Chapter 34 of Yeshayahu is a chapter of vengeance. The prophet addresses all the nations of the world and proclaims the great Day of Judgment, when the Holy One, Blessed is He, will exact retribution from Edom and from Botzrah for everything they did to the Jewish people and for the heresy they spread throughout the world. Most of the chapter is constructed of poetic figures and metaphors that repeatedly emphasize a single idea: that place will be turned into absolute desolation, to the point that not a single person, not even a passerby, will be found there, and only desert beasts and solitary birds will inherit it forever.
קִרְבוּ גוֹיִם לִשְׁמֹעַ וּלְאֻמִּים הַקְשִׁיבוּ תִּשְׁמַע הָאָרֶץ וּמְלֹאָהּ תֵּבֵל וְכָל צֶאֱצָאֶיהָ׃ - Come near, you nations, to hear, and listen, you peoples; let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world, and all its offspring.
The Malbim explains: Goyim refers to nations that have no religion, a scattered populace without a unifying faith. Le'umim are of higher standing: nations that possess a religion and a single shared faith. And yet, the prophet does not address the le'umim directly, but rather specifically addresses the goyim, the lower level, so that the le'umim will listen and hear on their own. The Malbim maintains a consistent principle: the term shemi'ah (hearing) is used for the one to whom the speech is directly addressed, whereas hakshavah (attentive listening) is used for someone standing aside and eavesdropping or listening in. Therefore, "Come near, you nations (goyim), to hear," for the address is directed to you, and consequently, "and listen (hakshivu), you peoples (le'umim)."
So too in the continuation of the verse: eretz (the earth) is the uninhabited part of the world, while tevel is the inhabited world. Normally, a decree falls first upon the inhabited area and from there spreads to the wilderness, but here he reverses the order, placing "let the earth hear" before "the world," just as he placed the goyim before the le'umim. The underlying idea is the same: do not think this will proceed in ordinary order, first striking the prominent and inhabited regions and only then spreading outward. Here, the decree will strike the entirety of the earth and its inhabitants all at once, and the prophet does not restrict his words to the prominent alone, for all are guilty and all will ultimately be led to slaughter.
כִּי קֶצֶף לַה' עַל כָּל הַגּוֹיִם וְחֵמָה עַל כָּל צְבָאָם הֶחֱרִימָם נְתָנָם לַטָּבַח׃ - For the Lord has wrath upon all the nations, and fury upon all their host; He has doomed them, He has given them over to slaughter.
The Holy One, Blessed is He, is wrathful with the idolaters who destroyed Jerusalem. It is well known that cheimah (fury) is greater than ketzef (wrath), because cheimah is internal, an enmity and hatred retained in the heart, whereas ketzef is external indignation. Therefore, upon "all the nations" - those idolaters who dispatched forces to destroy Jerusalem - there is only ketzef; but upon "all their host," the armies that actually destroyed it in practice, there is an internal, far greater cheimah. And the decree is twofold: "He has doomed them (hecherimam)" - they will be completely banned, never to be redeemed; and not only that, but "He has given them over to slaughter," surrendering them to be slain.
וְחַלְלֵיהֶם יֻשְׁלָכוּ וּפִגְרֵיהֶם יַעֲלֶה בָאְשָׁם וְנָמַסּוּ הָרִים מִדָּמָם׃ - And their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise, and the mountains shall melt from their blood.
"Their slain" (chalaleihem) refers to those who fell by the sword in battle in the open field, and they will be cast out without burial. "Their corpses" (pigreihem) refers to those who perished within the city, and their stench will likewise rise, for no one will be found there to bury them. This is a motif that will recur repeatedly throughout the chapter: the place will be entirely desolate, devoid of any human presence.
And lest you think the casualties will be few, it says, "and the mountains shall melt from their blood." When one wishes to say that there will be a great deal, one says the valleys will be filled; when one wishes to say there will be an overwhelming amount, one says it will reach the mountains, and the mountains themselves will dissolve and melt away from the sheer wetness of the blood. Of course, this is poetic hyperbole, as it is the prophet's way to speak in figurative exaggeration. It is like a caricature, which depicts a feature in an exaggerated manner to make a point: if someone has a long nose, the artist draws a nose two meters long. Is that the literal reality? Rather, it is meant to dramatize the point, and the same is true here.
