פירוש על ישעיהו 43:14

Because of you, I sent [you] to Babylon Jonathan paraphrases: Because of your sins I exiled you to Babylon.

שלחתי I was sent.¹⁶A. V., I have sent. Some think that the first person I refers to the prophet; but I am of opinion that God is speaking, because this verse begins, Thus saith the Lord, and the next verse, I am the Lord, The meaning of the phrase is: I have come so hastily, as if I were sent.¹⁷I. E. seems to have read שֻׁלַּחְתּׅי instead of שׁׅלַּחְתּׅי adopted in our printed Bibles. A very learned man in Spain conjectures, that the Divine Glory,¹⁸The angels, according to I. E., being the uncorporeal first emanation from the divine Glory, are also called הכבוד the divine glory. the same heavenly prince of Israel^18aComp. Dan. 10:20. that has been sent to Babylon to redeem Israel, is speaking to the prophet.

and I lowered them all with oars Heb. וְהוֹרַדְתִּי בָרִיחִים. Jonathan renders: And I lowered with oars (בִּמְשׁוֹטִין), all of them. מְשׁוֹטִין denotes the wood that guides the ship and straightens it out.

והורדתי בריחים And have brought down the bars¹⁹A. V., All their nobles. of Babylon, that is, I caused Babylon to be conquered; comp. He hath destroyed and broken her bars (Lam, 2:9). The bars of the gates of the place are meant.

and Chaldees led you in the ships of their rejoicing. This may also be explained as regards the news of the redemption, as follows: Because of you, I sent I will send the kings of Media to Babylon, and I will lower the Chaldees in ships and oars into exile to the land of Media. And the Chaldees I will lower in ships which their rejoicing was [i.e., the Chaldees would be taken into captivity with the very boats in which they had previously rejoiced].

וכשדים באניות רנתם And I shall bring down the Chaldæans from their ships of joy, in which they are.²⁰We have to supply the relative אשר before באניות ; lit.: And the Chaldæans. who are in the ships of their joy, scil., I shall bring down from those ships.—The meaning of the verse, according to I. E., is: Both the Babylonian land army and fleet will be utterly destroyed.