Introduction
Before us is a section of Chapter 45 in Yeshayahu, the continuation of the prophecy concerning Cyrus and the redemption from Babylon. In this passage, the prophet addresses those who doubt and challenge the Holy One, Blessed be He's guidance of His people, establishing three fundamental principles: that man has no right to lodge complaints against the governance of the world; that the Creator possesses both the will and the ability to redeem; and that ultimately His kingdom will be revealed before the eyes of all the nations. We will follow the order of the pesukim, citing the commentaries of Rashi, the Radak, and the Malbim.
"Ask Me of Things to Come" - What One Is Permitted to Ask
כֹּה־אָמַר יְהֹוָה קְדוֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיֹצְרוֹ הָאֹתִיּוֹת שְׁאָלוּנִי עַל־בָּנַי וְעַל־פֹּעַל יָדַי תְּצַוֻּנִי׃ (יא) - Thus said Hashem, the Holy One of Israel and its Maker: Ask Me of things to come; concerning My sons and concerning the work of My hands, will you command Me? (11)
Rashi explains that the letter hei in ha'otiyot is not an interrogative hei, but an assertive one. That is: if the prophets wish to ask Me questions, let them come and ask about the signs in the heavens and the wonders they see emerging on earth - about these, ask Me what they are. Otiyot relates to signs (otot) and wonders. If you want to ask questions about the Creator of the world, focus on the wonders of Hashem and the marvels of creation. But do you come to question Me about My children? As if to say: Why did You create the Jewish people, when they anger You and challenge You? "And concerning the work of My hands, will you command Me?" - do you come to give Me orders regarding My children? After all, says Rashi, the salvation has already arisen in My thought. And as we saw at the beginning of the chapter, the Holy One, Blessed be He, says that He will awaken Cyrus so that he may redeem Israel and lead them out of exile. Thus, according to Rashi, the verse returns to the beginning of the chapter: Hashem says that He aroused Cyrus in righteousness to come and redeem the people of Israel - and as we have seen, Cyrus did not perform his task properly, but merely handed them the keys and remained in his place, instead of coming to redeem them fully as he ought to have done.
The Radak explains that the address here is directed to idol worshippers. That is: ask Me about the future events destined to come upon Israel, and I will declare them to you. This is, as it were, a challenge to the nations who believe they have gods and higher powers. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to them: Inquire now, does your god know anything of the future? Does he know something that has not yet occurred? Whereas I - "Ask Me of the things to come concerning My sons, and concerning the work of My hands will you command Me" - ask Me what is destined to befall My sons and the work of My hands, and what I am destined to do with them. For we have explicit prophecies: what will happen with Israel, how they will be redeemed, what afflictions they will endure, how many years the exile will last, and on account of what the exile came - as we have seen, on account of the Sabbatical years (shemitot) and the like. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I announce everything in advance; does your deity possess such power?
The Malbim likewise explains that the verse returns to the beginning of the chapter. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: I desire to redeem Israel through the agency of Cyrus. And there, parenthetically, He rebuked Cyrus and the Persian peoples, who believed in two dual forces in creation - good and evil - telling them: Know that everything is from Hashem; there are not two independent forces in creation. Now He returns to the primary subject, the mission of Cyrus. Corresponding to this, He says, "Ask Me of things to come": Israel questions Me about the events destined to befall them, about the exile and the afflictions they suffered in Babylon - why these troubles, why do we deserve this? The Holy One, Blessed be He, says to them: "Concerning My sons and concerning the work of My hands, will you command Me?"
After all, you know that the one who has the greatest compassion for a child is the father; there is no greater compassion than a father's mercy for his son. Would you ever approach a father and say to him, "Why do you not have mercy on your child?" To what may this be compared? A person walks into a hospital and sees a child held tightly by his father and mother, while someone approaches him with a syringe or a scalpel. The bystander shouts: "Do you have no mercy on him? Shame on you!" Do you presume to instruct a father and mother on how to have compassion for their own child? No one has greater mercy than they do. So too, says the Holy One, Blessed be He: Do you come to command Me concerning My children? Do you seek to be more merciful than I? Do you, as it were, lodge a complaint against the way I govern My world? Could such a thought even be entertained?