וְנָמַקּוּ כָּל צְבָא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְנָגֹלּוּ כַסֵּפֶר הַשָּׁמָיִם וְכָל צְבָאָם יִבּוֹל כִּנְבֹל עָלֶה מִגֶּפֶן וּכְנֹבֶלֶת מִתְּאֵנָה׃ - And all the host of heaven shall dissolve, and the heavens shall roll up like a scroll, and all their host shall wither like a leaf withering from a vine, and like a withered fig falling from a fig tree.
The prophet describes the well-known reality that every nation and people has a heavenly ministering angel, and it is through the power of that ministering angel that they draw their vitality and strength. As we have discussed several times, any war waged here on earth is already the second stage; the original battle takes place above against the heavenly prince, and according to the outcome there, the decisions below are determined. And how does one fight above? Not with nuclear weapons, and not with conventional or unconventional arms, but through the power of the merits of the Jewish people, through the toil of Torah study, and through the fulfillment of the mitzvos. This is how the heavenly princes fight there, and this is what gives the Jewish people power over the nations; once the decision is reached above, the results follow in the earthly battle below.
Therefore, he begins at the root: "And all the host of heaven shall dissolve." The heavenly princes from whom Edom and Botzrah draw their power have already decayed. For if you see a felled tree whose root still has vitality, if you replant it, it will grow again; but here, even the root above will become like rotting flesh, flesh devoid of all life.
"And the heavens shall roll up like a scroll": Ancient peoples viewed the heavens as a book. An astrologer would gaze at the stars, the clouds, and the celestial bodies, read them, and say, "For this nation, such will happen, and for that nation, such will happen" - this is astrology. Indeed, they knew many things, though very general, as we have mentioned in the past, but they could foresee certain futures. Concerning this, he says that the scroll will be rolled up and closed with respect to them, so that nothing can be read from it. As long as a nation exists below, there are heavenly ministers channeling influence downward; but when this power decays, there are no longer any influences descending below, and the scroll is, as it were, closed, leaving nothing to read concerning that nation.
"And all their host shall wither" refers to the earthly host below, which draws its vitality from the host of heaven. The moment decay occurs above, the withering immediately begins below. And why did the prophet double the imagery: "like a leaf withering from a vine, and like a withered fig from a fig tree"? The Malbim explains two distinct points. The first is the speed of the withering: the leaf on the vine withers first, because anything thin dries out faster, and the leaf is the first to feel the lack of moisture, while only later do the grapes begin to shrivel. The second is the nature of the withering: lest you think some usefulness might remain in them, since an animal will eat even withered vine leaves; therefore, he said, "and like a withered fig from a fig tree," for a fig that has withered rots and becomes repulsive, and even animals will not eat it. (Note that the wording kenevol is masculine for the leaf, and k'novelet is feminine for the fig.)
כִּי רִוְּתָה בַשָּׁמַיִם חַרְבִּי הִנֵּה עַל אֱדוֹם תֵּרֵד וְעַל עַם חֶרְמִי לְמִשְׁפָּט׃ - For My sword has been sated in heaven; behold, it shall descend upon Edom, and upon the people of My ban, for judgment.
Here, he poetically depicts the sword of Hashem as a predatory entity that consumes blood, fat, and the slain. And the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Do not think that all I do will be without justice. In heaven, there "My sword has been sated," and that is not a matter of conventional trial, but heavenly retribution - how Hashem exacts payment from the nation's ministering angels. But "behold, it shall descend upon Edom" - after the verdict is executed above by way of vengeance, its descent to earth will be for judgment, as in this world "a king establishes the land through justice," and as it is written, "And I will execute judgment against him with pestilence, with blood, with sword, and with hailstones."
Here is a principle that will accompany us throughout the following verses: we are dealing here with two entities, Edom and Botzrah. Botzrah was the central city of their faith, a sort of Vatican of theirs, where the center of idolatry was located and where their high priest resided. Edom, on the other hand, is the kingdom of wickedness, those who destroyed the Beis HaMikdash and brought troubles upon the Jewish people throughout all generations - what is characterized more as Europe, those who have the color red in their flag, led by Russia and the other nations of Europe. And "the people of My ban" refers to Botzrah, that nation with whom the Holy One, blessed be He, has a contention regarding faith. And He will enter into judgment with all of them, both with Edom and with the people of My ban.
