Commentaire sur Isaïe 41:31

Be silent to Me in order to hear My words.

החרישו ושמעו אלי ═ החרישו אלי Be silent and listen unto me.¹To join a preposition to a verb, which does not govern it, while the verb which governs it is omitted, is a construction known as constructio pregnans; as e.g. here, החרישו ושמעו אלי ═ החרישו אלי and להסיר אותה מעל ראש אפרים ולשום אותה על ר״ מנ״═ אפרים על ראש מנשה להסיר אותה מעל ראש to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. (Gen. 48:17). —A. V., Keep silence before me.

islands Heathens ([mss. Kli Paz:] nations).

And let the people renew their strength, if they can.

shall renew [their] strength They shall adorn themselves and strengthen themselves with all their might perhaps they will succeed in their judgment by force.

Let them come near, after having renewed their strength. Then let them speak, and let us come near together to judgment, to know, who is the mighty.

they shall approach here, and then, when they approach, they shall speak.

to judgment let us draw near to reprove them to their faces.

Who aroused from the East one whom righteousness accompanied? Who aroused Abraham to bring him from Aram which is in the East and the righteousness that he would perform that was opposite his feet wherever he went.

ממזרח The man from the east.²A. V., (Who raised up the righteous man) from the East. The ancients refer this expression to Abraham, who defeated the kings (Gen. xiv.), and broke the idols;^2aComp. Bereshith Rabba, xxxviii. especially because of the words the seed of Abraham, my friend, (ver. 8). This is not impossible, but I refer it rather to Cyrus; because all these chapters are connected by their contents; comp. calling a ravenous bird from the east (46:11) and I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come; from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name (41:25); besides, the name of Cyrus is distinctly mentioned 44:28 and 45:1.

He placed nations before him He, Who aroused him to leave his place to cause him to move, He placed before him four kings and their hosts.

From the east, Elam was north-east of Babylon.³Modern geographers describe Elam as rather to the south-east of Babylon. See c. xiii. Note 7.

He gave him dominion Heb. יַרְדְּ, like יַרָדֶּה.

יקראהו He shall meet it or it shall meet him.⁴A. V., Called him.—קראִ means to call; קרה to meet; but this distinction is often neglected, and the two verbs seem to be used indiscriminately. לרגלו To his foot. Wherever he goes.

He made his sword like dust [Jonathan paraphrases:] He cast slain ones before his sword like dust. He suffered his sword to take its toll of casualties as [numerous as] grains of dust, and his bow He suffered to take its toll of casualties who would fall like wind blown stubble.

ומלכים ירד He will appoint rulers over hings.⁵A. V., And made him rule over kings. יַרְדְּ is Hiphil; he will cause to rule; comp. (the Kal) וירר and he shall have dominion (Num. 24:19)

יתן כעפר חרבו he will turn his sword into dust, that is, the sword of every other king. Others explain it: he will make his swords as numerous as the dust,⁶A. V., He gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow. and his arrows shall fly about as thickly as stubble driven by the wind.

He pursued them and passed on safely He traversed all his fords safely; he did not stumble when he pursued them.

ירדפם He will pursue them,⁷A. V., He pursued them. the kings. And pass in peace, that is, without weariness. ארח ברגליו לא יבוא As if he had not at all gone that path with his feet.⁸That is, As if he had not had the exertion of travelling so far.—A. V., Even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.

a path upon which he had not come with his feet A road upon which he had not come previously with his feet. [The future tense of] יָבוֹא means that he was not accustomed to come.

"That you shall accept from them": Not donation of grain, wine, and oil, but gold, silver, and bronze. The Blessed, Holy One said: I set up thirteen things for you in Egypt; you, too, should offer thirteen. The thirteen which [God] did in Egypt are written down by Ezekiel: "I clothed you with embroidered garments, and gave you sandals of dolphin leather to wear, and wound fine linen about your head, and dressed you in silks. I decked you out in finery and put bracelets on your arms and a chain around your neck. I put a ring in your nose, and earrings in your ears, and a splendid crown on your head....the choice flour, the oil, and the honey, which I had provided for you to eat" (Ezekiel 16:10-12, 19) -- which come to thirteen. You, too, should offer me thirteen things: gold, silver, bronze; blue, purple, and crimson yarns; fine linen, goats’ hair; tanned ram skins, dolphin skins, and acacia wood, oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil and for the aromatic incense; lapis lazuli and other stones for setting" (Exodus 25:4-7).....