The Malbim further notes that otiyot (things coming) always signifies something approaching in the near term. Elsewhere, he explains the distinction between a sign (ot) and a wonder (mofet): a wonder operates through open miracles, whereas a sign unfolds within the framework of nature. Therefore, ha'otiyot here refers to the events destined to occur shortly with My children - everything they are undergoing through exile, distress, and suffering. Concerning these, do you come to question and complain against Me as to why I act as I do? Is it conceivable that a father would not show proper compassion toward his son?
"I Made the Earth" - The Will and the Power
אָנֹכִי עָשִׂיתִי אֶרֶץ וְאָדָם עָלֶיהָ בָרָאתִי אֲנִי יָדַי נָטוּ שָׁמַיִם וְכׇל־צְבָאָם צִוֵּיתִי׃ (יב) - I made the earth and created man upon it; I, My hands stretched out the heavens, and all their host I commanded. (12)
Rashi explains "I made the earth" - and I gave it to whomever is right in My eyes. The Radak derives from "and all their host I commanded," echoing King David's words, "For He commanded, and they were created," that everything was brought into being through command and speech. The Radak adds that one must not envision actual physical speech, for the Holy One, Blessed be He, has no lips; rather, when speaking of divine speech, the intention is His will. The world was created with ten utterances - and there is no need for physical speech to issue forth from the Almighty like a human being, but rather the very will of Hashem constitutes the utterance and is deemed the action. Consequently, "My hands stretched out the heavens, and all their host" - the heavens and their host, the stars, the galaxies, and all that you see, all these I commanded, meaning I brought them about through My will.
The Malbim explains that this verse is intended to reassure those who might say: perhaps Hashem will not redeem us; perhaps He will not take us out of the exile He spoke of, when He said He is summoning Cyrus to lead you out. The Malbim explains that when someone does not help his fellow, it stems from one of two reasons. The first - he does not want to help him. The second - he wants to help but is unable to; I see his financial plight and want to help, but I have no money. That is to say: either I am able but unwilling, or I am willing but unable. Regarding this, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Have no doubts or hesitations regarding His salvation, for with Him, blessed be He, neither of these two limitations exists.
Regarding the will, He says: "I made the earth" - first I completed the planet earth, perfected it, and built it from foundation to roof, the inanimate, plant, and animal kingdoms. And only after I made the earth - "and created man upon it." When did I create man? Only after everything was completed. Imagine if man had been created on the third day - created into darkness, without luminaries; imagine if he had been created without animals - what would he eat? (Although there is a discussion whether Adam HaRishon ate meat.) In any case, everything created here in the world was created for the sake of man. From this we see that the Holy One, blessed be He, desires man in His world, for one who does not want something does not fashion it in the most optimal way. And if Hashem created everything in the finest possible manner - it is a sign of His desire for man. And why was the world created Bereishit (in the beginning)? For the sake of Israel, who are called reishit. That is, everything created here is for the sake of Israel. Says the Holy One, blessed be He: First of all, know that I desire the Jewish people - and this is the proof of the will.
And what might you say? Perhaps He once had strength, when He was "young," as the nations say that their king has grown old - today He wants very much to help, but is no longer able. To this the Holy One, blessed be He, says: If it is the ability you come to question, behold, "My hands stretched out the heavens, and all their host I commanded" - My hands stretched out the entire heavens, and at this very moment I govern the entire heavenly host. In a single moment, the Holy One, blessed be He, moves and alters reality: in a single moment, hailstones (avnei elgavish) rain down from the sky, the sun stands still in Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Aijalon. And this is not just history - it happens today, it happens right now. Thus, there is no lack of will, as proven by the fact that I created a perfect world for the Jewish people; and there is no lack of ability, for I continue to govern creation even thousands of years after the founding of the world. To doubt, then, whether Hashem might not redeem us due to a lack of will or lack of ability - such a thought is inconceivable.