חֶרֶב לַה' מָלְאָה דָם הֻדַּשְׁנָה מֵחֵלֶב מִדַּם כָּרִים וְעַתּוּדִים מֵחֵלֶב כִּלְיוֹת אֵילִים כִּי זֶבַח לַה' בְּבָצְרָה וְטֶבַח גָּדוֹל בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם׃ - The sword of Hashem is filled with blood, sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and he-goats, with the kidney fat of rams; for Hashem has a sacrifice in Botzrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
Notice that the clauses of the verse correspond to each other: "A sword of Hashem is filled with blood" corresponds to "with the blood of lambs and he-goats," and "it is made fat with tallow" corresponds to "with the fat of the kidneys of rams." The first part of the verse corresponds to the third, and the second to the fourth.
The Malbim explains: Upon Edom the Holy One, blessed be He, will come by way of vengeance, for Edom destroyed the Beis HaMikdash. But upon Bozrah He will come in order to teach the world faith, for Bozrah was the epicenter of heresy, and when retribution is exacted from them as well, everyone will believe that there is no power in that idolatry. For when the gods of the nations are struck, His glory, blessed be He, is magnified.
For this reason, during the plagues of Egypt, the Holy One, blessed be He, first and foremost struck the Nile, as the Nile was the deity of Egypt. Yet He left one god intact - Baal Zephon at Pi Hachiroth. And why did He leave it? To mislead them, so they would say: Behold, see how great our faith is; our god stood in the breach and held out! This is what prompted them to pursue the Children of Israel, overtaking them as they camped by Pi Hachiroth. They thought: Here, our god has halted them, conducting a passport check, so to speak, and refusing to let them pass. Pharaoh then concluded that his deity was still potent and set out in pursuit.
All this reflects the verse, "that I may make a mockery of Egypt" (vehitalalti be-Mitzrayim), an idea we have elaborated upon several times. This mockery consists of the Holy One, blessed be He, repeatedly misleading them into thinking that they still retain strength and can still put up a fight. And why mislead them? Because without this, they would not incur another blow. Pharaoh must believe there is another round to fight, so that he comes forward and suffers yet another plague. If he thinks it is over and surrenders in defeat, where would the next campaign come from? Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, had to mislead them into advancing to the next round to absorb another blow, measure for measure, since the Egyptians had tormented the Jewish people.
From this emerges the Malbim's wonderful distinction between the two expressions in the verse: a "sacrifice" (zevach) in Bozrah, and a "slaughter" (tevach) in Edom. The term zevach is always associated with celebration and preparation for invited guests, like peace offerings (shelamim) and thanksgiving offerings (todah). By contrast, tevach denotes solely the butchering or slaughtering of an animal. We see this with Yosef: "slaughter meat and prepare" (utvo'ach tevach vehachen) - butcher and prepare. Had it said uzvo'ach zevach vehachen, it would have implied that he was going to celebrate joyously with them, but how could he rejoice with them openly when they did not yet know he was Yosef?
Therefore, regarding Edom it says tevach ("slaughter"), for there everything is strictly vengeance for what they did to the Jewish people, and parallel to this it says, "A sword of Hashem is filled with blood, with the blood of lambs and he-goats," who represent the mighty warriors and ministers of Edom from whom retribution must be exacted first. But in Bozrah it says zevach ("sacrifice"), which involves gratification, invited guests, and a constructive purpose. The affliction there is not mere revenge but serves a higher purpose: through it, all will come to pure faith and recognize that there is no substance to that idolatry. Corresponding to this sacrifice, it says, "it is made fat with tallow, with the fat of the kidneys of rams," symbolizing enrichment and delight. Why did it specifically specify "the fat of the kidneys"? The kidneys, as Chazal teach, provide counsel, and in this case, they advised evil and heresy. When the Holy One, blessed be He, transforms the situation and exacts judgment there, those kidneys that counseled wickedness will be overturned for good, as all will realize that this false ideology has no power whatsoever. As Scripture states: "Who is this that comes from Edom, with soiled garments from Bozrah, this one who is majestic in his apparel?"