Who worked and did for him all this? He Who called the generations from the beginning, to Adam, He did this also for Abraham.

עשה Hath prepared.⁹A. V., And hath done. Comp. לעשות to dress (Gen. 18:7). Who has done this? God has done it, who is calling the generations from the beginning, before they come into existence; who knows all future generations, and cites each of them to appear in its right time.

I, the Lord, am first to perform wonders and to aid.

The first of all generations that have hitherto existed. And with the last, with the last generations.

and with the last ones I am He Also with you, the last sons, I will be, and I will aid you.

The islands shall see [lit. saw.] The heathens shall see the mighty deeds that I will perform, and they shall fear.

The isles saw the victory of Cyrus.

they have approached and come One to another they will gather to war when they see the redemption.

They drew near. Those events drew near.

ויאתיון And came. It is here written like a perfect verb; the third radical ה is replaced by י.¹⁰The usual form is ויאתו, the third radical (ה) being entirely omitted.

Each one...his fellow etc. He shall say, “Strengthen yourself” for war, perhaps their gods will protect them [lit. stand up for them].

They help¹¹A. V., They helped. every one, etc. All islands, all men, and all nations are now more anxious to worship idols, believing that they can thus be delivered out of the hands of Cyrus.

And the craftsman strengthened [i.e.,] the one who molds the idol.

מחליק He that smootheth. Comp. חלק smooth (Gen. 27:11).

the smith who plates it with gold.

פטיש Hammer. A well known instrument^11aIt seems as if I. E. being here at a loss to find for פטיש another expression, which, being better known, could serve as an illustration, satisfied himself with the statement, that the same instrument is meant here by פטיש, which is well known by that name. It is also possible that the necessity of explaining הלם פעם elicited also a word on פטיש. Comp. c. v. Note 21, and I. E. on 34:11, Note 17. Comp. Jer. 23:29.

the one who smoothes with the hammer The final stage, when he taps lightly to flatten out the work.

הלם It is a noun derived from הלם to beat; comp. והלמה and she smote; it signifies the iron which is wrought by beating with the hammer. פעם The iron block, upon which the iron is hammered : the anvil; it is called פַעַם because of the beating upon it.¹²פָעַם to beat. פַעַם the foot, the step, the thing which is beaten, the anvil. It is also possible that the two words פעם הלם together signify one instrument.¹³הלם פעם is according to this explanation analogous to אדמת עפר (Dan.xii. 12), quoted repeatedly by I. E., since הלם has the same meaning as פעם to beat.—The construction of the sentence according to I. E. is not quite clear; it is not explained whether פטיש and הלם פעם both are in the objective case governed by מחליק (he that smootheth the hammer and the anvil) or פטיש is the subject of the sentence, הלם פעם being the objective case (the hammer smootheth the anvil); the rendering he that smootheth with the hammer is out of question; I. E. would then not have omitted to say בפטיש═פטיש.

the one who wields the sledge hammer He is the one who commences on it when it is a block, and beats it with all his might.

אמר לדבק טוב הוא Saying of the joining, It is good.¹⁴A. V., It is ready for the sodering. Till the joining is good.¹⁵I. E. seems to explain here the words Saying of the joining, etc.═Till he is able to say of the joining, etc.═ till the joining is good.

he says of the cement, “It is good,” Heb. דֶּבֶק. He alludes to those who seek suitable ground upon which to adhere iron plates.

דֶּבֶק is soudure in French, weld.

and he strengthened it The idol.

with nails that it should not move All of them will strengthen each other.

But you, Israel My servant and I am obliged to help you. The end of this sentence is (infra 10): “Do not fear.” This appears to me to be the sequence of the section according to its simple meaning. But the Midrash Aggadah in Gen. Rabbah 44:7 expounds the entire section as alluding to Malchizedek and Abraham.

But thou, Israel, etc. Those are worshippers of idols, says the prophet, but thou, Israel, art my servant; the name of Abraham is mentioned here, because he also was taken out from the midst of idolaters.

[5] Islands saw the war and feared. Shem [Malchizedek] feared Abraham, lest he say to him, You begot these wicked men in the world. And Abraham feared Shem, since he slew his sons, the people of Elam, who was descended from Shem.

אהבי Who loved me.¹⁶A. V., My friend. It is not the same as אהובי who is loved by me, the former being active, the latter passive.

islands Just as the islands of the sea are distinguished and recognized in the sea, so were Abraham and Shem distinguished in the world.