The Malbim further analyzes the two terms in the verse: "asiti" ("I made") and "barati" ("I created"). We already learned from him above that asiyah signifies the completion of a thing, as in the phrase "ve'asta et tziporneha" ("and she shall pare her nails"). Whereas beri'ah is always yesh me'ayin (creation ex nihilo) - the thing did not exist, and He created it out of nothingness and void. Therefore, regarding man it says, "and created (barati) man upon it" - ex nihilo; whereas regarding the earth it says, "I made (asiti) the earth," meaning I prepared the earth that had already been created, and brought it to completion in the most perfect way. And this is precisely the foundation of the proof: only after I finished and made everything in the most complete, optimal manner, on the sixth day when creation was finished - then "I created man upon it." From this you must deduce that My desire is for man's welfare, and that My desire is to bestow upon him only abundant goodness. If so, do not wonder or doubt whether the Holy One, blessed be He, has the will and ability to redeem us.
"I Have Aroused Him in Righteousness" - The Mission of Cyrus
אָנֹכִי הַעִירֹתִהוּ בְצֶדֶק וְכׇל־דְּרָכָיו אֲיַשֵּׁר הוּא־יִבְנֶה עִירִי וְגָלוּתִי יְשַׁלֵּחַ לֹא בִמְחִיר וְלֹא בְשֹׁחַד אָמַר יְהֹוָה צְבָאוֹת׃ (יג) - "I have aroused him in righteousness, and I will make straight all his paths; he shall build My city and release My exiles, not for price nor for bribe, said Hashem of Hosts." (13)
The Holy One, blessed be He, says: Even now, as I speak to you, what is at hand? Cyrus. I am stirring him up so that he will come and redeem the Jewish people, "in righteousness" - that he may do justice for the Jewish people, and through My power, for My power is without end and without limit. "And I will make straight all his paths" - this is an idiomatic expression, like someone who wants a chariot to travel from one point to another and paves the road smooth before it. I want Cyrus to succeed in accomplishing the mission I designated for him, and therefore I arrange matters before him so that he can realize this purpose without obstacles: clearing him of all bureaucratic issues, of all opponents, and of all delays that might arise. I direct him toward the purpose I desire.
Furthermore: "He shall build My city and release My exiles" - he will rebuild Jerusalem and take Israel out of exile. Moreover, he will do so "not for price nor for bribe." The Malbim explains that the clauses of the verse are parallel, as we have explained several times: the verse consists of four clauses, where the continuation of the first is the third, and the continuation of the second is the fourth. That is: "He shall build My city - not for price," and "and release My exiles - not for bribe." When one wishes to construct a building, the first requirement is to pay the contractor; therefore it says, "He shall build My city not for price" - he will build Jerusalem without demanding payment for it. And when one wishes to ransom captives, one must pay a bribe; therefore it says, "and release My exiles not for bribe" - he will not demand money for their release.
And as is well known, even before the establishment of the State and in the 1950s, when bringing Jews from Arab lands, heavy bribes had to be paid to secure their release: at times a personal bribe to the king or the imam, and at times the bribe came in the form of emptying their bank accounts and taking everything, and only then agreeing to let them go - for the Jews understood that the ground was burning beneath their feet, and they simply fled, leaving everything behind. Likewise, it is known that toward the end of World War II, Hitler, may his name and memory be blotted out, when he saw that the war was financially reaching an impasse and they desperately needed to boost production and obtain cash, they were willing to spare transports of Jews in exchange for money - the Kastner affair and others. In other words: money is what usually accomplishes the task of extracting people and ransoming captives. But here the Holy One, blessed be He, says: "And release My exiles, not for bribe" - he will be willing to release the exiles of Israel without any bribe. And why? "Said Hashem of Hosts" - because I commanded it, and since I commanded it, all paths will naturally be made straight before him without any obstacle.