וְיָרְדוּ רְאֵמִים עִמָּם וּפָרִים עִם אַבִּירִים וְרִוְּתָה אַרְצָם מִדָּם וַעֲפָרָם מֵחֵלֶב יְדֻשָּׁן׃ - And wild oxen shall descend with them, and bullocks with bulls; and their land shall be sated with blood, and their dust made fat with tallow.
All the other nations, kings, and mighty warriors who joined Edom whenever they rose up against the Jewish people must also fall at this gathering, and retribution must be exacted from them as well. "Wild oxen" (re'emim) refers to the re'em, the colossal and fearsome creature, symbolizing the mighty rulers who will ally themselves with Edom to take part in the war and fall along with it. Likewise, "bullocks with bulls" - all of these are expressions depicting power and might.
The Malbim notes a precise detail in the order: Why does the verse state first "and their land shall be sated with blood," and only then "and their dust made fat with tallow"? Because in ground that has become greased with fat, blood cannot soak in, since fat is oily and repels liquids; tallow, however, can coat blood. Therefore, the blood is mentioned first, and then the tallow. He offers another insight: according to the Malbim, eretz ("land") refers to the deeper, interior layer of the earth, whereas afar ("dust") denotes the outer, top layer of the ground. This accords with the verse, "Though its root grow old in the earth [b'aretz], and its stump die in the dust [be'afar]," where the root lies deep in the earth and the upper trunk is in the dust. Blood, being thin and liquid, absorbs deep into the earth, whereas fatty tallow does not penetrate deeply and remains on top. Therefore, "their dust shall be made fat with tallow" - the surface dust will be enriched from the abundance of fat spilled upon it through the vengeance that Hashem will execute upon Edom.
כִּי יוֹם נָקָם לַה' שְׁנַת שִׁלּוּמִים לְרִיב צִיּוֹן׃ - For it is a day of vengeance for Hashem, a year of recompense for the grievance of Zion.
There are two reasons for this vengeance. The first is "a day of vengeance for Hashem," for the honor of Hashem's Name. For whenever the Jewish people are struck down, humiliated, and Hashem is denied, all of this is, as it were, an affront to Him, Blessed be He. This will take place in Botzrah, for through the downfall of the enemies, Hashem's Name is exalted, and everyone sees that idols have no power and heresy has no strength, and Hashem alone will reign over all the earth. The second is "a year of retribution for the grievance of Zion": there are those here who distressed the Jewish people and afflicted them, and do they not deserve retribution for this? The time has come to repay and to champion the cause of Zion, the grievance of Jerusalem, and Hashem will repay them measure for measure and destroy them, "Raze it, raze it, to its very foundation."
וְנֶהֶפְכוּ נְחָלֶיהָ לְזֶפֶת וַעֲפָרָהּ לְגָפְרִית וְהָיְתָה אַרְצָהּ לְזֶפֶת בֹּעֵרָה׃ - And its streams shall be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone, and its land shall become burning pitch.
The Malbim explains that there are two kinds of pitch. There is congealed, hard pitch, extracted from the mountains, black and solid - essentially the pitch we know from tarred roofs - and regarding this it says, "and its land shall become burning pitch." And there is flowing, liquid pitch that floats on the surface of the water, which is apparently petroleum, used to lubricate wagon axles and planks, and regarding this it says, "and its streams shall be turned into pitch." Brimstone (sulfur) is easily ignited; a tiny spark of fire and everything begins to burn, like the sulfur on match heads (in German, Schwefel). Thus, the topsoil will be brimstone, which needs only to smell fire to ignite instantly; the earth itself will be hard pitch burning with fire; and the rivers will be liquid pitch, which burns as well. In short, their entire land will become fuel for the fire.
לַיְלָה וְיוֹמָם לֹא תִכְבֶּה לְעוֹלָם יַעֲלֶה עֲשָׁנָהּ מִדּוֹר לָדוֹר תֶּחֱרָב לְנֵצַח נְצָחִים אֵין עֹבֵר בָּהּ׃ - Night and day it shall not be quenched; forever its smoke shall rise; from generation to generation it shall lie waste; for eternity of eternities no one shall pass through it.
