Sefer Yechezkel, chapter 24. "And the word of Hashem came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth of the month, saying." The word of Hashem came to Yechezkel in the ninth year, in the tenth month, meaning the ninth year of the reign of Tzidkiyahu, and so it is written also in Melachim, and so too in Yirmiyahu, in the ninth year of his reign. "Son of man, write down for yourself the name of the day, this very day, for the king of Bavel drew close to Yerushalayim on this very day."
"Son of man, write down for yourself the name of the day, this very day." Why must it say both the name of the day and this very day? The Abarbanel, quoted by the Malbim, says that the name of the day refers to the days of the week, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. This very day means which day of the month, as we will soon see that he writes down for them a precise date. And the reason he is commanded to write it is that through this his prophecy will be verified, for you will see that he stated exactly the day of the week and also stated the day of the month, and behold you will see that there is truth to the prophecy that Yechezkel conveyed to you.
We will see the day, which is actually already mentioned here, in the tenth month. What is the tenth month? Tevet. The tenth month is Tevet. Tevet, Shevat, Adar, the eleventh, the twelfth, after which begins Nissan, which is the first. So "write down for yourself in the tenth month" is the month of Tevet. "On the tenth of the month" means the tenth of Tevet. By the way, many say that the tenth of Tevet, even if it were to fall on Shabbat, and I believe this is the Abudarham, even if it were to fall on Shabbat one would fast it on Shabbat. And indeed we partially fast it on Shabbat, since it never actually falls on Shabbat in order not to enter into this problem, but it can fall on Friday and then we enter into Shabbat while still afflicting ourselves. So here you have a special fast, other than Yom Kippur, that Shabbat does not push aside. And what is the reason? The precision comes from the verse, "this very day." "This very day" means the essence of the day is what determines it, and we also see a specific date that was mentioned, and therefore in any case, the moment that day arrives one observes the fast, because the essence of the day is the determining day. Not everyone agrees with the Abudarham on this, but in any case let us know that there is a precision in the verse, that the day itself is the determining factor.
So then, when he told him to write down the name of the day, that is Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and this very day is which day of the month. And the Abarbanel writes that from the ninth of the tenth month until the fourth month when the city was breached, there were 914 days. From then until the ninth of the fourth month, what is the ninth of the fourth month? Until the ninth of Tammuz, which is the ninth of the fourth month, when the city was breached. If you count, says the Abarbanel, you arrive at 914 days. Note, he says this is a number that corresponds very closely to the number of years that Israel were free from the time they left the land of Egypt until this day. When they left the land of Egypt it was in the year 2448. I once told you a sign to remember when the exodus from Egypt was, "Shabbat HaGadol." A sign to remember. "Shabbat HaGadol": Shabbat has the letters for the year 2400 (the shin and tav and bet, which is Shabbat), and HaGadol is 48. 2448. That was the year of the exodus from Egypt. So in the year 2448. And the year the Temple was destroyed was in the year 3338 according to the reckoning of Seder Olam. So let us do the math: 3338 is the time of the destruction, minus 2448 which is the time of the exodus, how much did we get in between? 890. Wait, let us follow his figure: 910. 910 years we were at ease. Only, we are short here by four years. Since we said that the number of days from the time he told him to write until the time the city was finally breached was 914, while the years are 910, we are short here by another four days. The four remaining days, says the Abarbanel, correspond to the partial years, a day for a year. It means the years were not complete, yes? So corresponding to them there are another four days. That is, sometimes a half year he counts as a year. So this corresponds to the partial years.
The Malbim explains yet another hint. It is written here "Yerushalayim" missing the letter yud. He told him to write for a sign the name of the day and this very day. The name of the day is the word "asor" (the tenth). What is written here? "Write down for yourself" this day, what is it? In the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth, on the tenth of the month. That is the name of the day. This very day is the number ten, that is ten. "Asor," let us take its gematria; the Malbim generally does not follow this method, but here specifically he did choose the way of gematrias. "Asor" equals 576. Add also the number, in the tenth month on the tenth, another ten, 10, and you get, instead of 576, 586. That is the number of "Yerushalem." Therefore it is written "Yerushalem" missing the yud, so that it should fit this reckoning. In fact I think that throughout all of Tanach, Yerushalayim is never mentioned with the yud. As far as I know, throughout all of Tanach, Yerushalayim is always written "Yerushalem," yes? But we read it Yerushalayim, though it is written Yerushalem.
