Sefer Yeshayahu, chapter 37. And it came to pass, when King Chizkiyahu heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Hashem.
When King Chizkiyahu hears the words of blasphemy and derision that we saw in the previous chapter, who among all the gods of these lands has saved his land from my hand, that Hashem should save Yerushalayim from my hand, and when they come and speak to the people and tell them to rebel against King Chizkiyahu because they have no chance against the king of Ashur, King Chizkiyahu hears this and rends his clothes, this over the blasphemies. And he covers himself with sackcloth, this because of the terrible trouble that has now come upon them. And he goes into the house of Hashem, this with the purpose of praying.
And he sent Elyakim, who was over the household, and Shevna the scribe, and the elders of the kohanim, covered with sackcloth, to Yeshayahu ben Amotz the prophet. And they said to him: Thus says Chizkiyahu, this day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy, for the children have come to the birthstool, and there is no strength to bring forth.
What is this doubling, a day of trouble and rebuke, and what is also the parable here, the children have come to the birthstool? The Malbim explains: we saw that Yeshayahu had already prophesied to them in the past that Sancheriv would fall on Har Tziyon, as we saw in chapter 10, and there he explained that his downfall would come after two things would first take place. First, that he would blaspheme and revile and exalt himself over the God of gods, as it appears there in verse 8 and verse 20. Second, it is written there that only when Tziyon would reach such a state of trouble and the darkness of night, a state of what is called no salvation at all, only then would the deliverance come. That is to say, there would be a state of very low decline, and only then, after there would be very very difficult trouble, only then would the deliverance come.
They now come and send to him and say to him: well, what you said has come to pass. First, they tell him this is a day of utter trouble, a trouble that has already reached its extreme, behold you see the enemy is already at the gates of Yerushalayim. Second, and of blasphemy, behold he blasphemes Hashem with reviling and derision, just as you said that he would blaspheme and revile and exalt himself over the God of gods, behold now he blasphemes and reviles. Third, and of rebuke. Rebuke always means an expression of dispute and proof. He comes to prove with evidence that behold the Holy One, blessed be He, has no power to save, has no power to deliver, just as He could not deliver Shomron, He will not be able to deliver Yerushalayim either.
From all this we understand that the children have come to the birthstool. They are like a woman giving birth who sits on the birthstool, that even though she has the most severe pains, she does not break from them, but on the contrary, it proves that the birth is near. The stronger the contractions, the more difficult the labor, this means that we are already in the very last moments. So too they say to him: to us it is clear that the deliverance is near. The trouble is, there is no strength to bring forth. That is to say, in order for a woman to give birth she must have strength, and this is the strength to push in order to bring out the child. So too they want to tell him in the meaning: we lack the mitzvot, we lack the good deeds, this is the strength with which the deliverance would come. And we also lack the human strength, the physical strength, which is the strength against the war with the enemy, in essence this is the natural strength. So we have neither the merits and good deeds nor the physical strength to go and fight against Sancheriv.
Therefore there is one thing that can only help us, and this is: perhaps Hashem your God will hear the words of Ravshakeh, whom the king of Ashur his master has sent to blaspheme the living God, and will rebuke the words which Hashem your God has heard, therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is found. The only thing that can perhaps still help us is: perhaps Hashem your God will hear. First of all, what is perhaps Hashem your God will hear? That is one thing. After this he continues and says, the words which Hashem your God has heard. So at first you said perhaps, and after this you say which He has heard, with certainty. And what is the additional thing? And will rebuke the words which Hashem your God has heard. What is and will rebuke the words?
So as we said, they reached the state of the birthstool. The birthstool, incidentally, the Malbim explains, what is the birthstool? We are accustomed to say she sits on the birthstool, meaning the place where the woman would sit to give birth. But the Malbim explains differently, the Malbim says it is the place where the child breaks the membrane at the time of birth and comes out. It seems to mean simply the placenta, the place where he is inside the sac in which the fetus is, he breaks it and comes out, this is called the birthstool, the place where the breaking occurs. So they say to him, perhaps Hashem your God will hear, perhaps Hashem will hear the blasphemies of Ravshakeh. After all, he does not blaspheme on his own accord, he comes as the emissary of his boss, to blaspheme the living God, and then Hashem will punish his master, Sancheriv, for these severe blasphemies.