The Malbim explains: there is a hearth, a fire made for cooking, which is extinguished at night, as there is no need for it to keep burning into the wee hours; and there is a fire made for illumination, which is extinguished by day, since at night it is needed as a torch but by day there is no need for it. But this fire will be quenched neither night nor day, for its very purpose is that "forever its smoke shall rise," and for that it must burn both by day and by night. And the Radak writes that this was also the case with the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, from which, even until his days centuries ago, smoke was constantly rising.
Rashi explains "from generation to generation it shall lie waste" in parallel to what is written, "Hashem maintains a war against Amalek from generation to generation": from the generation of Moshe to the generation of Shaul, from the generation of Shaul to the generation of Mordechai, and from the generation of Mordechai to the generation of Melech HaMashiach. This is a battle we experience from generation to generation, for in every generation that same root of evil known as Amalek arises and must be fought, and its final eradication will be, with Hashem's help, in the days of Melech HaMashiach, speedily in our days, Amen.
The Malbim analyzes the precise difference between "from generation to generation" and "for eternity of eternities." Regarding continuous time, day after day perpetually, Scripture uses the term le'olam ("forever"); while regarding segmented time, when counting each unit of time on its own, it uses le-dor va-dor ("from generation to generation"). In order to rebuild a land, a new generation must arise that decides to rebuild it; therefore the verse states, "from generation to generation it shall lie waste," meaning that no new generation that arises will rebuild it. And lest you say that perhaps an occasional traveler might pass through, something that does not depend on a whole generation, regarding this it says, "for eternity of eternities no one shall pass through it." Even on a transient basis, no one will pass through it, and no one will ever consider rebuilding it, for who would go and rebuild a place where no one ever passes through?
וִירֵשׁוּהָ קָאַת וְקִפּוֹד וְיַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב יִשְׁכְּנוּ בָהּ וְנָטָה עָלֶיהָ קַו תֹהוּ וְאַבְנֵי בֹהוּ׃ - And the ka'at and the kippod shall possess it, the owl and the raven shall dwell in it; and He shall stretch out over it the line of chaos and the stones of emptiness.
The ka'at and the kippod are birds - this is not the needle-covered hedgehog (kippod) familiar to us, but rather desert birds - and this place will be their inheritance. The owl and the raven, on the other hand, are also found in settled areas and not only in ruins; therefore, the verse does not say of them "shall possess it," but rather "shall dwell in it," for the language of possession denotes permanence, whereas dwelling can be transient. The ka'at and the kippod, whose natural habitat is the desert, will truly possess it and feel right at home there.
These birds will, as it were, become the founders, managers, and masters of the place, and they will stretch over it the line of confusion (tohu) and the plummet of emptiness (vohu). The Malbim explains - as he also explains in Bereishit on the verse, "and the earth was tohu va-vohu" - that both terms signify an absence of beauty and order, but tohu denotes a lack of external beauty and order, whereas vohu denotes a lack of internal beauty and order. A hint to this is found in the word itself: "vohu" is related to "bo" (within it), referring to its interior. Similarly, there is a difference between a "line" (kav) and "stones" (avnei): a measuring line describes the external dimensions used to measure something, while stones describe the physical body of the building. The result is that this structure will be built from "stones of vohu", a building unsound in its very foundations, like one who builds with weak blocks and crumbling concrete; and at the same time, its external facade, shape, and aesthetic will be a "line of tohu", appearing completely grotesque. It is as though the pelican, the hedgehog, the owl, and the raven are the builders of Edom, and this is how they will construct it: a ruined, desolate place entirely unfit for human habitation.
חֹרֶיהָ וְאֵין שָׁם מְלוּכָה יִקְרָאוּ וְכָל שָׂרֶיהָ יִהְיוּ אָפֶס׃ - They call its nobles, but no kingdom is there, and all its princes shall be nothing.
The "chorim" (nobles) are those descended from royal lineage, the blue-blooded nobility from whom monarchs were customarily chosen, as it is written: "Happy are you, O land, when your king is a nobleman (ben chorim)" - a descendant of aristocratic, royal stock. They are called chorim from the concept of freedom, like bnei chorin (free men), who do not bear the yoke of servitude, but rather belong to the very root of royalty. The prophet says: the nobles will indeed stand there, but among the "population" remaining in the land - namely, the pelican, the hedgehog, the owl, and the raven - no one will be found to summon them to reign.