The Malbim says, according to the reckoning of the Chaldeans, the night always belongs to the preceding day. For us, the night always begins the following day. Erev Shabbat, the night of Shabbat, begins the day of Shabbat. But for the Chaldeans it always goes according to the preceding day. And then, if so, this is already considered the eleventh day. The month is called by the name Tevet, says the Malbim, for the months came up with them from Bavel. And if you take the gematria again, the gematria of "Yud-Alef Tevet" (the eleventh of Tevet), you get 422, which is the name of the day and this very day for the people of Bavel, equaling the number of Nevuchadnetzar. The eleventh of Tevet is according to their reckoning; for us it is the tenth of Tevet, but according to their reckoning it is called the eleventh of Tevet, which is exactly the number of Nevuchadnetzar. And this will be a great remembrance, that on that very day the king of Bavel drew close on this very day. What is "on this very day"? According to the precision we derive from the day itself, as we explained, "asor" and its gematria including the yud comes out to Yerushalem, and the eleventh of Tevet which spells Nevuchadnetzar, so remember and record these details, for these details hint at what is destined to be.
"And speak a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, thus says Hashem Elokim: set on the pot, set it on, and also pour water into it." Tell them the following parable, and say to them thus says Hashem. To whom do you speak the parable? To the rebellious house. "The rebellious house" means those who rebel against the word of Hashem, they are called the rebellious house. "Thus says Hashem Elokim, set on the pot." "Set on the pot" means to place it upon the stove between the rims, to place it in the spot for setting the pot, that is, the place where one places the pot to cook. "Shefot" is spelled with a tav, not a tet, yes? So "set on the pot, set it on." He now tells them a parable. The Malbim says, this parable he did not invent. It is a parable that they invented. And he now answers them according to what may be called their line of thinking, according to the form of the parable that they spoke. They used to say, "the time is not near to build houses; it (the city) is the pot, and we are the meat." They say Yerushalayim is the pot, we are the meat. Meaning, we need not fear that an enemy will come and exile us and kill us, as the prophets constantly tell us harsh prophecies and frighten us. No need to worry, do not be troubled. It is the pot and we are the meat. The wall of Yerushalayim is a fortified wall, it will protect us just as the pot protects the meat from being burned by the fire. So even if there is fire all around, it will remain outside the walls of Yerushalayim. The meat is not burned because the pot protects it. So they too used to speak a parable: Yerushalayim is the pot, we are the meat, nothing will happen. Well, but it could still be that in the fire the meat would char, roasted in the pot and the meat would char. So they tell you, you have nothing to worry about, there is also water. "We, and also pour water into it." "Pour water into it" means there is water in the pot, and by means of the water in the pot, through it the meat will not char. Therefore they say not to build the houses close to the wall, so that the meat, as it were, should not be near the pot and then be burned before the time of cooking. And behold, we have the pot which is the wall. What do you say, will you be burned by it? They said, do not build a house adjacent to the wall, it can be harmful, keep your distance. Through this you will not be burned. But still they tell you, we have water. What is the water? The water is weaponry. The weaponry will help us so that it will also serve as a barrier and separation so that the meat will not char from the fire outside. And then they said, we will stay there until when? Even if we die, until the cooking is finished. Therefore he tells them, I will now go according to the parable that you spoke. "Set on the pot" means place the pot firmly upon the stove so that it cooks well, and "shefot" means place it well in the sense that it clings to the stove. And then what happens? The fire does not come from below, for when it is stuck to the stove the fire comes out from the sides. In order for the pot to receive fire from below, when dealing with coals, you must create some separation so that through it the fire rises. But if you stick the pot down below, the coals cannot, they have no fire, so what happens? The fire rises from the sides, from the place where there is air, and then the fire rises from the sides, and through this the pot can char. So he says, behold, you set the pot in such a way that the fire does not come beneath it, only from the sides. And through this it is not charred from below. And the meaning is that they make the wall strong. "And also pour water into it," add also water, which is the meat, that this should protect the meat, which is the weaponry, as we said, that the water is the weaponry that will protect against the enemy.
"Gather its pieces into it, every good piece, thigh and shoulder; fill it with the choicest of bones." "Gather its pieces into it," he tells them, gather also the pieces into it. The meaning, Rashi explains, is that out of fear of the siege they gathered into it all the officers and all the nobles, every good piece, every mighty and fearsome man and man skilled in battle. They all entered into Yerushalayim out of fear of the nations who came around them. The Malbim explains that we continue with the pot: gather the pieces so that they will be inside the pot and the water. Meaning, if there would be pieces protruding outward and sticking out of the pot, the fire outside would be able to burn them. Therefore he says, no, let them all be inside. And gather every good piece; who is a good piece? These are the officers and the wise men. And fill it also with the choicest of bones; the choicest of bones are the mighty ones, the strong, the men of valor, bring them also inside.