Second, and will rebuke the words. After all, he had proofs for his claims. When he said, why do you think that your God can save you? What was his argument, on what did he base it? He said to them, behold you see, that no god saved from my master, from Sancheriv my master. Where is the god of Chamat, where is the god of Arpad? And then they say to him, if here he truly succeeds, then God forbid the Name of Heaven will be desecrated, for then it will be proven that he is right. Behold the god of Chamat and Arpad and all these could not stand against my master, and the God of Yisrael too could not stand against my master. What a desecration of Hashem there is in this. So, and will rebuke the words, Master of the Universe, if You do not go out and exact retribution from him, then they will say that his proofs are correct, behold no god can withstand him.
Third, therefore lift up your prayer. They say the merit of prayer is the only thing that can now save the surviving remnant. After he has already exiled the ten tribes, it is very fitting that Hashem have mercy so that those who remain will not also be exiled. And if so, then what is really the doubling? So they say, perhaps Hashem your God will hear the words of Ravshakeh, and then if Hashem hears his words, through this He will have compassion and mercy on us because He will punish him for the blasphemy. And an additional thing, what they said, which Hashem your God has heard, which He has heard, the Malbim explains, the meaning is the giving of ear to the words, that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave ear to those words by which he blasphemes the ranks of God.
And the servants of King Chizkiyahu came to Yeshayahu. And Yeshayahu said to them: Thus shall you say to your master, thus says Hashem, do not fear the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Ashur have reviled Me. Do not fear what you heard, first, because with this the servants of the king of Ashur reviled Me. They did not curse you, they cursed Me. That is to say, they have an account with Me, the Holy One, blessed be He, tells them. Additionally, the Holy One, blessed be He, tells him, know this, it was not on the mission of the king of Ashur. For truly the first time they came to revile on their own, which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Ashur reviled. It was not the king of Ashur himself, but only his servants. But in any case the Holy One, blessed be He, says, do not worry, I will save you. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.
What is behold, I will put a spirit in him, asks the Malbim? And what does it mean that he returns, returns to his land? After all, he was compelled to return because of the rumor. And how does the Holy One, blessed be He, say I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land, after all we see that afterward he returned again, and only then fell? The Malbim explains, behold, I will put a spirit in him, this was a miracle that the Holy One, blessed be He, placed in his spirit. First, that he would believe the sound of the rumor. After all, in their time there were not yet satellite phones for everyone, and consequently if one hears that Tirhakah king of Kush is coming against him, it may not be certain, the rumor may not be entirely well founded. Should I leave here and go fight back to defend my land for this? Who says the rumor is true? Says the Holy One, blessed be He, first I will put a spirit in him that he will believe the sound of the rumor. It was not well founded, it was only a rumor, and nevertheless he believed the words. And this is what he says, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land. I will put in him a spirit and a thought that he will heed that rumor and believe it. Additionally, the miracle is that he returns to his land. He does not stay here to fight. Seemingly he could have sent part of his armies there and part to continue the siege here.
Additionally he says, know this, the end will be that I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. The downfall will still not be now. For to everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose, says the Malbim, the Holy One, blessed be He, has further plans. And the plans are that he will conquer Kush and conquer Mitzrayim, for after all I have a prophecy. And what is the prophecy that Hashem said? That he will bring the spoil of all these to the gate of Yerushalayim. It is not fitting, should he come with empty hands? So he arrived with nothing, says the Holy One, blessed be He, no, he will now go fight against Kush and against Mitzrayim, and gather a great, great amount of spoil there. Now he will come here with full hands. Now when he arrives here and falls here, an enormous fortune will already remain for Yisrael, as the Holy One, blessed be He, promised that this spoil would be for us. And therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, says, I am now causing him to return to his home, until the time of his downfall comes when he will yet fall there. But first he will return home, fight, take the fortune and spoil and return here in order to leave them here, and in the end he will return home and there his sons will kill him, as we will see at the end.
And Ravshakeh returned and found the king of Ashur fighting against Livnah, for he had heard that he had departed from Lachish. He went to look for him and finds him fighting against Livnah. And he heard concerning Tirhakah king of Kush, saying, he has come out to fight against you. And he heard and sent messengers to Chizkiyahu, saying. What is and he heard concerning Tirhakah king of Kush? And he heard and sent messengers. And seemingly, why does he send messengers to Chizkiyahu and tell him, get ready, I, I am still about to return? On the contrary, if you inform him of such a thing you are essentially telling him to prepare an army. And after all we know that one of the rules of war is the element of surprise. So why do you send to inform him so that he prepares? What is the logic in this?