Notice carefully: the nobles are not described as nothing, but the princes (sarim) will become nothing. The Malbim explains: nobles possess inherent greatness, an intrinsic nobility and stature of their own. Even though no one will be there to honor them, they are not reduced to nothing; they are still worthy of being called nobles, but there is simply no kingdom and no one to invite them to rule. A minister or prince (sar), however, derives his entire standing from exercising authority over others and governing the people. If there are no people, there can be no ministers, and consequently he is reduced to absolute nothingness.
וְעָלְתָה אַרְמְנֹתֶיהָ סִירִים קִמּוֹשׂ וָחוֹחַ בְּמִבְצָרֶיהָ וְהָיְתָה נְוֵה תַנִּים חָצִיר לִבְנוֹת יַעֲנָה׃ - Thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses; it shall be a habitation for jackals, a pasture for ostriches.
In times of peace, people reside in palaces; in times of war, they move into fortresses, which are built to withstand the enemy. But here, a state will arise in which everyone is eradicated, and therefore "thorns shall come up in its palaces" - sirim being thorns. And lest one think that they fled from the palaces into the fortresses to escape the enemy, the prophet states that the fortresses will be vacant as well, and "nettles and brambles", which are varieties of briars and thorns, will fill its fortresses.
"It shall be a habitation for jackals": a naveh is a pasture where flocks lie down, where the grass that grows serves as fodder for sheep. But here, no grass fit for grazing will grow, only thorns, nettles, and brambles. Consequently, who will dwell there? Only jackals. And who will consume this "grass"? Ostriches (benot ya'anah), of which the Gemara notes that they will eat even shards of glass and burning coals, and can therefore easily ingest thorns and thistles - in fact, to them it is practically a delicacy compared to glass and coals. They are the only creatures capable of surviving in such an environment, and they are the ones who will remain in its palaces and fortresses.
וּפָגְשׁוּ צִיִּים אֶת אִיִּים וְשָׂעִיר עַל רֵעֵהוּ יִקְרָא אַךְ שָׁם הִרְגִּיעָה לִּילִית וּמָצְאָה לָהּ מָנוֹחַ׃ - Wild desert beasts shall meet with howling creatures, and the satyr shall call to its fellow; there too the lilith shall repose and find for herself a resting place.
We will begin with Rashi's explanation based on the Targum: "And mongooses shall encounter wild cats there" - tamvan being mongooses and chatulin being wild cats - meaning that these creatures will cross paths there; in short, these are the wild beasts that will overrun the land. "Se'ir" refers to demons (shedim), and "Lilith" is the name of a female demon, the mother of demons, to whom the verse refers.
The Malbim explains slightly differently. "Tziyah" refers to wilderness and desolation, and "tziyim" are creatures coming from afar, from the deserts; and "iyim" are creatures arriving from distant islands of the sea. That is to say, this place will become like a central metropolis where everyone converges - a gathering place for the most bizarre creatures, all of which will arrive in Edom. And this serves to show you just how desolate the place will become, for wild creatures usually gravitate to desolate places where they are not pursued, and here all the creatures of the deserts and the remote islands will find their home and feel at ease.
"And the satyr shall call to his fellow": the wilderness-dwelling demons will call to one another to come, for this is a place where they feel comfortable. And the lilit, according to the Malbim, is a bird that wails and laments at night, and its name may derive from yelalah (wailing), as it constantly wails and mourns. This bird finds no rest in inhabited areas and therefore screeches all night, but "there the night-bird shall repose and find herself a resting place." The Malbim previously explained the difference between hargaa (repose) and manoach (rest): hargaa is tranquility of the soul, while manoach is rest of the body. There the lilit will cease lamenting and wailing, for it will no longer be in an inhabited city - which is unnatural to it - but rather in a quiet and desolate place, and there it will find its rest and be calmed.
שָׁמָּה קִנְּנָה קִפּוֹז וַתְּמַלֵּט וּבָקְעָה וְדָגְרָה בְצִלָּהּ אַךְ שָׁם נִקְבְּצוּ דַיּוֹת אִשָּׁה רְעוּתָהּ׃ - There the kipoz shall nest, and lay, and hatch, and brood in her shadow; there indeed the kites shall gather, each one with its mate.
