Tafsiran Bilangan 35:33: Tze'enah Ure'enah, Rashi, Kli Yakar & Ramban

“You shall not pollute the land” [35:33]. You should not engage in any flattery. That is, when somebody commits a sin in secret that no person knows about and he presents himself as very important. Our sages said: a person who engages in flattery comes to Gehenna. When somebody engages in flattery so that his friends should give him honor, he will have much shame in the end. When someone flatters the Holy One, his prayer is not accepted. Rabbi Eleazar said: the one who engages in flattery with his friend, in the end he will fall into his hands.²⁰B. Sotah, 41b.

ולא תחניפו means AND YE SHALL NOT [MAKE THE LAND] WICKED, as it is translated in the Targum: לא תחיבון.

And you shall not contaminate [tachnifu, which can also mean flatter] the land. The explanation of this matter is as follows: The land appears as if it has opened its mouth without limit to swallow everything upon it, as it is said, Therefore the grave has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth without measure (Isaiah 5:14), and it is written, The earth that is not satisfied with water (Proverbs 30:16). For truly, the earth is never satisfied, and the wicked murderers flatter the land by giving it something to swallow, and this is flattery. For anyone who gives something to one who is unworthy of it, so that they in turn will give him something back — this is called flattery. And so it is that the land flatters the wicked by giving them its produce for all their needs which come from the earth, and also a place to dwell and establish themselves upon it, even though the wicked are not worthy of all this, as it is said, The earth is contaminated/flattered beneath its inhabitants (Isaiah 24:5).