"The Labor of Egypt and Merchandise of Cush" - Two Approaches
כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה יְגִיעַ מִצְרַיִם וּסְחַר־כּוּשׁ וּסְבָאִים אַנְשֵׁי מִדָּה עָלַיִךְ יַעֲבֹרוּ וְלָךְ יִהְיוּ אַחֲרַיִךְ יֵלֵכוּ בַּזִּקִּים יַעֲבֹרוּ וְאֵלַיִךְ יִשְׁתַּחֲווּ אֵלַיִךְ יִתְפַּלָּלוּ אַךְ בָּךְ אֵל וְאֵין עוֹד אֶפֶס אֱלֹהִים׃ (יד) - "So said Hashem: The labor of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall pass over to you and they shall be yours; they shall walk behind you, in chains they shall pass over, and to you they shall bow down, to you they shall pray: 'Only in you is God, and there is none else; there is no other god.'" (14)
In Rashi's view, this verse is a continuation of what we learned earlier, where the Holy One, blessed be He, announces the salvation that will come through Cyrus to the Babylonian exiles. And now He informs them of an additional salvation - the salvation that will take place in the days of Hezekiah, who will be delivered from the hand of Sennacherib. When Sennacherib comes to wage war here, he will be informed that his land is besieged, and he will go to rescue his land from Tirhakah, king of Cush; only after he defeats him and conquers Egypt will he come here. And we have already explained the purpose of all this: so that he would arrive weighed down with silver and gold from everything he had conquered in all the lands. The Holy One, blessed be He, did not want him to arrive empty-handed, like a visitor who brings nothing. Therefore, He arranged for him to wage wars and take abundant spoil, arriving here with full hands, and then he would fall at Jerusalem, and Hezekiah and his people would plunder it all.
About this it is stated: "The toil of Egypt" - the wealth that Egypt labored to amass, "and the commerce of Cush and the Sabeans, men of stature" - tall men, all their merchandise "shall pass over to you"; it will all pass over to you, Jerusalem, because when they come to wage war against Jerusalem, they will bring all their spoil with them. Not only that, but "they shall follow after you, in chains they shall pass over" - for captives are taken bound; "in chains" (be-zikim) means in fetters. "And to you they shall bow down" - since they will be in the hands of Chizkiyahu, and Chizkiyahu is the ruler, to him they will bow down. And our Sages say: Chizkiyahu arose and released all the captives, and they converted and recognized the kingdom of Heaven. Chizkiyahu released all the captives, saying: What need do I have for all these Gentile captives? Through this they recognized the kingdom of Heaven and were strengthened in their faith in Hashem, for they witnessed a kingdom of lovingkindness. And regarding this it is said: "To you they will pray: Only in you is God, and there is no other, none beside God" - as a result of this act, they became great believers in the Holy One, blessed be He, saying: "Only in you is God" - Hashem is found only among you, the Jewish people, and there is no god beside Him.
The Malbim, on the other hand, explains that the verse speaks of the stage following the final Redemption: when the Redemption arrives, we will realize how much good we have and how much gain came to us from the exile we endured, from the troubles and the hardships. For then, "the toil of Egypt" - their wealth, "and the commerce of Cush" - their goods, "and the Sabeans" - the people of Seba, which is a nation (Seba, Sabtah, and Raamah are all nations), "men of stature." Here too, the clauses of the verse are parallel: "The toil of Egypt and the commerce of Cush shall pass over to you and be yours" - they will pass over to you for commerce and become yours; meaning, a state of affairs will arise where we are the center of the nations and everyone comes to trade here. "And the Sabeans, men of stature, shall follow after you, in chains they shall pass over" - the Sabeans themselves will follow after you to serve you, and when they pass from place to place in your land, you will have no fear that they might try to conquer you, for they will pass in chains, bound like slaves, rather than as people capable of doing harm. And all of them "shall bow down to you" - they will view you as a master worthy of bowing down to. And even more than that - "to you they will pray."
"To you they will pray" - Prayer through an Intermediary
The Malbim asks: "To you they will pray"? When do we ever find a person praying to another human being? Rather, the Malbim explains, we find the terminology of prayer directed toward something other than the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, as it says, "and pray toward this place" in Shlomo's prayer regarding the Beit HaMikdash. Does one pray to a physical place? Rather, the intention is through the place - that through the place the prayer will ascend to Hashem. So too here: they will consider you an intermediary between themselves and God, to the extent that they direct their prayer toward you like one praying to God, thinking that you are the beloved of God, and consequently when I pray toward you, my prayer will ascend to God.