"Take the choicest of the flock, and also a pile of the bones beneath it; make it boil well, so that also its bones are cooked within it." "The choicest of the flock," he tells them, take the meat from the choicest of the flock, so that it will be fat meat. Not meat that chars quickly. Lean meat chars quickly. But fat meat bubbles for a long time, it has much fat. And he says, and know that all of this, all the arrangements we made here, that the pot should not be set with the fire directly beneath it but only from the sides, and we placed water, and there is fat meat, and all that we have just seen, and no meat protrudes outward, know that all this will not help. And why? Even though we took all the choicest bones into the pot, he says, for also a pile of bones is beneath it. What is "also a pile of bones beneath it"? They also took some of the bones and placed them beneath the pot. Until this thing caused the bones beneath the pot to make it boil well. The bones now serve here as coals when they are beneath the pot, and they make the pot boil more than it should. Until "its bones are cooked within it." Until the bones inside the pot become a bonfire, and the bones inside the pot have already cooked. When the bones in the pot have cooked, then what happens with the meat? It melts entirely, it is burned. If the bones have already cooked, then this is what he says, "its bones are cooked, also its bones are cooked within it." Through the bones that they placed beneath it and which fanned the fire greatly, through this "also its bones are cooked within it," also the bones inside it cooked, and then the meat was already ruined from excessive cooking. Regarding what is written here, "and also a pile of bones beneath it," Rashi indeed brings two explanations. One explanation is that of Menachem, and the Malbim also follows this line. "A pile of bones beneath it" means kindle the pile of bones beneath it. And he says this shares also the connotation of encircling. "I encamped around (kadur) you," from the language of encircling. How does one say to encircle in Arabic? To go around, to circle around? "Dawwir." "Duri duri," right? Going around and around. So this too means, this is another expression whose meaning is "dur," and a bonfire is often made round. Therefore this too is called, this is another expression for why it is called a "medurah" (bonfire), says the Malbim, and this is the reason it is called "medurah," different from "moked" or the other terms that express fire. Rashi brings another explanation, and he says that what is written "a pile of bones beneath it" means arrange and set out the bones beneath it. What does this mean? He says "dur" is a language of arranging, like "He will surely wind you into a ball (kadur)." Rows, this is called "dur," yes? "Dur" is a row. The encirclement of the troops, a row, the Targum renders "dara." So then, to arrange in a row or to set out is called "dur." So "a pile of bones beneath it" means arrange the bones beneath it. So either it means make a bonfire, or it means arrange.
"Therefore, thus says Hashem Elokim: woe to the city of blood, the pot whose filth is in it, and whose filth has not gone out of it. Piece by piece bring it out; no lot has fallen upon it." "Therefore, thus says Hashem Elokim, the pot whose filth is in it." It is full of filth. And only its filth has not gone out of it. Meaning, only the filth will remain. The good pieces went out. But what will remain is the filth. The filth means the contamination. That which is contaminated will remain. And he says, "bring it out, piece by piece bring it out." The meaning is piece after piece. Which pieces went out here is he speaking about? About one of two, says the Malbim, either the good ones, many of them will be killed, or they went out and fell to the Chaldeans. These are the pieces of which he speaks. These are the good ones among them, "piece by piece bring it out." Those pieces went out from it. Regarding this he says, "no lot has fallen upon it." Meaning, it is not like a pot that cooks, where they want to give people portions, and we see in halacha how they would determine who receives what: they would cast lots. A very interesting matter, we are not familiar with it today, but apparently when the economic situation was very tight, they would cast lots. Where do we see an expression of this in halacha? It appears in halacha in the laws of Shabbat, that a father who wants to distribute the food to his children, wants to distribute to them fowl and the like, or meat, and he wants to cast lots among them, is it permitted to cast a lot? Which kind of lot is permitted to cast on Shabbat, and so on. So we see there is a mention of this matter in halacha, that they would distribute the food by lot, so that no one would complain, I wanted this one, I got a wing, that one got a breast, this one got a leg, that one grabbed a leg, this one... In short, so that there be no quarrels, they would cast lots. So the Malbim says, so too here, the commentators explain, that it will not be like a pot that cooks and then they take out the meat and distribute the pieces by lot, each one receiving his fitting portion. Here he says the matter, "no lot has fallen upon it," rather they brought them out by chance, one by one. The matter was not by lot. As if to tell you, come and see how all the good ones were killed, many went out and fell to the Chaldeans, and no lot fell upon it. They brought out what they seized, one by one, as if in a random fashion. The Malbim gives another explanation, that one could say that "no lot has fallen upon it" is a rhetorical question. Has no lot fallen upon it? Has the lot of Nevuchadnetzar not fallen upon it? For we saw in the previous chapters that when Nevuchadnetzar arrived here, he cast a lot: where to go? Whether to go against Yerushalayim or against Bnei Ammon? And the lot came out for Yerushalayim. So he says, did Nevuchadnetzar simply arrive here? Has no lot fallen upon it? For the lot is cast in the lap of Hashem, and if so, the meaning is that by heavenly force the lot was decided. So did Nevuchadnetzar simply arrive here? His arrival here was because from Heaven they guided him by the force of the lot.