[6] Each one aided his fellow This one [Shem] aided this one [Abraham] with blessings, “Blessed be Abram” (Gen. 14:19), and this one [Abraham] aided this one [Shem] with gifts, “And he gave him tithe from everything” (ibid. verse 20).

[7] And the craftsman strengthened This is Shem, who was a blacksmith, to make nails and bars for the ark.

the smith This is Abraham, who purified (צוֹרֵף) the people, to bring them near to God [lit. to Heaven].

the sledge hammer This is Abraham, who smote (הָלַם) all these kings at one time.

He says of the cement Heb. דֶּבֶק. The nations said, It is good to cleave to this one’s God [rather than to Nimrod’s idols].

And he strengthened him Shem strengthened Abraham to cleave to the Holy One, blessed be He, and not to move.

the seed of Abraham, who loved Me who did not recognize Me because of the admonition and the teaching of his fathers, but out of love.

[8] And you, Israel My servant Abraham, who was not descended from righteous men—I did all this for him, and you, Israel My servant, who belong to Me by dint of two forefathers.

whom I grasped Heb. הֶחֱזַקְתִּיךָ. I took you for My share. Comp. (Ex. 4:4) “And he stretched out his hand and grasped (וַיְּחֲזֵק) it.”

From the ends of the earth. The Israelites were in Babylon, far away from their own land.

from the ends of the earth from the other nations.

ומאציליה And from the chief men thereof, who are distinguished from the rest;¹⁷אצל to be on the side. Hi. to set aside, to separate, to distinguish. אציל adj. distinguished, noble, chief. comp. ואצלתי and I will take (Num. xi. אצילי .(17 . the nobles of (Ex. 24:11). ומאציליה can also be explained from between her arms.¹⁸Comp. אצילי armholes (Ez. 13:18.)

and from its nobles from the greatest of them.

I called you by name for My share, “My firstborn son, Israel” (ibid. v. 22).

and I did not despise you like Esau, as it is said (Malachi 1:3), “And Esau I hated.”

be not discouraged Heb. אַל תִּשְׁתָּע. Let your heart not melt like wax (שַׁעֲוָה). This is the rule: Every word whose first radical is ‘shin,’ when it is used in the reflexive present, past, or future, the ‘tav’ separates it and enters between the first two radicals. Comp. (infra 49:16) “And He was astounded (וַיַּשְׁתּוֹמֵם)”; (Micah 6:16) “For the statutes of Omri shall be observed (וְיִשְׁתַּמֵּר)”; (I Sam. 1: 14) “will you be drunk (תִּשְׁתַּכָּרִין)?”; (Job 30:16) “My soul is poured out (תִּשְׁתַּפֵּךְ).”

תשתע The second ת is the characteristic of the Hithpael, correctly put after the first radical. אל תשתע Do not turn away.¹⁹See c. xvii. Note 11; c. xxii. Note 4.¹⁹See c. xvii. Note 11; c. xxii. Note 4. Comp. שעו מני turn away from me. (22:4)

הנחרים They that were incensed. It is the Niphal;²⁰Of חרה to burn.
21 To God all eternity is one indivisible whole. Time and space and their divisions are not in real existence, but postulates of and for our reason and imagination. Comp. חרי lit. the burning; נחרו were angry (Song 1:6). The Babylonians are meant; when God punished and destroyed Babylon, He released His people, who returned home to their country with the permission of Cyrus.

מנצותך ═ מצותך Thy Contention. The נ is replaced by Dagesh in צ ; the form of the word is like that of מלקות. Comp. מצה strife (Prov. 17:19); ינצו strive together (Deut. 25:11).

אפס Nothing.

For I, the Lord, etc. For this is a wonderful event, that Babylon was taken, that her armies were destroyed in their own land, and the Israelites remained unhurt.

O worm of Jacob Heb. תּוֹלַעַת. The family of Jacob, which is weak like a worm, which has no strength except in its mouth. תּוֹלַעַת is vermener in O.F., [vermisseau in Modern French, a worm].

Thou worm Jacob, Israel had been considered by the Babylonians as worms. Fear not, that you will be killed together with the Babylonians.

the number of Israel Heb. מְתֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, the number of Israel.