The Malbim explains, and he heard concerning Tirhakah king of Ashur, sorry, king of Kush, he heard incidentally, from passersby. And what was the rumor? He has come out to fight against you. He had not yet actually fought with him, but only came out of his country to fight with him. And even though the rumor was not well founded as we said, nevertheless, and he heard. This is the second and he heard. The meaning is he accepted the words and believed the rumor. And when he sees that he is compelled to return to his land, he knew that the people would not rebel against Chizkiyahu. And his original plan, which was to stir up unrest among the people against Chizkiyahu, did not succeed. But he says, well, having no choice, perhaps I will now settle for little, that Chizkiyahu will make peace with me and pay me tribute and be my servant. And therefore now he sends emissaries once again, but note, this time...
...this time it is to Chizkiyahu alone. For if you remember the previous time, we saw that he said to him, I have no speech with you at all, Chizkiyahu. I am not interested in you at all, you will receive your punishment for having rebelled against me, I turn to the people. And therefore we saw that he spoke with the people, they told him, speak with us in our language, he said no, I am not addressing you at all, I am addressing the people. For the aim truly was that they would rebel against Chizkiyahu. But when he saw that this plan did not come to fruition and he was forced to leave here, then he tries, as it were, to gain what he can. And what is possible now? Perhaps to give another chance to Chizkiyahu, that Chizkiyahu would come and be his servant and pay him tribute as it was at the beginning.
Thus shall you say to Chizkiyahu king of Yehudah, saying: do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Yerushalayim will not be given into the hand of the king of Ashur. Tell Chizkiyahu king of Yehudah, do not let your God deceive you. Beforehand we might ask, first of all why does he not come as he said at the beginning, I come at the command of Hashem, Hashem sent me? After all Chizkiyahu destroyed the high places of the Holy One, blessed be He, there were high places everywhere, Chizkiyahu abolished them, said to offer sacrifices only in Yerushalayim, and after all in the opinion of the king of Ashur there was a flaw in this. So seemingly why does he now not come in the name of Hashem, but comes in another way, do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you? Additionally, why does he send letters with the emissaries, which he did not do the first time? And another thing, the first time he spoke to all the people, now he speaks specifically to Chizkiyahu. And another thing the Malbim asks, if the first time he told him nothing and he did not come out to him, how does it now occur to him that when he sends letters, sends epistles, sends documents, this will frighten him more than the previous time and this time he will indeed agree to make peace with him?
The Malbim says, even though he sent documents, in which everything was written at length, nevertheless he sent by the hand of the messengers, in their mouths, what is called the gist of the matter. Now in the documents there were written blasphemies and derision, as appears in Divrei HaYamim, that he read the documents, he rent his clothes. And he comes and says to him, do not let deceive you, do not think that the Holy One, blessed be He, will save you. Do not let deceive you means, as it were, give you counsel. Now what will he tell him? That do not let deceive you means do not think that the Holy One, blessed be He, will save you because He sent me to you because you abolished His high places? He knows that Chizkiyahu did this because of the command of the Torah, that the Torah forbids offering sacrifices in any place. And therefore he no longer returns to this worn out argument. And therefore what does he come and say to him? Know this, you rely on the Holy One, blessed be He? I abolished the high places which were against His will, do I have merits with the Creator of the world? You rely on someone who cannot be relied upon. This is essentially his claim. Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, the Holy One, blessed be He, has no power. Do not rely on Hashem the Blessed.
Behold, you have heard what the kings of Ashur have done to all the lands, to destroy them utterly, and shall you be delivered? Behold, you see, the kings of Ashur prevailed over all the gods, prevailed over all the lands. Why do you think you will be different from them and be able to be saved? Did the gods of the nations deliver them, which my fathers destroyed, Gozan and Charan and Retzef and the children of Eden who were in Telasar? See how many gods and how many kingdoms I and my fathers destroyed. They could not save them. And if so, why do you think that your God will be able to protect you? Where is the king of Chamat and the king of Arpad and the king of the city of Sefarvayim, Hena and Ivah? Behold, Hashem, you see, He moved them from their place, led them into exile. He distorted the border of their land, from the language of distorting the border of their land. The meaning is He entirely abolished their borders, as it is written, and I removed the borders of the peoples and plundered their treasures, as is explained there.