"For her blood is in her midst; she set it upon a bare rock; she did not pour it upon the ground to cover it with dust." "Her blood is in her midst," here he speaks about the murders that they used to commit within Yerushalayim. The Targum Yonatan says, with intent and with an uplifted arm she shed it. Meaning they murdered with intent and with an uplifted arm. Not out of hiding, not in concealment. "She did not pour it out" without intent, so as afterward to do repentance for it, rather you went and did it with intent. This is "her blood is in her midst." Meaning you did it publicly, in her midst, evident before the eyes of all. The Radak explains, why was there this punishment? The Radak says, because "her blood is in her midst." Since they shed innocent blood in her. And this is what arouses the punishment in judgment. And why is it exposed? Because he says, "she did not pour it upon the ground to cover it with dust." As if, if it were still in concealment, then at least publicly one still preserves some measure of honor. But if publicly all are murdering and no one even takes care to cover the blood because there is no interest in concealing it, since in any case bloodshed has already become an accepted thing, this increases the fury of wrath until annihilation. The Sages expound, what is "her blood which was in her midst, upon a bare rock she set it"? The Sages say this is the blood of Zecharyah. For it is written about him, Zecharyah ben Yehoyada, that this Zecharyah, it is written, came and protested against the people, against the idolatry that he saw, and they rose up and killed him. And his blood was boiling, until Nevuzaradan the chief executioner came and slaughtered upon it thousands and myriads. And this is what is written, "to bring up fury to take vengeance," in the following verse. For what? For the blood "upon a bare rock she set it." For the ground of the Beit HaMikdash, which was made of stone, rock, did not absorb the blood. The blood was constantly rising and bubbling. So "her blood was in her midst, upon a bare rock she set it, she did not pour it upon the ground," meaning in place of ground, that is the meaning of "upon the ground," in place of dust so as to cover it with dust. Rather this matter still demands and calls for judgment upon it, and therefore this matter caused "to bring up fury to take vengeance." "Upon a bare rock she set it" means upon a place that is high and dry of the rock. "Tzchiach" is from the language of "tzachi," thirsty. Meaning dry. A dry place located at the top of the rock. And this means a place that is prominent, a high place, a place where, as it were, it cannot be covered and concealed. And the parable in this, says the Radak, is that they so multiplied bloodshed, until it was not possible to forgive and to regard the sin as though hidden, for the sin was as though standing and crying out constantly. Upon a bare rock, the blood was as though standing and crying out. For when innocent blood is shed, we see that there is no forgiveness for it. The attribute of justice does not let go. And why? Because the blood of those slain demands judgment from the murderer. The blood of those slain, like the blood of Navot the Yizreeli, rises up above and prosecutes. How is it possible that Achav still lives? He shed my blood. The blood of those slain is the prosecutor. So he says here, "her blood was in her midst," so the blood was in her midst and her blood was exposed, and this arouses the punishment and the judgment. And this demands vengeance from Hashem.
