אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ אֵלִ֥י אַתָּ֗ה אֲֽשַׁחֲ֫רֶ֥ךָּ צָמְאָ֬ה לְךָ֨ ׀ נַפְשִׁ֗י כָּמַ֣הּ לְךָ֣ בְשָׂרִ֑י בְּאֶֽרֶץ־צִיָּ֖ה וְעָיֵ֣ף בְּלִי־מָֽיִם׃
Dieu, tu es mon Dieu, que je recherche avidement; mon âme a soif de toi, mon être te désire passionnément, sur un sol aride, altéré, sans eau.
Kli Yakar
“And he will bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, etc.” This entire narrative speaks of one who sins in thought alone, as it is written whose heart turns away, etc., and he will bless himself in his heart, etc., for I will walk in the stubbornness of my heart. For idolatry’s essence is in thought, since faith exists only in the heart, and therefore it is said regarding idolatry in order to seize the house of Israel by their heart (Ezekiel 14:5). And in every mention of idolatry, only the action is mentioned, as it is written Cursed is the man who makes a carved or molten image, etc. (Deuteronomy 27:15).
From this, two kinds of errors can occur. First, one might say who makes but not from what is already made, meaning the gods of those nations mentioned above. The second error is that one might say only the action is forbidden but not the thought. This is what is meant by And it shall be, when he hears the words of this curse. That is to say, that curse which alludes to idolatry specifically, where the context seems to refer only to action. Therefore, he finds a place to attach his error, and he will bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace. He gives himself a blessing of peace because the matter is only in his heart.
And this is what is meant by For I will walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst. For he will rely on this to escape punishment, saying, “I dwell among my people,” and [just as] one who waters a field that thirsts for water also waters the saturated parts alongside it, so too through God sending blessing to the righteous who thirst for the word of God — as it is written My soul thirsts for You, etc. (Psalms 63:2) — the wicked, who are sated with God’s service to the point that they choose for themselves new foreign gods that have recently come, will also receive blessing alongside them, for their souls are sated with the service of God.
He will also say that since the world is judged according to its majority, the merit of the righteous will also stand for him, and God will forgive him for their sake.
From this, two kinds of errors can occur. First, one might say who makes but not from what is already made, meaning the gods of those nations mentioned above. The second error is that one might say only the action is forbidden but not the thought. This is what is meant by And it shall be, when he hears the words of this curse. That is to say, that curse which alludes to idolatry specifically, where the context seems to refer only to action. Therefore, he finds a place to attach his error, and he will bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace. He gives himself a blessing of peace because the matter is only in his heart.
And this is what is meant by For I will walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst. For he will rely on this to escape punishment, saying, “I dwell among my people,” and [just as] one who waters a field that thirsts for water also waters the saturated parts alongside it, so too through God sending blessing to the righteous who thirst for the word of God — as it is written My soul thirsts for You, etc. (Psalms 63:2) — the wicked, who are sated with God’s service to the point that they choose for themselves new foreign gods that have recently come, will also receive blessing alongside them, for their souls are sated with the service of God.
He will also say that since the world is judged according to its majority, the merit of the righteous will also stand for him, and God will forgive him for their sake.