The kipoz is the bird known in German as the "Paradiesvogel," the bird of paradise (paradise meaning Gan Eden, vogel meaning bird), endowed with exceptional beauty in the color of its plumage. The Malbim notes that because this bird was exceedingly rare and seldom seen, nesting in the very highest treetops, all sorts of folk legends became attached to it. In his words, people in ancient times "concocted futile myths about it" - that it has no legs, that it has no fixed nesting place, and that it lays eggs and hatches its chicks mid-air, with the male brooding over them so they would not be seen by humans, along with many similar fables.
Regarding this, the prophet declares: this bird, which stays so far from humans and dwells high above, will make its nest right there on the ground, having no fear of people since none will be in the region. Not only that, but "and lay" (vatemalet), meaning it lays its eggs there; "and hatch" (uvake'ah), meaning it hatches them itself without needing the male; "and brood in her shadow" (vedagrah vetzilah), crouching over its fledglings while they nestle in its shade - contrary to those fanciful myths that they exist suspended between heaven and earth - without fearing anyone. If the very bird that shuns human presence above all others finds its rest there, it is a sign that no human will be there at all, and not even a traveler will pass through. This illustrates just how vast the desolation will be.
The dayah (kite) is a bird of prey of several varieties, both large and small, which nests in warm climates upon jagged, high crags - likewise in places where no human foot treads. The prophet says: here, however, "the kites shall gather," not upon craggy cliffs out of a need to flee humans, but right in the valley itself, on the open ground rather than in the mountains. Furthermore, "each one with its mate" - each bird will invite its companion to come, just as it stated earlier, "and the satyr shall call to his fellow." It is as though each one calls to its counterpart, saying, "Come, this is a place where we can rest undisturbed by man." To such an extent will the place be desolate.
דִּרְשׁוּ מֵעַל סֵפֶר ה' וּקְרָאוּ אַחַת מֵהֵנָּה לֹא נֶעְדָּרָה אִשָּׁה רְעוּתָהּ לֹא פָקָדוּ כִּי פִי הוּא צִוָּה וְרוּחוֹ הוּא קִבְּצָן׃ - Seek from the book of the Lord and read: not one of these shall be missing, none shall lack its mate; for His mouth has commanded, and His spirit has gathered them.
Several interpretations are given for this verse. Rashi explains that "the book of the Lord" refers to the Book of Bereishit: when the Holy One, Blessed be He, brought the Flood, He decreed that all animals enter and be enclosed in the Ark, male and female, and not one of them was missing. Indeed, was there any creature that did not enter the Ark? Except for the fish, all entered, and whatever did not enter does not exist today. So too here, when the Holy One, Blessed be He, summons the beasts to come and consume the fat, flesh, and blood of the nations of Edom for how they distressed the people of Israel: "Seek from the book of the Lord" - search the book of the Torah, and every species that entered the Ark in Parashat Noach will be present at that great reckoning, when they come to wipe out all those nations who oppressed the Jewish people.
The Radak explains that "the book of the Lord" refers to this very book, the Book of Yeshayahu. After all, various creatures are listed here: the pelican and hedgehog, the owl and raven, the lair of jackals and grass for ostriches, wild desert beasts and island beasts, the satyr and the night-bird, the kipoz and the kites. You may say, therefore: search this book, for all the creatures mentioned in this passage will be there at the time of destruction; "not one of these" mentioned here "shall be missing."
The Radak also cites another explanation in the name of his father: that the "book of the Lord" is the Torah, but not Bereishit; rather, it refers to Parashat Shemini, where all the clean and unclean animals are listed. Search from there for all the creatures that will come on the final day of the nations of Edom to consume flesh, fat, and blood.
