יוֹשֵׁ֣ב בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם יִשְׂחָ֑ק אֲ֝דֹנָ֗י יִלְעַג־לָֽמוֹ׃
Ang nakaupo sa langit ay tumatawa; ang Panginoon ay nangungutya sa kanila.
Rabbeinu Bahya
את אשר התעללתי, “how I have made a mockery.” According to the plain meaning of the text the words mean “I have toyed with them when I performed great acts of retribution.” The expression is similar to the one used by David in Psalms 2,4: יושב בשמים ישחק, אד-ני ילעג למו, “The One who resides in heaven laughs; the Lord mocks at them.”
Ramban
HITH’ALALTI.’ “I have mocked him, for it is I Who hardened his heart and exacted punishments of him.” This is similar in intent to the verse: He that sits in heaven smiles, the Eternal mocks them.4Ibid., 2:4.
The Holy One, blessed be He, now informed Moses of the plague of locusts, [although this is not stated here in Scripture], and that he should tell it to Pharaoh, for what sense was there that he be commanded, Go in unto Pharaoh,5Verse 1. and not say something to him, the plague being mentioned only in the words of Moses to Pharaoh,6Verses 4-6. as Scripture spoke succinctly of this. So also was the case above with the plague of hail, where Scripture told of the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses, Stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, etc.,7Above, 9:13. but did not at all mention that Moses said so to Pharaoh, as I have explained.8Ibid., Verse 18. The reason for it is that Scripture does not want to elaborate on it in two places, [i.e., when G-d said it to Moses, and when Moses relayed it to Pharaoh], and so it shortens the narrative sometimes at one point and other times at another.
In Eileh Shemoth Rabbah,9Shemoth Rabbah 13:5. I have seen it stated: “And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son. The Holy One, blessed be He, informed Moses what plague He is about to bring upon them, and Moses wrote it down with a hint: And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, which is an allusion to the plague of locusts, just as it is said [of the locusts in the days of the prophet Joel], Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, etc.”10Joel 1:3. This was said by the prophet during the terrible plague of locusts and drought. See Ramban further, Verse 14. The Midrash thus confirms Ramban’s explanation that within G-d’s command to Moses, as stated in the Torah, there was also included the oral communication concerning the locusts. The Midrash however added that the plague is alluded to in the expression, And that thou mayest tell, etc., which is a reference to the locusts.
The Holy One, blessed be He, now informed Moses of the plague of locusts, [although this is not stated here in Scripture], and that he should tell it to Pharaoh, for what sense was there that he be commanded, Go in unto Pharaoh,5Verse 1. and not say something to him, the plague being mentioned only in the words of Moses to Pharaoh,6Verses 4-6. as Scripture spoke succinctly of this. So also was the case above with the plague of hail, where Scripture told of the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses, Stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, etc.,7Above, 9:13. but did not at all mention that Moses said so to Pharaoh, as I have explained.8Ibid., Verse 18. The reason for it is that Scripture does not want to elaborate on it in two places, [i.e., when G-d said it to Moses, and when Moses relayed it to Pharaoh], and so it shortens the narrative sometimes at one point and other times at another.
In Eileh Shemoth Rabbah,9Shemoth Rabbah 13:5. I have seen it stated: “And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son. The Holy One, blessed be He, informed Moses what plague He is about to bring upon them, and Moses wrote it down with a hint: And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, which is an allusion to the plague of locusts, just as it is said [of the locusts in the days of the prophet Joel], Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, etc.”10Joel 1:3. This was said by the prophet during the terrible plague of locusts and drought. See Ramban further, Verse 14. The Midrash thus confirms Ramban’s explanation that within G-d’s command to Moses, as stated in the Torah, there was also included the oral communication concerning the locusts. The Midrash however added that the plague is alluded to in the expression, And that thou mayest tell, etc., which is a reference to the locusts.
Ibn Ezra
He who sits (יוֹשֵׁב - yoshev) [referring to yoshev ba-shamayim - "He who sits in the heavens" in v. 4]: Because Scripture mentioned [in v. 2] "kings of the earth take their stand" (yityatzvu malkhei eretz), it states, in contrast to them, "He who sits in the heavens," which are above man. The [Rav Saadia] Gaon said: That the meaning of He will laugh (יִשְׂחָק - yischak) [v. 4] is that He will make them into an object of laughter and derision (sechok u-la'ag). And the correct [view] is: That HaShem created substance/matter (ha-geshem), which is the essence, and the forms (ha-tzurot), which are accidents/attributes. [These philosophical terms contrast with] whatever man does or the images of living things he forms [in his mind]. His Name [i.e., God Himself] alone is too exalted to be [described] in terms of substance/essence, let alone accident/attribute. However, because the speaker [of Scripture] is human, and likewise the hearer, the Torah spoke in the language of human beings (dibrah Torah ki-leshon bnei adam) so that the hearer may understand. And similarly, they treated the earth as if it had human form, [as in verses like]: "And the earth opened its mouth" (Numbers 16:32), [and phrases like] "from the recesses/ends (mi-yarketei) of the earth" (e.g., Jeremiah 6:22). [Thus, "laughing" is anthropomorphic language used for human understanding].