עזרתיך I will help thee. The future is here expressed by the past (עזרתיך), because all the divine decrees concerning the future, are considered as sure as if they were already fulfilled; besides the difference between past and future exists only with regard to created beings.²¹to God all all eternity is one indivisible whole. Time and space and their divisions are not in real existence, but postulates of and for our reason and imagination

a...grooved threshing sledge It is a heavy wooden implement made with many grooves, similar to the ironsmiths’ tool known as ‘lime’ in French, a file, and they drag it over the straw of the ears of grain and it cuts them until they become fine straw.

למורג A threshing instrument. It is well known.²²A.V., "Sharp." Comp. המוריגים threshing instruments (2 Sam. 24:22).

new When it is new, before the points of its grooves are smoothed off, it cuts very much, but when it becomes old, the points of the grooves are smoothed off.

חרוץ Decreed by law.²²A. V., Sharp. Comp. חרצת thou hast decreed (1 Kings 20:40). It is not surprising to find here the word ישראל used as a masculine and feminine noun in one verse;²³Comp. c. xv. Note 12. it is used as feminine, as far as ערה congregation is understood, but it is not a feminine noun itself.

with sharp points Heb. פִּיפִיוֹת. Those are the points of the grooves.

Mountains, A figurative expression for the Babylonians.

you shall thresh the mountains kings and princes.

You shall winnow them You shall scatter them, as with a pitchfork, to the wind.

Thou shalt scatter them, etc. This verse indicates that the greater part of the Babylonians will perish, and also that the Israelites will take their spoil.

and a wind shall carry them off by themselves to Gehinnom.

seek water The prophet prophesied concerning the end of days (Amos 8:11), “Not a famine for bread nor a thirst for water, but to hear the words of the Lord...They shall wander to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it.” And when His wrath subsides, He shall prepare for them bread and water and cause His Shechinah and His spirit to rest in the mouth of their prophets.

The poor, etc. In their return from Babylon to Jerusalem.

is parched Heb. נָשָׁתָּה. An expression similar to (supra 19:5) “And water from the sea shall dry up (וְנִשְּׁתּוּ).” An expression similar to (Lam. 3:45) “The destruction (הַשֵּׁאת) and the breach.” And all of them are an expression of destruction and dryness. Therefore, a ‘dagesh’ appears in the ‘tav,’ since it comes instead of two, for there is no שֵׁאת without a ‘tav,’ and he should have said for the feminine וְנָשָׁתְתָה, since for the masculine singular he says נשתה and for the plural ונשתו.

נשתה Faileth. Comp. ונשתו and shall fail (19:5).

The God of Israel, I (אני) of the preceding, refers to this sentence also, and is to be supplied before the God, as is often the case.

rivers an understanding heart for Torah and prophecy.

שפים High places. It is the opposite of בקעות valleys. This also is wonderful, that rivers will be found on high places.

a desert A place where there was no Torah wisdom.

מדבר Wilderness. A plain that is not inhabited.²⁴I. E. seems here to be of opinion, that מדבר means originally a plain, an oasis (lit. a place whither the flock is led to be fed, from דבר to lead); but is used also to signify the wilderness, the desert (usually a vast plain, containing oases ; comp. Ex. 3:1). Otherwise his remark would be superfluous.

I will give in the desert cedars, acacia trees all kinds of civilization. Even in them will I give all kinds of wisdom, goodness, and peace.

ארז שטה The cedar, the shittah tree. Asyndeton, like ירח שמש the sun, the moon (Hab. 3:10),

firs and cypresses Names of trees that do not produce fruit, used for building.

תדהר ותאשור. Names of trees. All these trees grow about rivers; they do not grow where there is a want of water.

That they may see, etc. That the poor may see with their own eyes, and take it to heart.

בראה According to my opinion, hath shaped it; according to others, hath created it, that is, has brought it from non-existence into existence, but not from one form of existence into another.²⁵See c. xl. Note 61.

Present your plea All the heathens ([mss. K’li Paz:] nations), come and contend and debate with My children.

קרבו Produce. It is imperative Piel after the form of ברכו praise (Jud. 5:2).

your strong points Heb. עַצֻּמוֹתֵיכֶם, Your sturdy and strong arguments. This is an expression of a dispute in Mishnaic Hebrew: “Two who were engaged in a legal dispute (מִתְעַצְּמִין),” in Tractate Sanhedrin (31b).