A word of caution is needed here: there are those who erroneously and mistakenly attach themselves to a certain tzaddik and pray to him - and this is strictly forbidden; it is genuine idolatry. It is permissible to bind one's soul to the tzaddik so that one's prayer ascends to Hashem, blessed be He, but Heaven forbid to think, "I am praying to such-and-such a tzaddik." Likewise, one who visits a cemetery is cautioned not to direct his intent toward the deceased; and even though he is not actually praying to the dead person, but merely views him as an intermediary through whom Hashem will answer him - even that is forbidden. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not permit praying at all through assistants or intermediaries between man and Hashem; rather, prayer must be directed to Hashem alone. But those Gentiles did not know all this, and therefore "to you they will pray" - they will pray to the Jewish people as an intermediary between themselves and Hashem, blessed be He.
And why will they do so? "Only in you is God" - we have come to see that only in you is there God, only among you, the people of Israel; Hashem rests His Shechinah only among you. And not only that, but "and there is no other, none beside God" - there are no gods other than Him, for all the gods of the nations are idols, vanity, emptiness, and false delusions. At that point they will reach the realization that only the God of Israel is God, and therefore they will pray through us as intermediaries between themselves and Him.
When praying at the gravesites of tzaddikim, one must pay close attention: Halachah states that the prayer must take one of two forms. The first is to ask the tzaddik to serve as an advocate (melitz yosher) on our behalf before the Master of the Universe. The second is to ask the Holy One, blessed be He, to act in the merit of the one who rests in the dust here. In both of these ways, one is not addressing direct prayer to the tzaddik: either one is asking him to act like an advocate and intercessor before Hashem, or one is petitioning the Holy One, blessed be He, to act in the tzaddik's merit. In this way, a person does not direct his worship toward the deceased and does not pray to him, Heaven forbid; rather, prayer is always directed only to Hashem, while the tzaddik serves solely as an advocate, or Hashem performs lovingkindness with us in his merit.
"A God Who Hides" - Hidden Yet Seeing
אָכֵן אַתָּה אֵל מִסְתַּתֵּר אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מוֹשִׁיעַ׃ (טו) - "Truly You are a God Who conceals Himself, God of Israel, the Savior." (15)
The Malbim explains: After the Holy One, blessed be He, redeems us, we will come to see that You are a God Who conceals Himself. When one person hides from another, he sees his friend, but his friend does not see him. Reuven who is hiding from Shimon sees Shimon, while Shimon does not see Reuven. A person might mistakenly assume that because Reuven is hiding from Shimon, he too cannot see him, but that is an error and a misunderstanding, for Reuven can be concealed while peering through the lattices and observing Shimon.
Thus, the Holy One, blessed be He, is in the aspect of "a God Who conceals Himself": He exercises complete divine providence even though we do not see Him. Although we do not perceive His actions in a tangible, earthly manner, it is clear to us that the Holy One, blessed be He, is truly watching over us. "God of Israel, the Savior" - here we witness the salvation of Hashem upon us. And how could this be possible, if not that the Holy One, blessed be He, sees our distress? If we see salvation, it is a sign that He saw the trouble. And what does this prove? That the Holy One, blessed be He, is merely in the aspect of hiding, but in truth He sees everything that transpires with us.
"They Shall Be Ashamed and Also Confounded" - Shame versus Humiliation
בּוֹשׁוּ וְגַם־נִכְלְמוּ כֻּלָּם יַחְדָּו הָלְכוּ בַכְּלִמָּה חָרָשֵׁי צִירִים׃ (טז) - They are ashamed, and also humiliated, all of them; together they walk in humiliation, the crafters of idols.
