Midras Yesaya 47:8: Aggadat Bereshit, Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shemot Rabbah & Ein Yaakov (Glick Edition)

[2] Another interpretation: "Things will come to your heart." Everything is first considered in the heart. Esau did this, as it is said, "And Esau said in his heart" (Genesis 27:41). Nebuchadnezzar did this, and you also said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God" (Isaiah 14:13). Haman did this, as it is said, "Haman went out that day joyful and with a glad heart. But when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he did not stand or tremble before him, he was filled with wrath against Mordecai" (Esther 5:9-13). The kingdom of Sodom did this, as it is said, "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?" (Isaiah 5:3-4). Likewise, Gog did this, as it is said, "Let things come to your heart and put evil schemes into your mind" (Ezekiel 38:10). Everything he thought in his heart, the Holy One, blessed be He, made public. And what Esau thought, see later at the end of chapter 42 [of Genesis]. He went to Ishmael and said, "This is not the way of the world that I should kill my father Isaac. Rather, kill him and let me inherit the entire world." This is what he said with his mouth, but in his heart he was saying, "I will kill Jacob after Ishmael kills Isaac." He came to Ishmael and killed him and said, "Why did you kill my father?" And I will inherit the entire world for myself." He thought this in his heart, and the Holy One, blessed be He, made it public, as it is said, "For I have laid bare Esau's rugged mountains and his dwelling place" (Jeremiah 49:10). The Lord said, "I know what you thought in your heart," as it is said, "Because you said, 'These two nations and these two lands shall be mine, and we will possess them,' whereas the Lord was there" (Ezekiel 35:10). There I looked into your heart and saw what you thought. Likewise, Gog and Magog think in their hearts, as it is said, "On that day, things will come to your heart and you will plan an evil plan" (Ezekiel 38:10). And the Holy One, blessed be He, makes public what they are thinking, as it is said, "And you said, 'I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates'" (Ezekiel 38:11). And what does he think? Rather, this is what Pharaoh, who came against the Israelites, says: "He [Moses] was a fool, he left his patron and came to them." And similarly, Amalek, Sisera, and anyone who stood against them [the Israelites], they left [it] to the Holy One, blessed be He, [to deal with them], [because] they were fools. But what can I do? I will go first to the patrons of Israel, and if I kill the Messiah, he will raise up other Messiahs. But [the judgment] is upon the Lord, as it says, "Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?" (Psalms 2:1-2). Edom, Ishmael, Gebal, Ammon, and Assyria all conspired against the Almighty, as it is written, "They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones" (Psalms 83:3). And what do they do? They stand on their feet and look up at the Almighty, saying, "Come, let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more" (Psalms 83:5). What is the name of Israel? They say, "Let us wipe it out," as it is written, "Blessed is the Eternal, God of Israel" (Psalms 41:14). And what does the Lord do to them from above? He stands on their feet and punishes them, as it is written: "And this shall be the plague...he shall stand upon his feet, and his eyes shall consume away in their holes, and his tongue shall consume away in his mouth." (Zechariah 14:12). Those feet that wanted to stand against Me, the plague consumes them while they stand on their feet. Those eyes that looked upwards, his eyes shall consume away in their holes. And that tongue that spoke against Me, his tongue shall consume away in his mouth. The Lord said to them: "At first, there was no peace among you, 'There is no peace,' says the Lord, 'for the wicked'" (Isaiah 48:22). But now you have made peace with each other to come against Me. It is written, "For they have consulted together with one consent; against thee do they make a covenant: The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah." (Psalm 83:6-9). All of you have made peace to come against Me, so I will also do the same. And you, son of man, shall say to the birds and to every beast of the field: "Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood." (Ezekiel 39:17). Just as you did not have peace with each other and made peace to come upon me, so too I call the birds and animals that did not have peace with each other and I make peace between them to come upon you. And because you said, "And let not the name of Israel be remembered anymore," (Psalm 83:5) your life will end and they will bury you and take your name away from the world, as it is said, "all the people of the land shall bury them. The day I manifest My glory shall bring renown to them", and they shall make an end. (Ezekiel 39:13)