And Chizkiyahu took the letters from the hand of the messengers and read it, and Chizkiyahu went up to the house of Hashem and spread it before Hashem. It is written that in the documents were written blasphemies and derision against Hashem the Blessed. And now he sees that these blasphemies come from the king himself. If the previous time the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him no, it is not Sancheriv, it is only his servants. Do not fear the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Ashur have reviled Me. Here he turns to the Holy One, blessed be He, and says, Master of the Universe, behold, see the documents, this the king of Ashur sent himself. And now he knew that the prophecy of Yeshayahu would be fulfilled. Because the prophecy of Yeshayahu was that when there would be such blasphemies from the king against Hashem the Blessed, then the deliverance would come. And therefore now when he sees these blasphemies, it does not occur to him for a moment to come and make peace now with Sancheriv, to come and lower his head and return to accepting his rule, even though he now had, seemingly, an offer that could not be refused. What, what in total are they asking of you? Be a servant to the king of Ashur, pay him tribute. He has already given up the original plan to exile you, so agree. No, in no way. For after all this is what Yeshayahu promised us, that when he blasphemes the Name of Hashem, then the redemption would come, then the deliverance would be. So what do we have to do now? To come and pray before Hashem.
And Chizkiyahu prayed to Hashem, saying: Hashem of hosts, God of Yisrael, who dwells between the keruvim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth, You made the heavens and the earth. And he prays to Hashem and says, Hashem of hosts, God of Yisrael, who dwells between the keruvim. You are Hashem of hosts, meaning ruler over all the hosts, upper and lower. You are the God of Yisrael, Your divinity is known here through Yisrael who worship You. And You are also He who dwells between the keruvim, that there in the upper worlds Your providence is especially. So that if so, it is fitting that You have compassion and mercy on us and contend our cause for the sake of the holiness of Your Name which is now being desecrated through Sancheriv. For after all You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. Not as Sancheriv said, where is the god of Chamat and Arpad, there are many gods and they could not withstand me. It is all vanity, You are God alone, there are no gods. So when he comes and says, I defeated this one and that one, what is that one? There is no that one at all. Who are they at all? Everything is only Hashem the Blessed, there is no god besides You. So if so, since You made the heavens and the earth, and if so it is fitting, incline Your ear, Hashem, and hear, open Your eyes, Hashem, and see, and hear all the words of Sancheriv who has sent to blaspheme the living God.
Incline Your ear, Hashem, and hear, the blasphemies of the first emissaries. And also open Your eyes and see, this is already the written matter, about which it is said open Your eyes, to read the written words. These are the documents that are full of words of blasphemy and derision. And hear, what is the additional time? These are the words of the second emissaries, who also, as we said, he gave them the summary of the matter that they said orally, that he sends to blaspheme the living God. Indeed, Hashem, the kings of Ashur have destroyed all the lands and their land. And is it because, asks the Malbim, that the kings of Ashur destroyed all the lands, this obligates the Holy One, blessed be He, to save from their hand? What kind of argument is this? The Malbim says, if he were blaspheming some other person, then I would say listen, he is boasting, he speaks lofty things, who is he and what is he. He says no, but this man comes with receipts. For the kings of Ashur destroyed all the lands and their land. Truly all the lands and also their land, their land the Malbim explains means their provinces, their important places, their fortified places.
And they cast their gods into the fire, for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone, and they destroyed them. And they cast their gods into the fire, they also burned their gods as they boast, it is all true. But immediately he qualifies and says, they were no gods, they are nothing. What, they burned their gods for them? Certainly, their wood and their stone, some block of wood, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, and they destroyed them, so in this there is truly no might. And now, Hashem our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are Hashem, You alone. And now, Hashem, save us from his hand so that they will not say that You too were defeated, God forbid. Additionally, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are Hashem, You alone. For if they defeat You too, then as he mentioned earlier, they will say what is the difference between the God of the heavens and the other gods? But the moment You, Master of the Universe, subdue them, all the kingdoms of the earth will know that You are Hashem, You alone, for behold, all the gods they defeated, but Hashem they did not. This means that Hashem is the only God, You are Hashem, You alone, and all are vanity with no substance in them.
