed on grain to separate the chaff from the wheat: they place the threshing sledge over the wheat, the ox pulls it, and it is a very heavy board that rubs the grain against the ground, separating the chaff from the kernels, after which it is winnowed in the wind. This is a poetic metaphor for the most crushing blow, for threshing denotes total pulverization, as in "you shall thresh mountains and crush them, and make hills like chaff." That is to say: Hashem will thresh Babylon and destroy it utterly, and this I have already told you long ago in the earlier prophecies. And "the son of my threshing floor" - just as grain is gathered into the threshing floor to be threshed, so too will the Holy One, blessed be He, gather them and thresh them, as it says there, "with a new, sharp, many-toothed threshing sledge," which is studded with sharp spikes and threshes the grain thoroughly.
Verses 11-12: The Burden of Dumah - The Fall of Edom
From here the prophet moves on to an entirely new prophecy, concerning the downfall of Edom. As we have discussed in the past, the chapter divisions are of Christian origin; originally in Judaism there were no chapter divisions whatsoever, only open and closed sections (parashiyyot petuchot and setumot), without numbers or chapter designations. We previously explained where that division originated and how it entered our Tanach. Had the chapters been divided properly, a new chapter ought to have begun here, for at this point the prophet turns to address an entirely different nation.
מַשָּׂא דּוּמָה אֵלַי קֹרֵא מִשֵּׂעִיר שֹׁמֵר מַה־מִּלַּיְלָה שֹׁמֵר מַה־מִּלֵּיל׃ - The burden of Dumah. One calls to me out of Seir: "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?"
The Malbim explains that this prophecy is grounded upon what Ovadiah said: "If thieves came to you, if robbers by night... all your allies have driven you to the border." There, the Malbim explained that Edom marched out beyond their own borders to fight enemies after being duped into believing that war was at hand and that they should go out to fight; deceitful advisors lured Edom out to battle. And once Edom marched out of their land, the enemies entered it and conquered it with ease. In short: a trap was set for them. This is why Ovadiah compares them to thieves and robbers of the night, who enter by stealth without the homeowner's knowledge.
He adds that they plundered and robbed them even more thoroughly than ordinary thieves and robbers. For a thief has little time; he takes only what is out in plain sight and looks for an escape, lacking the leisure to search for hidden treasures in concealed places (unless the homeowner left for a week, giving the thief an empty house and a full week). But in Edom's case, they were not like ordinary thieves: they took even what was in hidden vaults and secret recesses, plundering by both day and night. Regarding this it is said, "How Esau is ransacked, his hidden treasures searched out!" - they searched and excavated, taking even the most deeply hidden possessions from Esau.
Based upon this, the prophet delivers his prophecy: "One calls to me out of Seir" - and Seir is Edom. The watchman who was left behind to guard their land is asked: "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" - what has become of things there in Seir? What took place on that terrible night when they advanced against Seir?
אָמַר שֹׁמֵר אָתָה בֹקֶר וְגַם־לָיְלָה אִם־תִּבְעָיוּן בְּעָיוּ שֻׁבוּ אֵתָיוּ׃ - The watchman said: "Morning comes, and also the night; if you will inquire, inquire; return, come back."
The watchman replies: Do not think that the enemy came merely as a thief in the night and fled as soon as morning dawned, for a thief does not linger by day out of fear and apprehension. That is not the case here; "morning comes, and also the night," and the enemy remains right there, looting and pillaging. And why are you searching for the enemy outside the country? "If you will inquire, inquire; return, come back" - if you are seeking the enemy, return and come back to your own land, and there you will find him! Edom had marched out of their land following the deception, looking for where the enemy was, and the watchman tells them: The enemy is already digging inside your own homes, having seized even the hidden treasures; return to your place, and you will discover that the moment you marched out from here, the enemy entered and took your spoils.
Rashi interprets this homiletically: "The watchman said" - this refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, who addresses the Jewish people and says: "Morning comes" - I have the power to bring about morning for you right now, meaning to usher in the redemption; "and also the night" - yet I also hold the night that I designated for Esau, to afflict you and torment you, for night symbolizes strict judgment and hardship. And what does this depend upon? "If you will inquire, inquire" - if you seek and pray to hasten the end; "return, come back" - return in repentance, and through this the time of redemption will arrive. This is the lesson: the primary objective is not merely to cry out, "Master of the Universe, send Moshiach!" - although that too is wonderful and necessary - but rather to transform one's deeds: return, come back.