עצומותיכם Your disputes,²⁶A. V., Your strong reasons. Mighty.²⁶A. V., Your strong reasons. Mighty. Comp. עצומים quarreling (Prov. 18:18). It would, however, not be wrong to explain עצומותיכם your strong reasons, as the plural of the adjective עצום mighty, strong.²⁷The Hebrew text has the words תאר הרבים, which seems to mean adj. plur.; but I. E. in similar cases, generally adds the remark, that the phrase is elliptical, and that such and such a noun must be supplied; (here טענות pleadings or מלות words). It is therefore not unlikely that we must not read תאר הׇרַבּׅים but תאֽר הׇרׇבׅים an attribute to רׇבׅים ‘men that quarrel,’ which is understood. In that case the remark refers to עצומים and leaves it to the reader to apply the same proceeding to עצומותיכם.

Let them present Let those who deny the Torah ([mss., K’li Paz:] the nations) present their prophets and their soothsayers.

Let them bring forth, their idols.

and tell us what will happen in the future.

The imperative produce is addressed to those Israelites, who did not trust in God, but worshipped idols even in Babylon; they are told to produce (ריבכם) their cause, that is, their evidence, to show which is the righteous side. The imperative shew הגידו is addressed to the idols.²⁸In some editions this remark is affixed to the word הגידו of the next verse, but it is more probable that it is intended for this verse, since there is no reason why we should refer the second הגידו to the idols and not also the first.

the first things that were before the Creation of the world, and concerning what was created and what they are. (Other editions: The incidents that have already begun, what will be their end.)

or the coming events in the future, let us hear, and we will see if there is any substance to them, that their words will come true.

Tell the signs coming later Heb. הָאוֹתִיוֹתלְאָחוֹר, the wonders coming at the end.

let us talk Heb. וְנִשְׁתָּעָה. Let us tell your words. (Gen. 24:66) “And he told (וַיְּסַפֵּר),” the Targum renders וְאִשְׁתָּעֵי.

האתיות Theat things that are to come. Comp. אתה cometh (21:12).

לאחור hereafter it is the opposite of לפנים (Ruth 4:7). And know etc. We shall then know that you have power to do good or evil.<

ונשתעה that we may relate. ²⁹A.V., "That we may be dismayed." Comp. ואשתעי the Chaldean translation of ויספר "and he related" (Ex. 48:18). Some explain it "and we shall turn unto it,"³⁰See Note 19. and compare it with אל תשתע do not turn away.

Behold you are of naught and how will your words be fulfilled.

Ye. The idols are adressed.

and your deed is one of shouting Heb. מֵאָפַע. You shout and raise your voice only to mislead the people with lies.

מאפע of nothing. It is hap. leg.

the abominable one Heb. תּוֹעֵבָה [lit. an abomination.] The abominable ones select you, and not the Holy One, blessed be He, or His servants or His ministers.

תועבה=איש תועבה "An abominable man," or it is the same as תועבה "for an abomination." יבחר בכם Chooseth you, for worship.

I have aroused from the north and he came I tell the future events. Behold I arouse Cyrus from the north to build the ruins of Jerusalem, and he came upon Babylon to destroy it.

העירותי I have raised. The Pathah³¹This rule is expressed in the first chapter of I. E.’s Safah Berurah: ע״ין הוא נרחב ויהחיב אשר לפניו. The ע prefers Pathah (lit., a wide vowel), and changes the preceding vowel (or Sheva) into Pathah or Kamez. The same is generally the case with all the gutturals. under ה is caused by the ע which follows.

from the rising of the sun he shall call in My name (Ezra 1:2) “All the kingdoms of the earth has the Lord God of the heavens given me.” And it appears that Persia is northeast of Eretz Israel. Another explanation is: I aroused Nebuchadnezzar from the north to destroy My city, and he came, and I aroused Cyrus from the east, that he call in My name to build My city, for the kingdom of Persia is east of Eretz Israel, as it is stated (Dan. 8:4): “I saw the ram butting etc.” [This verse in Daniel proves it. “I saw the ram butting to the west and to the north and to the south.” We deduce that he came from the east.] Jonathan paraphrases: I brought speedily a king, strong as the north wind, and he will come as the sun comes out with its might from the east; I will strengthen him with My name.

From the north, Elam was north-east of Babylon.³²See Note 3. The word איש a man must be supplied : I have raised up a man from the north; Cyrus is meant.

and he shall come [upon] princes And he shall come upon the king of Babylon and upon his princes as he would come to trample upon mire, and as a potter tramples clay for earthenware vessels, so will he trample the princes.