And Yeshayahu ben Amotz sent to Chizkiyahu, saying: Thus says Hashem, God of Yisrael, since you have prayed to Me concerning Sancheriv king of Ashur. Since you have prayed to Me, what is to Me? For the sake of the honor of My Name, that the Name of Hashem not be desecrated among the nations concerning Sancheriv king of Ashur. This is the word which Hashem has spoken concerning him: the virgin daughter of Tziyon has despised you and mocked you, the daughter of Yerushalayim has shaken her head after you. Has despised you, you Sancheriv, know that the virgin of Tziyon despises you, mocks you over your blasphemies and your derision. And the daughter of Yerushalayim shook her head at you, she knows here will be your burial, here will be your downfall. The Malbim explains, what is the difference between despising and mocking? The Malbim says, one who despises a thing means the thing is of no account in his eyes. But by contrast, one who mocks comes to show the baseness of its actions, to show how lowly this thing is.
And now note that there is here a doubling. The virgin daughter of Tziyon, the daughter of Yerushalayim. What is the difference? The Malbim says, the daughter of Tziyon is called virgin because the fortress of Tziyon, meaning the City of David, was like a fortified city that was not conquered, just as a virgin, as it were, was not conquered by any man. But Yerushalayim was not a virgin since it was not fortified and protected as the fortress of Tziyon was protected, which was the City of David itself, that which is inside, between the walls, which is far more protected. So therefore it is called only the daughter of Yerushalayim.
Whom have you blasphemed and reviled, and against whom have you raised your voice, and lifted your eyes on high against the Holy One of Yisrael? The daughter of Tziyon says to you, whom have you blasphemed? After all you blasphemed Hashem the Blessed. And more than this, you raised your voice, there is a man who blasphemes quietly, but you even blasphemed with a great voice, with much publicity. And more than this, the daughter of Tziyon says to him as it were, your intention was not only to anger the people, but you lifted your eyes on high against the Holy One of Yisrael. You had an aim to anger the Master of the Universe, the Holy One of Yisrael. The Malbim explains, blasphemy is from man to man, and reviling is generally from man to his God, like cursing Hashem, like one who reviles Hashem, yes? Reviling the holiness of Yisrael, the Torah of Yisrael. Here the meaning was the blasphemy, and therefore he sent, as it is written, and documents he wrote to blaspheme, and here too it is written which he sent to blaspheme. And they reviled, so that they would have in this also blasphemy and reproach, with which the servants of the king of Ashur reviled Me. That is, they were not content with blasphemy of the people but with reviling also toward the Holy One, blessed be He.
By the hand of your servants you have blasphemed Hashem, and you have said, with the multitude of my chariots I have ascended the height of the mountains, the recesses of Levanon, and I have cut down its tall cedars, its choice cypresses, and I have entered its remotest height, the forest of its fruitful field. By the hand of your servants you have blasphemed, and whom? Hashem. And you have said, you began to prove, as it were, behold you see, I have already succeeded in the past. I ascended the height of the mountains, meaning behold I already succeeded in conquering, I reached the recesses of Levanon and its side, I began to cut down the forest, the cedars, the cypresses, to make a path for my troops, until I reached its remotest height, to the peak, where the forest of Karmel is, the choicest forest. As if he wants to say, behold I have already exposed Yehudah, I brought down the forests that prevented access to it, it is now like something spread before me and we can conquer.
I have dug and drunk water, and I will dry up with the sole of my feet all the streams of the besieged places. After all Chizkiyahu stopped up the springs so that the enemy, when he lays siege, would have no water to drink. He says to him, tell me, do you think I need your water? I have dug and drunk water. When I had a need, I dug, from the language of digging, a hewn cistern you dug out. I have dug and drunk water, when I had a need I dug in the ground in order to drink, I do not need your water. Additionally, you went and gathered the water in the two walls of the city so that this water would serve as a barrier, would serve as an additional wall to hinder me from entering. So about this he comes and says, these streams of the besieged places that you made against me, he says I do not need to stop up these streams. Why? For I will dry up with the sole of my feet all the streams of the besieged places. The sole of my feet means the sole of my foot, my armies, they just walk there, each one, whatever little sticks to his shoe, they will dry up your river for you. As Chazal say that they came in the millions, and when they crossed, the first crossed by swimming and the last already walked on a dry river, from the great number of soldiers. So Chizkiyahu boasts before him and says to him, I have no problem with the fact that you gathered the water and prevented me from drinking because I have dug and drunk water, I have no problem that you concentrated the water between the walls to prevent me from crossing, since with the sole of my feet I will dry up the streams you made there.