Another explanation is cited in the name of the Ibn Ezra, that this is by way of allegory: decrees are inscribed in Heaven, and a decree inscribed in Heaven is as if written in the book of the Holy One, blessed be He. It is not Bereshit, nor Sefer Yeshayahu, nor Parashat Shemini, but the book that exists with Him, blessed be He, as in "written with the finger of God," and as we say, "three books are opened" - where the intent is not an actual physical book, but a conceptual one: just as you understand the function of a book, so it exists, as it were, in the higher spiritual realm. According to this, all the creatures destined to arrive and abide here are recorded before the Holy One, blessed be He. However, this seems difficult based on the wording of the verse: for if it says, "Seek from the book of Hashem and read," it implies a book that can actually be studied and read, whereas according to Ibn Ezra, "the book of Hashem" cannot be sought out and read, since it is merely a metaphor for Heavenly decrees inscribed by the finger of God. For this reason, the other commentators evidently diverged from his view and explained that "the book of Hashem" is indeed a book one can read, as it says, "Seek and read" - search and read there, and you will see that not a single one of these creatures is missing.
The Malbim offers another explanation: It is well known that when going out to battle, the commander holds muster rolls, a roster of the soldiers detailing who is supposed to arrive and when. Names are then called out and checked: Is so-and-so present? Is such-and-such accounted for? In like manner, the Holy One, blessed be He, says to the commander appointed, as it were, over all the wild beasts and birds: Please seek out from the book of Hashem and read - go through them one by one and verify that not a single one is missing, that no one has deserted, and that no one offers excuses for failing to arrive today. The verse adds, "none shall lack her mate," so that you will not think that one simply invited a friend, saying: Are you coming? Today there is a slaughter for Hashem in Botzrah, there will be plenty of food. Not so; the matter will be orderly, a commanding officer summoning everyone, rather than mere word-of-mouth and rumor. And who gathered them? "For My mouth has commanded, and His spirit has gathered them" - no special decree was needed, for the mere breath issuing from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, was sufficient for them all to assemble and come to exact retribution from Edom.
וְהוּא הִפִּיל לָהֶן גּוֹרָל וְיָדוֹ חִלְּקַתָּה לָהֶם בַּקָּו עַד עוֹלָם יִירָשׁוּהָ לְדוֹר וָדוֹר יִשְׁכְּנוּ בָהּ׃ - And He has cast the lot for them, and His hand has apportioned it to them by the line; they shall inherit it forever, from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.
Each of the creatures destined to settle in the land of Edom and turn it into a desolation will receive a portion and an ancestral estate there by lot. Not only that, but "and His hand has apportioned it to them by the line" - division by line means bringing in a surveyor who delineates that this section runs from here to here, and that section from there to there. That is, each will receive a clearly defined boundary, like one who partitions land permanently with fixed borders. And lest you say this will be temporary, the verse states, "they shall inherit it forever" - the place will belong to them eternally. And lest you think that a person might own land in Alaska yet never live there, the verse adds, "from generation to generation they shall dwell in it" - they will not merely inherit it and hold title to it, but they will actually reside and dwell in it continually. What this conveys is that this is neither a temporary nor an accidental decree, but an absolute decree from Hashem to exact retribution from Edom for all the wrongs they inflicted upon the Jewish people throughout the generations.
The chapter opens with a summons to the nations and peoples, to the earth and the inhabited world, signifying that the decree will strike everyone at once, for all have acted wickedly. The wrath is upon all the nations, and the fury upon their host that actively destroyed Yerushalayim. Retribution is twofold: in Edom, a slaughter of vengeance for what they did to the Jewish people; and in Botzrah, the capital of idolatry, a purposeful sacrifice, so that through the downfall of their false gods, all will recognize the vanity of heresy and Hashem's glory will be exalted. First, the heavenly patrons waste away and the heavens are rolled up like a scroll, and immediately the host below withers like a falling vine leaf and a faded fig. From there on, the prophet paints vivid metaphor upon metaphor of total desolation: burning pitch and sulfur that are never extinguished day or night, the pelican and hedgehog inheriting the land, the measuring line of chaos and the plummet stones of emptiness, nobles left without a kingdom and princes reduced to nothing, thorns overrunning palaces and fortresses, wild beasts of the desert and howling creatures, the lilith finding rest, and the birds of prey nesting fearlessly in the valley. All the creatures arrive in an orderly muster commanded by the mouth of Hashem and His spirit, and each receives its inheritance by lot and measuring line, forever and for all generations, teaching us that this is no chance decree, but an absolute Heavenly reckoning with Edom across all generations.