Verse 13: The Burden upon Arabia
מַשָּׂא בַּעְרָב בַּיַּעַר בַּעְרַב תָּלִינוּ אֹרְחוֹת דְּדָנִים׃ - The burden upon Arabia. In the forest in Arabia shall you lodge, O caravans of Dedanites.
This prophecy concerns the downfall of the people of Kedar, concerning whom Yeshayahu prophesies that they will fall into the hands of Sancheiriv. "Caravans of Dedanim" refers to caravans of the people of Dedan, a nation that used to travel through the land of Kedar. The people of Kedar, the Arabs, were hospitable, and the Dedanim would lodge with them. The prophet says to them: From now on, since Kedar has been devastated by Sancheiriv, you have no one to take you in and give you lodging, and you will be forced to sleep in the forests - "In the forest in Arabia you shall lodge."
The Malbim offers an additional explanation, that these words are addressed to the Arabs themselves and not to the guests coming to them: You, the people of Arabia, will lodge in the forest when you are in exile. When you are exiled by Sancheiriv, you will lodge in the forests and travel along the "caravans of Dedanim," the routes where the nomadic people of Dedan used to travel; so too, you will wander and be exiled by Sancheiriv.
And why do they deserve such a harsh prophecy? Rashi explains: I saw what you did when Assyria exiled My people. The Jewish people asked their captors who were leading them along the way: Take us by way of the descendants of Yishmael, for they are our cousins; they will help us, assist us, and have pity on us. Yet you went out and lodged in the forest along the route where the caravans passed, and not only did you not care for them, provide for them, or assist your brethren, the Jewish people exiled by Sancheiriv, but you even gave them inflated skins, as we will see further on: they brought them salty fish, which naturally induce thirst and dry out the throat, and then brought inflated skins and put them into their mouths, so that the air entered them and killed them. Through this, they breathed their last. Therefore, a harsh prophecy is directed against them: just as Israel lodged in the forest, so too will you lodge in the forest, and by the path of the caravans of Dedanim you will be exiled by Sancheiriv, just as your brethren, the Jewish people, were exiled.
Pasuk 14: To the Thirsty Bring Water
לִקְרַאת צָמֵא הֵתָיוּ מָיִם יֹשְׁבֵי אֶרֶץ תֵּימָא בְּלַחְמוֹ קִדְּמוּ נֹדֵד׃ - To the thirsty bring water, O inhabitants of the land of Teima; with his bread greet the wanderer.
According to the Malbim, these words are addressed to the inhabitants of the land of Teima: The refugees of Kedar, those Arabs we spoke of, will pass through your land, so greet them with water. This is explained in a poetic sense: water was plentiful in Teima, as Teima was a valley, a low-lying place where water is readily available, so you could easily have brought water to those exiled from their land. Furthermore, the people of Kedar were themselves always hospitable, giving bread and food to anyone who came to them, so it was fitting that they should at least be greeted with water.
According to Rashi, as we explained, the prophecy is directed against them, the people of Kedar: Why did you not greet the exiled Jewish people with water as they passed through your territory, and instead brought them inflated skins, so that a person placed the skin in his mouth and thereby breathed his last? "To the thirsty bring water" - you ought to have brought water to the thirsty people, but instead you caused their ruin.
And Hashem says an additional point to them: When Yishmael was thirsty, at the time he and Hagar were sent away by Avraham, what did the Holy One, Blessed is He, do? He revealed a well of water to Hagar. "To the thirsty bring water" - did I not do so for your forefather Yishmael, revealing a well of water to him when he was thirsty? Yet you, when the people of Israel, your cousins, pass through your territory, do not even give them water to drink; not only that, but you make them even thirstier and cause their death.
Pasuk 15: Fleeing from the Sword
כִּי־מִפְּנֵי חֲרָבוֹת נָדָדוּ מִפְּנֵי חֶרֶב נְטוּשָׁה וּמִפְּנֵי קֶשֶׁת דְּרוּכָה וּמִפְּנֵי כֹּבֶד מִלְחָמָה׃ - For they fled from swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the press of battle.