The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, what are you proud of in this? What do you boast of in your strength? Have you not heard from afar that I did it long ago, and formed it in days of old? Now I have brought it to pass, that you should be to lay waste fortified cities into heaps of ruins. If you had heard from afar, from the place where you live, the words of the prophets who already prophesied about you that you would arrive here and all that would be with you, then you would know that all that you did was not you who did it, but I did it, for after all I brought you here. So it was not by your strength. More than this he says to him, have you not heard from days of old, if you had heard the words of the prophets who prophesied from days of old that so it would be, then you would know that not only did I do it, which is the completion of the deed, but also its beginning. What is this? Also I formed it. The essence of the matter and its substance, this too I formed, for I declare the end of a thing from its beginning. But know this, he says, also what you saw that you succeeded in destroying the cities and turning them into heaps of ruins, that you should be to lay waste heaps of ruins into fortified cities blossoming. He says you will lay waste, from the language of desolation, you will make the cities desolate, to make them heaps of ruins, do you think this is to destroy them? He says to him exactly the opposite. The purpose is fortified cities blossoming. That fortified cities will bud and blossom.
Those cities that you turned into heaps, a heap meaning like a heap of ruins, you turned it into a ruined place, from this now blossoming, fortified cities will blossom. Like a seed that is placed in the ground, seemingly what happens to it? It rots. But precisely this rotting constitutes the cause of the new life and the new flowering that will grow from it. So too Hashem says to him, this is the purpose, that which you destroyed the cities of Yehudah, they will return and be built again in the days of Chizkiyahu with even greater strength and greater might. For truly Sancheriv succeeded in destroying the cities of Yehudah, one must distinguish, there is Yerushalayim and there is Yehudah. Sancheriv succeeded in destroying Yehudah, which is the surroundings. Yerushalayim he did not succeed in entering, it he did not succeed in conquering. So he says to him, you took this as proof, behold you see I succeeded? The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, on the contrary, this is Me, I did it. And I declared in advance that so it would be, and on the contrary, this was so that from it fortified cities would blossom. And their inhabitants were of short hand, dismayed and ashamed, they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, and as grain blasted before it is grown up. And also what you see, that the inhabitants of those cities that became heaps of ruins were of short hand, could not fight against you, but were dismayed and ashamed. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, this too was not with the aim of cutting them off entirely, but the aim is that they be like the grass of the field, and the green herb, the grass on the housetops before the standing grain. Just as before the standing grain, before the grain ripens, first the grass of the field grows, and the green herb, the grass on the housetops and grain, these are the other kinds of grass, and behold those grasses sprout first at the beginning, but they will wither even before the grain ripens. He says so too, you will see that in your case all that success is temporary, like the grass that grows temporarily, and then you will see the field growing and bringing forth its grain. So too he says, what you saw now, your temporary success against the cities of Yehudah, do not conclude from it that in the end you will have success. For the aim was that beneath them the generation of Chizkiyahu would grow, a generation of tzaddikim, a generation of those who engage in Torah, and they are the ones who will come in place of those you cut off. So do not boast of what you did.
And your sitting down, and your going out, and your coming in I know, and your raging against Me. He says do not think that your own hand made you this power, that you ascended on high by your own strength. Between the time you sat at home, between the time you went out and came to conquer kingdoms, says the Holy One, blessed be He, everything was in My providence, everything was in My knowledge. And your raging against Me, and also the blasphemies and derision, that which you raged against Me, about this the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him, you are yet destined to be punished. Because your raging against Me and your tumult have come up into My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way by which you came. Since I listened to how you blasphemed with a great tumult of voice, with much publicity, therefore I will put My hook in your nose. I will put it in you, like a ring in the nose, so that you cannot go further to Yerushalayim. And My bridle in your lips, the bridle is meant to restrain, with bit and bridle their mouth is held that they not come near. It is meant to restrain your lips so that you cannot blaspheme and revile any more. And I will turn you back by the way by which you came, the same way by which you arrived, there I will return you.