"To bring up fury to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon a bare rock, that it should not be covered." "To bring up fury," Rashi explains, to bring up fury before Me, I commanded the blood not to be absorbed in the ground. As if the Holy One, blessed be He, wants that there be no forgiveness for them, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, says, I want that "and I will cleanse their blood, I will not cleanse" apply. I say this as a paraphrase, yes? As if, that the blood should not be cleansed. For if the blood were cleansed then perhaps the fury of wrath would subside. Hashem, as it were, does not want the fury of wrath to subside, but rather to exact from them as they deserve. And therefore he says, "to bring up fury to take vengeance, I have set her blood upon a bare rock." I commanded that blood not to be absorbed in the ground, so that through this I will avenge Myself upon them and judge the sinners for the evil deeds they did. The Radak says that "to bring up fury" is that they shed the blood openly so that His fury would rise upon them to take vengeance upon them. It is hard to understand the rationale behind this, to go and do it openly so that Hashem should avenge Himself upon them. But the meaning is not that they did it in order that Hashem should avenge Himself upon them, rather the meaning is that the result of this is that Hashem avenges Himself upon them. But not that they went and did it in order that Hashem should avenge Himself upon them; surely this is not possible. The Radak says, look and see, regarding the matter of murder it is written, "and I too have set it to be exposed before Me, that it should not be covered," that I was not willing to forgive her, for her sin is too great to bear. And so it says in Sefer Melachim, "and he filled Yerushalayim with innocent blood, and Hashem was not willing to forgive." We see here that for the sin of murder Hashem was not willing to forgive. For the sin of murder, that it should not be covered. The Holy One, blessed be He, says "to bring up fury to take vengeance," as if Hashem performs actions so that the strictness regarding the sin of murder should not depart from them. The Malbim says, in order to bring up My fury I have set her blood upon a bare rock, these were the bones that were beneath the pot, which in fact enlarged the bonfire; now you will understand that this is the analogue here, says the Holy One, blessed be He, this was the blood that was, as it were, upon a bare rock and exposed, which aroused the prosecution.
"Therefore, thus says Hashem Elokim: woe to the city of blood, I too will enlarge the bonfire." Hashem says, through this I too will enlarge the bonfire. That besides the fire that is outside, I will enlarge the bonfire beneath the pot, which is the sword and the famine and the plague, all of these consumed within Yerushalayim. And this is as it is written in Yirmiyahu, "behold I turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, and I will gather them into the midst of this city." And there we explained that he told them that besides the enemy that will be outside, the sword will consume a man against his fellow. And so it is brought, this was a terrible and dreadful situation, that they would make for themselves short swords, and they would walk in the markets of Yerushalayim, and a person who needed to, who had some score with someone, would approach him, thrust the sword into his belly, a short knife, and immediately put it in his pocket and walk on. Suddenly people pass by, they see someone collapsing. Help, help! Until they arrive, in short, that one has disappeared. They do not know who. This was a regular occurrence, that there were settlings of scores, targeted eliminations, and this is why Yerushalayim was filled with blood from end to end. This is idolatry, forbidden relations, and bloodshed.
"Pile on the wood, kindle the fire, finish off the meat, prepare the mixture, and let the bones be scorched." "Pile on the wood," Hashem says, I will strive to multiply the wood in order to kindle the fire from within, until the meat is finished off. "Finish off the meat" means it will conclude and be done, until it loses the form of meat, until it becomes like a mixture. What is a "mixture"? Like a fine thing that is compounded in the heat of the fire, what we today call a "mirkachat" (a preserve/compote). What does it mean? To take a fruit, you turned it into something completely melted down. This is "prepare the mixture," meaning it will be so compounded and so cooked until it melts from the great heat of the fire. Until through this "the bones are scorched." Until the bones too dry out, since the water has been used up, everything will be burned, so also the bones will burn from the fire that will prevail within the pot. "Yicharu" is from the language of a thing that becomes perforated from excessive fire. "Nicharar" like a "charara" (a flat cake). Meaning holes form in it. That is the meaning of "yicharu." And this always expresses burning, like "charon af" (fury of wrath).
"And set it empty upon its coals, so that it grows hot and its copper burns, and its impurity is melted within it, and its filth is consumed." "And set it empty upon its coals." After it is empty of meat and of water, meaning all the men of war will die, then the pot will stand upon the coals from the pile of bones beneath it, "so that it grows hot and its copper burns." Meaning, now the pot itself will, as it were, heat up. After all that was inside is burned, what happens when an iron object heats up excessively? Sometimes it cracks. We today are not familiar with this since our metal is built with very high technology. But their metal was of a much lower quality, and then through the heating it could come to cracking. And this is what he says here, at a certain stage it also melts, yes? This is what he says here, that it is set empty upon its coals. As long as there was something inside, what is inside creates a cooling for the metal. Whatever is inside cools the metal on the outside. But here it is set empty upon its coals. Here it will be empty, meaning it will already empty out. And then "so that it grows hot," through this it will heat up, and its copper will already burn. This is "its copper burns." What does this come to tell us in the analogue? That the wall will be breached. Meaning, after the people within it are as though burned, meaning all the men of war will die, then the copper, which is the pot upon which they relied, that the pot will protect us, the wall itself will be breached. And then "its impurity is melted within it, its filth is consumed." "Its impurity is melted within it," then they will receive the punishment for their sins and be purified of their crimes, and "its filth is consumed." "Titom" means like it will conclude, like "yitamu" (they will be finished). Its filth will be done, the wicked within it will die, and through this they will be purified.