Especially since they were not going on a leisurely trip, nor were they traveling for trade, but rather because the sword pursued them, the sword of the enemy. And this sword could not be withstood, a "drawn sword" - for the sword was spread across the entire land, and it was impossible to remain in place; they had no choice but to leave their land and wander. "And from the bent bow" - they were skilled archers, but it availed them nothing, because the enemy came with a bent bow, that is, a bow drawn and ready to shoot. "And from the press of battle" - and despite all this, they fought; do not think they immediately gave up and fled, rather they fled only from the heaviness of the battle, which was severe. And when a person flees due to the intensity of battle, having tried to fight and then being forced to flee, there is all the more reason to pity him and have compassion on him. This is not someone who went out for commerce or leisure, to whom you could say: "Provide food for yourself." On the contrary, you ought to have helped them and cared for them, but instead you went and made them thirsty and starved them.
Pesukim 16-17: Within a Year, Like the Years of a Hired Hand
כִּי־כֹה אָמַר אֲדֹנָי אֵלָי בְּעוֹד שָׁנָה כִּשְׁנֵי שָׂכִיר וְכָלָה כָּל־כְּבוֹד קֵדָר׃ - For thus has the Lord said to me: Within a year, like the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar shall come to an end.
Therefore, this is their punishment, as conveyed in prophecy from Hashem. And what is the meaning of "within a year, like the years of a hired worker"? An ordinary year could casually mean a year and a quarter, a year and two months, or a year, a month, and two days. But when the prophet says a year "like the years of a hired worker," the intent is like a laborer hired to work for an employer, who works until the very last stipulated second, and the moment his time ends, puts down his tools, heads home, and asks for his pay. The years of a hired worker are precise and exact; one cannot dismiss it with, "It doesn't matter, whether a year or a year and a month." Therefore, "within a year, like the years of a hired worker" - exactly one year later, "all the glory of Kedar shall come to an end"; all their glory will vanish, for Sennacherib will come and exile them.
וּשְׁאָר מִסְפַּר־קֶשֶׁת גִּבּוֹרֵי בְנֵי־קֵדָר יִמְעָטוּ כִּי ה' אֱלֹהֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל דִּבֵּר׃ - And the remnant of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished, for Hashem, the God of Israel, has spoken.
And even the number of warriors that the enemy intentionally spares, so that they may become his fighters, join him, and form part of his army - they, too, will be diminished. And why? Because Hashem decreed it upon them for having tormented and harmed Israel: "for Hashem, the God of Israel, has spoken."
Regarding the word used here, she'ar ("remnant"), the Malbim explains that this refers to what the enemy deliberately leaves behind. In the Holy Tongue, as explained previously, there is a fundamental difference between she'ar and notar: notar is what is left over on its own - I took what I wanted, and whatever remains is mere surplus. By contrast, she'ar is what was intentionally set aside and spared. Therefore, "and the remnant of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, shall be diminished" - even those whom Sennacherib intentionally spares, the mighty archers meant to join him and become part of his army, will also be diminished, lest one think they will endure. All this is because Hashem decreed it as retribution for the distress they caused Israel.
In summary:
The chapter is divided into three prophecies. The first (verses 1-10) is the "burden of the desert of the sea" concerning Babylon, in which the prophet portrays two watchmen: the Babylonian watchman, who looks out from the wall, sees dust rising from the desert, and realizes that the traitor has betrayed and that the Persian plunderers have returned, whereupon he is seized with trembling, pangs, shuddering, and bewildered panic, because this terror strikes in the midst of Belshazzar's festive banquet - multiplying the dread sevenfold; and the watchman of Israel, who eagerly awaits Babylon's downfall, who sees only "chariots of donkeys, chariots of camels" and does not understand, until he hears "Babylon has fallen, has fallen!" - teaching us that Babylon's downfall will arrive in a single instant, without a siege and without battles. The second prophecy (verses 11-12), the "burden of Dumah," concerns Edom, which was lured out of its land through cunning and plundered both by day and by night; and by way of homiletic insight: "The morning comes, and also the night" - the choice is in our hands, and "return, come" - through repentance, we hasten the end of days. And the third prophecy (verses 13-17), the "burden upon Arabia," concerns the downfall of the children of Kedar at the hands of Sennacherib, measure for measure for failing to greet the exiled of Israel with bread and water and even driving them to perish of thirst; and in exactly one year, like the years of a hired worker, all their glory will come to an end, and even the warriors intentionally spared will be diminished, for Hashem, the God of Israel, has spoken.