And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year that which springs from the same, and in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards and eat their fruit. What is this shall be the sign for you? If it is to be a sign of the downfall of Sancheriv, then how can it be a sign of something that has not yet happened? And additionally, after all if Sancheriv already falls, why is a sign needed about planting vineyards and... after all if Sancheriv fell then certainly we can plant and can do as we wish, we are the only rulers here. The Malbim explains, since he compared the destruction of the cities of Yehudah and of the people who were there, he compared them to a plant that sprouts and grows after it seemingly rotted in the ground, behold from it something new grows, so he says behold you see now the whole land is destroyed, so that from the great desolation you are forced to eat what grows of itself. And also in the second year there will be that which springs, or aftergrowth, in two places two different versions appear, which means there is still no grain that grows regularly. He says behold you see in the third year you will already sow and reap and plant vineyards and eat their fruit, the land will return to its full strength. This thing that will happen with the plants of the field, will be a sign about Yisrael, about the fact that Yaakov will take root, they will bud and blossom, and fill the face of the world with produce. He says this shall be the sign for you, like the way of the plants in the ground that rot and afterward grow, so too what you now see, the lowly state of Yisrael, this is so that afterward they will grow, be fruitful and prosper.
And the remnant that has escaped of the house of Yehudah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. The proof is also the following verse, that behold he says, see, those who now seem as if they rot in the ground, those you think you have already cut off and uprooted, the cities of Yehudah that Sancheriv destroyed, he says do not worry, the remnant of Yehudah that remains will again take root downward, the roots will multiply, and through this bear fruit upward. And then there will be an increase among the fortress cities, among the strength of the kingdom, among the people, among the multitude, all will multiply. For from Yerushalayim shall go forth a remnant, and those that escape from Har Tziyon, the zeal of Hashem of hosts shall do this. Hashem will be zealous for His Name, says Rashi, and not because of the merit that is in your hands. We have learned that the merit of the fathers has ended. That is to say, there is no longer the merit of the fathers, as it were, but only what? The zeal of Hashem of hosts shall do this. Only because the Holy One, blessed be He, is zealous over the fact that they blasphemed His great Name. The Malbim explains, from Yerushalayim shall go forth a remnant, the meaning is the multitude, the people who in Yerushalayim remained in their place, they were not exiled. And those that escape from Har Tziyon, through Har Tziyon, which is Chizkiyahu who sits in the fortress of Tziyon, there will be an escape. The exiles who escaped will return to take shelter in the shadow of Chizkiyahu. And all this, as we said, the zeal of Hashem shall do this, because Hashem will be zealous for His Name that was desecrated among the nations and be zealous for His land.
Therefore thus says Hashem concerning the king of Ashur: he shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with a shield, nor cast up a siege mound against it. He shall not come, and not only shall he not come, he shall also not shoot an arrow. And not only that, he shall also not come before it with a shield. That is to say, they would even come with shields so that arrows would not be thrown at them from beyond the wall. And not only that, he shall also not cast up a siege mound. They would make a high place, a mound of earth, so that it would be easier for them to shoot arrows from there into the city. And all the more so, that they could not shoot arrows if there was not even a mound. By the way by which he came he shall return, and into this city he shall not come, says Hashem. Why does he say by the way by which he came he shall return, and into this city he shall not come, this is a doubling. He says by the way by which he came he shall return, first he will return because after all Tirhakah king of Kush awaits him at home. Second he says, know this, he will return here once more, but also the second time into this city he shall not come. Even though he will return here a second time as we said with all the silver and gold, but nevertheless do not fear the second time either, for then too into this city itself he will not come, he will not succeed in harming the city itself. And why? For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for the sake of David My servant. Says Hashem, because I am here and I will protect this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of David My servant. First, because of the desecration of Hashem that occurred. Second, because of the kingship of the house of David that the Holy One, blessed be He, does not want to be cut off.
And the angel of Hashem went out and struck in the camp of Ashur a hundred and eighty-five thousand, and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. And Sancheriv king of Ashur departed and went and returned and dwelt in Ninveh. And it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sar'etzer his sons struck him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esarchaddon his son reigned in his place. The kindness of Hashem upon His people Yisrael, He neither slumbers nor sleeps. The Holy One, blessed be He, sent His angel and struck 185 thousand, they arise in the morning and see them all dead corpses. Chizkiyahu slept on his bed and the Holy One, blessed be He, fought his war. The only ones who were saved were Sancheriv and his sons, and while he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sar'etzer his sons killed him, and escaped to the land of Ararat, and Esarchaddon his son reigned in his place. There is about this in the Gemara, Masechet Sanhedrin, page 95, side 2, I want to read to you a passage from the Gemara there.