Ramban
L’MA’AN’ (THAT) THE WATERED BE SWEPT AWAY WITH THE THIRSTY. The meaning thereof is “‘to supplement’ the watered with the thirsty,” for the satisfied soul is called ravah (satiated), similar to, And I will ‘satiate the soul’ of the priests with fatness, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness;30Jeremiah 31:13. and their soul shall be as a watered garden,31Ibid., Verse 11. while the desiring soul is called tz’meiah (thirsty): My ‘soul thirsteth’ for Thee.32Psalms 63:2. Therefore, the sense of the verse is: when into a person’s satisfied soul — one that does not desire harmful things — there comes a slight craving, and he satisfies his lust, then there will grow in his soul a craving even greater than the original one, for the thing that he ate or that he did, and it [the soul] will lust [even] after evil things for which he never craved at first. Thus, if someone craves for lewdness with beautiful women and becomes carried away in unchastity, his lust will ultimately bring him to sodomy and to bestiality and the like with other forms of lust. This is akin to what the Sages have mentioned [with respect to sexual craving]:33Succah 52b. “The more one satisfies it, the more it hungers, the more one starves it, the more it is satisfied.” Therefore Scripture states concerning him who follows the stubborness of his heart, that if he will satisfy his soul with those stubborn and overpowering desires for which it thirsts, his soul “will add the watered to the thirsty,” for then he will desire and thirst after things for which he had been satisfied, and with which his soul was satiated [meaning that, up to then, he felt no desire for them]. And, because he used the expression ‘shoresh poreh’ (a root that beareth),34Verse 17. he follows this usage, saying that this root shall add a branch that will be satiated and leafy to the thirsty one and they will all become thirsty. Thus the word l’ma’an (that) in this place does not refer to the reason [i.e., “so that”]: “I will go in the stubborness of my heart so that I supplement the watered with the thirsty.” Instead its meaning is like “to add” — Scripture is saying that because of his conduct, this will be the result.35In other words, it is not the sinner who says: “L’ma’an (so that) I supplement the watered etc.” but it is Scripture which declares “L’ma’an etc.” that “to add” the watered etc., will result from his conduct. For in every result of a particular action, Scripture uses the term l’ma’an, whether the responsible person does it intentionally to effect that result, as ‘l’ma’an’ (so that) it may be well with us,36Jeremiah 42:6. See my Hebrew commentary p. 478, Note 32, that the reference in the Hebrew text of Ramban is to above, 4:40, but the word l’ma’an is not found there in connection with this expression. or whether the person effecting the result does so unintentionally, as in the expressions: ‘l’ma’an’ (that) their heart may melt;37Ezekiel 21:20. ‘l’ma’an’ (that) your altars may be laid waste;38Ibid., 6:6. Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, ‘l’ma’an’ (that) they may be cut off,39Hosea 8:4. The result referred to in each of the last three verses is involuntary. Here, too, it cannot be said that they made idols of gold and silver “so that” they may be cut off. Rather, Scripture states that the undesired result will be that, in punishment, they will be cut off. and many other similar verses. In my opinion this is the best and most correct of all that has been written about this verse from many aspects.
It is also possible to explain that the phrase [that the watered …] refers back to the expression a root that beareth gall and wormwood,33Succah 52b. the verse stating that he will bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace,’ so that his watered branch, on which grow and sprout the wormwood and gall, should be added to the thirsty one on which nothing has grown.40The difference between the two interpretations is: In the first interpretation “the watered” was not lustful — it was “the thirsty” that was the sinful part of the soul. In the second interpretation, however, the sinful aspect of the soul is “the watered” part, for on it has already grown “the gall and the wormwood;” and “the thirsty” is the pure part of the soul, for nothing evil has yet grown on it. The third explanation which follows is similar to the second with a minor change, as explained in the text (Kur Zahav). Or the watered may be a surname for the aforementioned wormwood, meaning that the watered wormwood which sprouts and grows exceedingly will be added to the thirsty which until now has grown but little — so that now both will sprout. Thus the intent is to state that anyone who will hear the imprecation and will imagine himself to be immune against it, holding strongly to [this] stubborness, and, as a result, his thoughts will bring him to [further] sin sprouting transgressions greater than the first [the Eternal will not be willing to pardon him etc.].26Verse 19. This also is a correct interpretation.
It is also possible to explain that the phrase [that the watered …] refers back to the expression a root that beareth gall and wormwood,33Succah 52b. the verse stating that he will bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace,’ so that his watered branch, on which grow and sprout the wormwood and gall, should be added to the thirsty one on which nothing has grown.40The difference between the two interpretations is: In the first interpretation “the watered” was not lustful — it was “the thirsty” that was the sinful part of the soul. In the second interpretation, however, the sinful aspect of the soul is “the watered” part, for on it has already grown “the gall and the wormwood;” and “the thirsty” is the pure part of the soul, for nothing evil has yet grown on it. The third explanation which follows is similar to the second with a minor change, as explained in the text (Kur Zahav). Or the watered may be a surname for the aforementioned wormwood, meaning that the watered wormwood which sprouts and grows exceedingly will be added to the thirsty which until now has grown but little — so that now both will sprout. Thus the intent is to state that anyone who will hear the imprecation and will imagine himself to be immune against it, holding strongly to [this] stubborness, and, as a result, his thoughts will bring him to [further] sin sprouting transgressions greater than the first [the Eternal will not be willing to pardon him etc.].26Verse 19. This also is a correct interpretation.