Consequently, all the idolaters are ashamed and also humiliated, all of them. First, let us examine the meaning of charashei tzirim. Rashi explains: craftsmen of forms or depictions (tziyurim). A charash is an artisan, and this craftsman creates depictions - they used to fashion idolatry in all manner of forms, painting figures of idols upon the walls; tzirim is related to tziyurim. Radak likewise agrees that this refers to artisans who make idols, but explains that tzirim does not derive from drawings, but rather from the expression "pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them" (tzirim v'chavalim yo'chezun). And what is the connection? Idols are called atzabbim, and why? Because they agitate a person and fray his nerves: he toils and serves relentlessly, yet the idol does not hear, does not speak, does not help - nothing. As the Gemara expresses it: "They grieve (ma'atzivin) their worshippers." Consequently, they are also called tzirim, for a person endures travail and suffering while serving that idol, since there is never any response from it. The idol is perpetually unreachable, the line is always busy: "The deity you have dialed is currently unavailable; please try again later." This causes him anguish, pain, and grief. Then they will see that the idols they brought along could not save them, and who truly brought salvation? Only the Holy One, blessed be He - and this will bring them to shame.
The Malbim discusses the difference between bushah (shame) and kelimah (humiliation). Everyone agrees that kelimah is more severe than bushah, which is why the verse always states "they are ashamed and also humiliated" (boshu vegam nichlamu) - the element mentioned second is always the more severe. After all, one would never say, "He paid a million dollars and also three shekels"; one always speaks in ascending order: three shekels, another hundred thousand, and a million - continuously building up. However, the Malbim adds that this is not merely a difference in degree, as Radak implies, but a fundamental difference in essence: bushah is the shame an individual feels within himself, whereas kelimah is the humiliation that others inflict upon him from the outside.
The Malbim illustrates this with a parable. A person approached a disreputable, lowly individual, humbled himself before him, and begged him for help and salvation, and in the end, that individual indeed assisted him. What do we have here? Kelimah from others: "You went to someone like that? To that lowlife?" Yet inwardly he feels no shame, for he ultimately received help. Conversely, consider a person who humbled and demeaned himself before an honorable figure, an esteemed and wealthy man, to ask for something - and in the end, his request was denied. From others he suffers no humiliation (kelimah), for he approached a respected personage, someone to whom the most distinguished individuals turn without embarrassment; but within himself - the door was shut in his face and his petition was refused, so he feels inwardly ashamed (bushah). Thus, we find here shame without humiliation, and in the previous case, humiliation without shame.
And what happens when a person turns to a lowly wretch who also refuses his plea? Alas, that is shame and humiliation combined! He is humiliated by others - "How could you turn to someone like that?" - and he cannot even console himself by saying, "At least I gained something from it," since his request was not fulfilled either, leaving him ashamed before himself as well. This is precisely what is written here: "Ashamed and also humiliated are they, all of them together." They are ashamed within themselves, because they attained nothing; and they are humiliated by others: "How could you go and pray, bow down, and worship such a despicable idol?" As we saw earlier, Scripture heaps utter contempt upon it: a man uses half of a log of wood to bake his bread, and from the remaining half carves a god! The lowest of the low, and to that you turned? Had you at least derived some benefit from it, you would not feel ashamed of yourself; but since you gained nothing at all, you endure both humiliation from onlookers for turning to a block of wood, and internal shame: "How could I have bowed down to a piece of timber and received nothing in return?"
Scripture further adds: "Together they walked in humiliation" - this is not merely a passing moment of embarrassment, but a state of humiliation in which they walk continuously. And who are they? "The crafters of tzirim." Here the Malbim offers a third interpretation (in addition to Rashi's explanation of artisans of drawings, and Radak's explanation relating to birth pangs and grief): tzirim relates to the hinge of a door (tsir), as in a door turning upon its hinge. In his words: they would construct their idols with intricate mechanisms of wheels, rollers, and gears, so that they would move on their own.