ויאת And he came.³³A. V., And he shall come. It is an irregular form, because of the first and third radical (א and ה) being weak letters; it would have been of the form וַיׅפֶן, but the א being silent, the Hirek under י is changed into Pathah as is usually the case with gutturals;³⁴See Note 31. ויאת is Kal.

And he shall come upon princes, etc. He shall come into the land or the camp of princes, and tread upon them, as upon mortar.

Who of the prophets of Baal told, like me, a thing destined to come, and who told it from before, that when it comes we will say that he is just, that his prophecy is just?

צדיק He is righteous. His words are true; it is the opposite of כזב false.

Not one told But there is none among you who will foretell the future and that it will come true.

Behold, there is none that showeth, none that heareth the words of the idols; for they have mouths but speak not (Ps. 115:5)

not one hears your statements Who will testify when the future comes, that so and so the prophet of the Baal prophesied this from before.

The first to Zion, behold, behold them The first king who will give heart to Zion, behold he is the one I mentio ned, and even though the redemption will not be completed through him, he will be the one to initiate it. (Ezra 1:3) “Whoever of you from all His people...”

To Zion, to Jerusalem – Zion refers to the stronghold of Zion and represents the kingship, the Temple and the Sanhedrin. Jerusalem was the dwelling place of the masses and represents the gathering of the people and the like, as I wrote above.

The first. The first relatively;³⁵The first in an absolute sense, can only be applied to God; I. E. therefore explains the word ראשון here by ראשון אחר ראשון lit. the first after another first, that is, the first relatively. it is the attribute to מבשר one that bringeth good tidings, which is to be supplied.

behold them The elders of Israel will be ready, according to his statement, to go up from the exile and to begin.

הנה הם ═ הנם Behold them. These are the words which the messenger will say to Zion, behold there they are. The repetition of הנה behold is to indicate the speediness of the appreach.

and for Jerusalem I will give a herald in those days, [viz.] Haggai and Zechariah, who will encourage them to build it in the days of Darius III of Persia.

And I look and there is no man [lit. and I will see, in the future tense.] I always look at the prophets of Baal, and there is no man who tells of a future event.

For I beheld and there was no man of the idolaters that could tell this.

and of these of all these destined to come, and none of them is a counselor who stood in God’s counsel and will know them.

and I ask them that they reply with a word That they should reply with a word if I should ask them.

Behold them all,...naught You should know that, as for the prophets of those who deny the Torah ([mss.:] pagan prophets;) ([other mss.:] prophets of Baal), all their deeds are naught and of no substance.

They. The idols.

their molten images Heb. נִסְכֵּיהֶם. Comp. (supra 40:19) “The graven image the craftsman melted (נָסַךְ).” Jonathan renders this section differently: [27] The first one to Zion etc. The words of consolation that the prophets prophesied concerning Zion, from before, behold they have come. And according to the Targum, the entire section speaks of the King Messiah and of the last redemption, but I see that the prophecy that Isaiah prophesied concerning Cyrus is all in the same language as this section. Comp. (infra 45:13) “I aroused him with righteousness”; (Infra 46:11) “Calling from the east a bird of prey”; (infra 45:11) “The signs ask Me;” (infra 46:10) “Who tells from the beginning the end.” All of this resembles the topic of this section.

אין ═ און nothing as some explain ; the letters אֹ הֹ וֹ יֹ interchange. It can, however, also be taken literally.³⁶There is hardly any difference between the two explanations, since און in the meaning vain must ultimately be derived from אין nothing. The meaning of the verse is, they are vanity, much more so their works.³⁷I. E. here again neglects the accents, which demand the following rendering: Behold, all of them! their works are vain, nothing.

נסכיהם According to some their images; comp. עגל מסכה molten calf (Ex. 32:4). I explain it their libations, that is, the libations which the idolaters offer to their idols.³⁸The parallelism of the verse demands for נסכיהם a rendering similar in meaning to מעשיהם their works. If therefore the former is correctly rendered drink-offerings, the latter must refer to sacrifices, to which, however, the remark of I. E. they themselves are vain, how much more their works cannot be applied. The author seems here to have neglected the rule of the parallelism which he repeatedly recommends, without any necessity; for נסך admits also the meaning to weave to form, and מעשה ═ נֶסֶך the work ; comp. I. E. on Ex. 32:4.