"With toils she has wearied herself, and her great filth does not go out of her; her filth is in the fire." "With toils she has wearied herself." What is "with toils she has wearied herself"? The Malbim explains that the meaning is that in affliction and in mourning she has wearied the pot in order to melt out the filth and the impurity, that is, the impurity, as it were, will not go out. The filth, as it were, will not go out. "And her great filth does not go out of her." As if, you grew weary, you wearied the pot in order to bring out from within it the filth, and the filth will not go out of her. And why? Because "her filth is great." Since the great abundance of filth creates a situation where it cannot go out, until even in the fire her filth is found. He says, to such an extent that even the fire itself, as it were, also has filth in it. What does he mean to say? That the wicked are so numerous and were not entirely finished off. So then according to this, "with toils she has wearied herself" is from the language of "taaniyah vaaniyah" (mourning and grief). Meaning, out of much mourning and grief, and the sorrow and the pain, this wearied the pot in order to melt the filth, and the filth in the end was not finished. The Malbim gives another explanation, that she grew weary from much mourning. That is the meaning of "with toils she has wearied herself." Meaning she grew weary from her much mourning. "Teunim" is a language of "taaniyah vaaniyah," the mourning wearied her. The mourning as if wearied her. And it does not go out of her, and nevertheless "her filth is great," it did not go out of her. Despite the mourning over all those who died, still the wicked remained within her. "Her filth is in the fire," so the Malbim explained in one interpretation, "her filth is in the fire," meaning that the filth is found also within the fire. He gives an additional explanation, though it is a bit difficult to fit it with the grammar, that he wants to say that the bet is part of the root. And then it is as if "be'osh" her filth. Meaning her stinking filth. "Be'osh" is from the language of a thing of stench. But seemingly it should not have been vocalized with a sheva if that is the meaning. Here it is written "ba'esh," implying that this is the functional bet, yes? The root is "esh" (fire) and the bet is the functional bet. Fine.
"In your impurity is lewdness; because I sought to purify you and you were not purified, from your impurity you shall not be purified again until I have satisfied My fury upon you." "In your impurity is lewdness," in your impurity there is lewdness. The Malbim explains, what is "zimmah" (lewdness)? We explained several times that "zimmah" is from the language of "zamam," a language of deep thoughts. So it can be deep thoughts of forbidden relations, then it is called "zimmah." Deep schemes and immersion of the thought in immorality. He says, "in your impurity is lewdness," therefore even through the fire it was not possible to remove this from you. And we saw that the remedy for lewdness is through fire, as it is written, "it is lewdness, they shall burn him and them with fire." This is regarding one who commits an act of lewdness, the way is through burning. So he says, "because I sought to purify you and you were not purified," so I know that you will not be purified again, and therefore "until I have satisfied My fury upon you." Let Me satisfy My fury, meaning to punish you further with captivity and exile and dispersion, and then perhaps through this your contamination will depart from you.
"I, Hashem, have spoken; it is coming and I will do it; I will not refrain, nor pity, nor relent. According to your ways and according to your deeds they have judged you, says Hashem Elokim." "I, Hashem, have spoken," first, I am the one who decreed the decree. Second, "it is coming," the decree has already arrived. Third, "and I will do it," the deed has already been done. Corresponding to what he said, "I, Hashem, have spoken," he said, "I will not refrain." What is "I will not refrain"? The Malbim explains, the meaning is the matter will not be annulled, like "and you annulled (vatifreu) all my counsel." Meaning you annulled the counsel. So "I will not refrain," the decree will not be annulled. Corresponding to what he said, "it is coming," he said, "nor pity." To pity is always when, says the Malbim, I have a need for the thing. To have mercy is even when I have no need, but to pity is when I need the thing. "And let not your eye pity your vessels." Hashem says, I will not pity, as if I have no need at all for you. And corresponding to what he said, "and I will do it," he says, "nor relent." I will have no regret over the deed. And why? "According to your ways and according to your deeds they have judged you." The punishment is in full accordance with the deeds you did, so then I will not relent over it, since it came to you by law.