The Mechanics of Idols
We find a similar concept regarding the throne of Shlomo HaMelech. The Midrash describes Shlomo's throne and explicitly uses the term "mechanisms" (mangenonim): when you stepped on one of the steps of the throne, the mechanical lion would roar. Was it a miracle? No - mechanical engineering. There were sophisticated gears, so that the moment you placed your foot on a step, the lion would emit a sound and move. They possessed this advanced knowledge. This also aligns with the explanation mentioned regarding David when he came to conquer Jerusalem, and they told him he could not enter until he overcame the blind and the lame, "Whoever strikes the Jebusite, let him reach the water channel (tzinnor)." There too, the Malbim explains along the same line: they possessed idols operated by hydraulic power, the force of water. The flow of water set internal wheels in motion, causing the idol to move. People would look on and say, "Behold, a spirit has entered it!" - not realizing it was a spirit of folly, and unaware that water was running through it. They genuinely believed this deity moved and produced sounds on its own.
Likewise, it is related that Pharaoh Necho did not know the secret sequence of the throne; he stepped in the wrong place, and the mechanical lion struck him and crippled him - hence his title, Pharaoh Necho ("the Lame"). Following this, Achashverosh also sought to build a similar throne, a sort of imitation "poor man's throne of Shlomo." However, he was unable to transport it afterward, which forced him to relocate his royal capital to Shushan (and anyone interested can hear more about this in the series on Megillat Esther, where the entire matter of the throne is explored).
In any event, explains the Malbim, this is the meaning of charashei tzirim: they were master craftsmen in constructing hinges and gears, knowing how to make the idol pivot on its axis through all manner of internal mechanisms, making the idol appear to speak, act, and move. Yet they will ultimately be ashamed of all this ingenuity they devised - both ashamed within themselves and humiliated before the world.
"Israel Is Saved by Hashem" - Without Shame and Without Humiliation
יִשְׂרָאֵל נוֹשַׁע בַּיהֹוָה תְּשׁוּעַת עוֹלָמִים לֹא־תֵבֹשׁוּ וְלֹא־תִכָּלְמוּ עַד־עוֹלְמֵי עַד׃ (יז) - Israel is saved by Hashem with an everlasting salvation; you shall not be ashamed nor humiliated for all eternity.
Here too, explains the Malbim, the clauses of the verse correspond to each other: "Israel is saved" - and consequently "you shall not be ashamed"; "by Hashem" - and consequently "nor disgraced." For as we explained, where does shame stem from? A person feels ashamed within himself for not having received anything, having prayed and turned to an idol that failed to fulfill his request - this is an internal shame. Israel, however, will not be ashamed, because Israel is saved. Furthermore, the salvation is through Hashem - and to whom did we turn? To the most supreme Reality in the world, to the Holy One, blessed be He. We were not merely saved, but saved by the most exalted Being; and even had we not been saved, we would have suffered no disgrace, for we turned to the most honored of all.
And not only that, but "nor disgraced for ever and ever." In contrast to the previous verse, where "they have gone into confusion together" - where their disgrace is perpetual, for us, "you shall not be ashamed" and "nor disgraced" will endure for all eternity: the Holy One, blessed be He, always answers the people of Israel in their distress and saves them, and we will never experience shame or disgrace, for ever and ever.
In summary:
In these verses, the prophet teaches us several fundamental principles: Man must not approach the Ruler of the world with complaints or demands, for none is as compassionate toward a child as his father, and His prophecies of the future prove that everything is known to Him from the very beginning. "I have made the earth, and created man upon it" demonstrates that He has both the desire to redeem - having created a complete world and only then creating man - and the power to redeem, for His hands stretched out the heavens and He rules over their host at this very moment. Cyrus will carry out his mission on straightened paths; he will build a city and send forth the exiles without price and without reward, for so said Hashem of Hosts. In the future to come, the labor of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush will pass over to us, and the nations will view Israel as an intermediary to God, recognizing that "Surely God is in you, and there is none else." Then we will perceive that "Truly You are a God Who hides Himself" - hidden from our eyes, yet seeing all our distress and bringing salvation. The idolaters, who turned to the basest of the base and received nothing, will feel shame within themselves and suffer disgrace from others, and this disgrace will accompany them always. Israel, however, who were saved, and saved through Hashem, the most honored of all, will never be ashamed and never be disgraced, for ever and ever.