Another interpretation (of Gen. 27:1): AND HE SAID UNTO HIM (Esau): MY SON; AND HE SAID UNTO HIM: HERE I AM. Solomon proclaimed (in Prov. 26:23): SILVER DROSS LAID OVER EARTHENWARE ARE BURNING LIPS AND AN EVIL HEART. To what was Esau comparable? To a caldron³¹Gk.: miliarion; Lat.: miliarium. with an outside of gold inlaid with pearls but an inside of earthenware. [Thus did Esau say to his father: HERE I AM, while in his heart he was saying: When will he die?] Thus it is stated (in Gen. 27:41): AND ESAU SAID IN HIS HEART: LET THE DAYS OF MOURNING FOR MY FATHER COME, AND I WILL KILL MY BROTHER JACOB. Ergo (in Prov. 26:23): SILVER DROSS LAID OVER EARTHENWARE…. And so you find that the seed of [Esau], Haman, said in his heart (in Esth. 6:6): NOW HAMAN SAID IN HIS HEART. (Is. 14:13f.:) THE FOOL HAS SAID IN HIS HEART: < THERE IS NO GOD >. (Is. 14:13:) AND YOU SAID IN YOUR HEART: I WILL ASCEND TO THE HEAVENS…. < I WILL BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH >. (Ezek. 38:10:) IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THAT DAY THAT THOUGHTS SHALL COME UPON YOUR HEART, < AND YOU WILL DEVISE AN EVIL DESIGN >. (Ps. 10:11:) HE HAS SAID IN HIS HEART: GOD HAS FORGOTTEN. (Is. 47:8:) AND NOW {PLEASE} HEAR [THIS], {YOU} ELEGANT WOMAN WHO DWELLS IN SECURITY, WHO SAYS IN HER HEART: [I AM, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE]. Ergo (in Prov. 26:25): FOR THERE ARE SEVEN ABOMINATIONS IN HIS HEART; and Solomon proclaimed (in Prov. 26:23): SILVER DROSS < LAID OVER EARTHENWARE ARE BURNING LIPS AND AN EVIL HEART >.

Another interpretation: “The Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying” (Exodus 12:1) – what is the Holy One blessed be He doing in Egypt? It is for the sake of Israel. Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa said: This is analogous to a noblewoman who provoked the king. The king put her in prison and went with her and was with her in prison. People said to him: ‘Why do you care?’ He said to them: ‘All the time that I am with her, she will not acquire a bad name.’ So, Israel was enslaved in Egypt, and the Holy One blessed be He, as it were, was exiled with them, as it is stated: “I will go down with you to Egypt” (Genesis 46:4). Similarly with [the exile to] Babylonia, it is stated: “For your sakes, I sent [shilaḥti]⁴¹The Masoretic text has shilaḥti but the midrash reads it shulaḥti, I was sent. to Babylon” (Isaiah 43:14). Likewise, with [the hegemony of] Media, as it is stated: “I will place My throne in Elam” (Jeremiah 49:38), and Elam is nothing other than Media, as it is stated: “Go up, Elam; besiege, Media” (Isaiah 21:2). With the [hegemony of] Greece, the Holy One blessed be He was with them, as it is stated: “[I will rouse your children, Zion, against your children, Greece, and will set you like the sword of a mighty man.] The Lord will be seen over them, and His arrow will emerge like lightning” (Zechariah 9:13–14).
They [the angels] said to the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Why all this?’ He said to them: ‘All the time that I am with them, they will not acquire a bad name. I was with them in Egypt, and they were found whole, as it is stated: “A locked garden, my sister, my bride” (Song of Songs 4:12).⁴²They were not corrupted by the surrounding licentiousness. I was with them in Babylon, and they were found whole, as it is stated: “Behold our God whom we serve [is able to deliver us]” (Daniel 3:17). I was with them in Media and they were found whole, as it is stated: “Mordecai would not bow and would not prostrate himself” (Esther 3:2). In Greece, they refused to write on the horn of an ox that they have no portion in the God of Israel.⁴³The midrash is relating to a tradition that the Greek-speaking rulers decreed that they must do so. See Bereshit Rabba 2:4. With regard to Edom [Rome], if the Holy One blessed be He says yes, who will say no, as it is stated: “Who is this, coming from Edom” (Isaiah 63:1).’⁴⁴This is the beginning of a prophecy about the destruction of Edom. Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: This is analogous to a wealthy man who went out during the summer. People said that he was at the threshing floor. What did he do? He came in with a branch of a grapevine, so that everyone would know that he had come from the vineyard. So, the idolaters said to Israel: Where is your God? As it is stated: “Where is their God” (Deuteronomy 32:37). “Now, hear this, pampered one, who sits securely…” (Isaiah 47:8)⁴⁵This verse refers to the idolaters. – what is the Holy One blessed be He destined to do to them? “I will make My arrows drunk with blood” (Deuteronomy 32:42). Not only that, but He is destined to trample them, as it is stated: “I have trodden a winepress alone” (Isaiah 63:3), and He us destined to tread with His shoe on all the great ones of Edom, as it is stated: “I cast My shoe upon Edom” (Psalms 60:10).