It was taught, the first crossed by swimming, as it is said, and it shall sweep through Yehudah, it shall overflow and pass over. The middle ones crossed standing upright. The first already crossed the Yarden river by swimming. The second ones already crossed while standing, the water had already gone down. The last ones raised dust with their feet, as if they dried up the river. And they did not find water in the river to drink until they brought water from another place and drank. As it is said, I have dug and drunk water. And it is written, and the angel of Hashem went out and struck in the camp of Ashur 185 thousand, and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. Said Rabbi Abbahu, these were the heads of their legions. So that you should not think this was the entire army, this was only the heads of the legions. Said Rav Ashi, it is also precise as it is written, among his fat ones leanness. Who are his fat ones? Among the fat ones that are in them, meaning the commanders, the chiefs. Said Ravina, it is also precise, also precise in the language of the verse, and Hashem sent an angel who cut off every mighty man of valor, and leader and officer in the camp of the king of Ashur, and he returned with shame of face to his own land, and when he came into the house of his god, those that came from his own bowels struck him down there with the sword, learn from this. What do you see? That those he struck were the heads of the legions, the fat ones, the leader and the officer.
And with what did He strike them? Rabbi Eliezer says, He struck them with the hand. As it is said, and Yisrael saw the great hand, the hand that is destined to exact retribution from Sancheriv. This was in... and He saved, which great hand? That which is destined to exact retribution from Sancheriv. Rabbi Yehoshua says, He struck them with the finger. As it is said, and the magicians said to Pharaoh, it is the finger of God, it is the finger destined to exact retribution from Sancheriv. Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yosi HaGelili says, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gavriel, is your sickle sharpened? He said before Him, Master of the Universe, it is sharpened and stands ready from the six days of Creation. As it is said, from the swords they fled. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says, that period was the time of the ripening of fruit. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Gavriel, when you go out to ripen the fruit, attend to them. As it were, He does not even need to send him specially, but what is called on the way. As it is said, as often as it passes it shall take you, for morning by morning it shall pass, by day and by night. And it shall be only terror to understand the report. Said Rav Pappa, this is what people say, on the way to your business you are heard, meaning pass by way of your enemy and thus anger him. So too here, Gavriel did it on the way, not even specially.
And some say, He blew in their nostrils and they died. As it is said, and He also blew upon them and they withered. Rabbi Yirmeyah bar Abba says, He clapped hands at them and they died. A clap of the hand, He clapped at them and they died. As it is said, and I too will strike My hand against My hand and I will satisfy My fury. Rabbi Yitzchak Nappacha said, He uncovered their ears and they heard song from the mouth of the chayot and they died. As it is said, at Your exaltation the nations were scattered. And how many remained of them? Rav said ten. As it is said, and the rest of the trees of his forest shall be so few that a child may write them down. How many can a child write? Ten. The meaning is how many can a child write? A child, how much does he write? A dot. A dot is a yud. Yud means 10. And Shmuel said nine. As it is said, and gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as at the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in its fruitful branches. Four and five is nine. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said 14. As it is said, two, three, and also four and five. Rabbi Yochanan said...
...five. Sancheriv and his two sons, Nevuchadnetzar and Nevuzaradan. Nevuzaradan, the Gemara, so we have received the tradition. Nevuchadnetzar, as it is written, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods. And if he had not seen it, from where would he have known? Says the Gemara, Nevuchadnetzar, it is written that when he saw Daniel, Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah, he saw them, Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah in the... in the fiery furnace, he said there is a fourth with them resembling an angel of God. If he had never seen an angel of God, from where does he know that he resembles an angel of God? So of necessity he was here together with Sancheriv and saw an angel of God, and then when he afterward saw Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah with the fourth, he said this reminds me of the one I saw there. Sancheriv and his two sons, as it is written, and it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sar'etzer his sons struck him with the sword. Chazal say, that they heard him ask, in what lies the strength of Yisrael? They told him because they had a father who took his son and bound him to offer him to Hashem the Blessed. He said, ah, is that so? Then if I win, my two sons I will offer to Hashem. Both of them I will slaughter. His sons heard this, they said this, and you shall do to him as he plotted to do to his sons. They said, before he does it to us, we will do it to him. Come, let us offer him up. It will be more of a satisfaction before Him the Blessed. They went and killed their father while he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god. What is Nisroch his god? It was an idol that was a plank from Noach's ark. And this is Nisroch, from the language of plank. He had a plank from Noach's ark, and he went there and worshiped, and then they heard him say this to his god, and Adrammelech and Sar'etzer his sons struck him with the sword, so may all Your enemies perish, Hashem, amen and amen.