Skip to Content

Jeremiah 30

ירמיהו פרק ל׳

Section: נביאים · נביאים אחרונים | Book: Jeremiah | Chapter: 30 of 52 | Day: 243 of 742

Date: October 12, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 30 marks one of the great turning points in Sefer Yirmiyahu. For twenty-nine chapters the prophet has been the voice of uprooting and tearing down, of the boiling pot from the north, the broken flask, the yoke of Bavel and the cup of wrath. Now, without any change of date or setting, the tone turns. Chapters 30 through 33 form a distinct unit that readers have long called the Book of Consolation (ספר הנחמות), a sustained cluster of promises of return, rebuilding and covenant renewal. The prophet who was appointed in chapter 1 not only to uproot and to destroy but also to build and to plant (לבנות ולנטוע) now turns to the second half of his commission.

The chapter opens with an unusual command: write down in a scroll (כתב לך אל ספר) all the words that I have spoken to you. Rashi reads the next verse as the answer: do not say, why should I write it, since they will all perish and there will be no one to read it or remember it — for behold, days are coming when I will restore the fortunes of My people. The scroll is addressed to a future readership that the present generation cannot yet imagine. Radak offers a related explanation: these words concern events destined to come at the end of days (באחרית הימים), and they are written down precisely because the generation that heard them would see the prophecies of disaster fulfilled quickly, and would then know that the great consolation would be fulfilled as well. The scroll, in other words, is an act of faith in a reader who does not yet exist.

The first promise is stated in the language that will echo through the whole unit: I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah (ושבתי את שבות עמי ישראל ויהודה), and bring them back to the land I gave their fathers. The pairing of Israel and Judah is significant. The northern kingdom had been in exile for more than a century by Yirmiyahu’s day, and its tribes were widely assumed to be lost. Radak notes that this promise cannot refer to the return from Bavel, since only Yehudah and Binyamin, who had been exiled there, came back in the days of Zerubavel and Ezra. The prophecy therefore reaches beyond the Second Temple to the days of the Mashiach.

The poem that follows begins, surprisingly, not with comfort but with terror. We have heard a sound of trembling (קול חרדה), of fear and no peace. Yirmiyahu then reaches for one of his most startling images: ask and see whether a male gives birth — why then do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and every face turned pale? Radak explains that the pangs of a woman in childbirth are the most intense pain known, so the prophet uses them to convey the extremity of the distress that will seize strong men. The commentators disagree about whose terror this is. Rashi records two readings: some interpret it as the panic of those in Bavel at the news of its fall, while the midrashic reading refers it to the war of Gog and Magog.

That promise becomes explicit in verse 7, one of the most frequently quoted lines in the book: alas, that day is great, there is none like it; it is a time of trouble for Yaakov, but from it he shall be saved (ועת צרה היא ליעקב וממנה יושע). Rashi identifies the day either as the killing of Belshatzar and the fall of Bavel or as the fall of Gog. Radak links it to Yeshayahu’s call to hide for a brief moment until the wrath passes and to Daniel’s time of trouble such as never was. The structure of the sentence is itself the message: the trouble is real and unparalleled, yet salvation comes out of it (ממנה), not merely after it. On that day, God declares, I will break his yoke from off your neck and tear your bonds, and strangers will no longer enslave him; instead they will serve the LORD their God and Dovid their king whom I will raise up for them. Radak raises two possibilities for this Dovid: either King Dovid himself, raised from the dust at the resurrection of the dead, or the Mashiach his descendant, called by his ancestor’s name.

Verses 10 and 11 then address Yaakov directly with the formula of reassurance: do not fear, My servant Yaakov (ואתה אל תירא עבדי יעקב), do not be dismayed, Israel. God will make a full end (כלה) of all the nations among which He has scattered Israel, but of Israel He will not make a full end. Yet the reassurance is not sentimental: I will chastise you in measure (ויסרתיך למשפט), and I will not leave you wholly unpunished. Rashi glosses ‘in measure’ as in restrained judgment (בדין חסוך), and Radak explains that God will discipline Israel according to what it can bear rather than according to the full measure of divine anger, citing the prayer from chapter 10, chastise me, LORD, but in measure. The covenant guarantees survival, not exemption.

The middle of the chapter shifts to a second image, the incurable wound. Your fracture is grievous, your blow is severe; there is no one to plead your cause, no healing for your sore. Radak explains that the whole passage is a parable (משל) in which the great calamities and the destruction of the land are compared to a grave illness for which no one any longer hopes for a cure. All your lovers have forgotten you. Radak identifies them as Ashur and Mitzrayim, the allies Yehudah courted, who could not even save themselves from Nevuchadnetzar; he also cites his father’s reading that, like visitors who stop calling on a dying man, the lovers simply despaired. God does not soften the cause: I struck you with the blow of an enemy, a cruel chastisement, because of the greatness of your iniquity. Why cry over your fracture? I did these things to you. The theology of chapters 1 through 29 is restated in full before it is overturned.

And then it is overturned. Verse 16 opens with the word ‘therefore’ (לכן), which normally introduces a sentence of doom; here it introduces the reversal of doom. All who devour you will be devoured, all your foes will go into captivity, your plunderers will be plundered. Then comes the promise of healing: I will bring up a remedy (ארוכה) for you and heal you of your wounds, because they called you an outcast — Zion, whom no one seeks (ציון היא דרש אין לה). Radak explains that it is the nations who say this, that Zion is a city with no one to seek its restoration for Israel. The very taunt becomes the ground of God’s action. Chazal drew a practical law from these words (Sukkah 41a, Rosh Hashanah 30a): since Zion is mocked as having no one to seek her, it follows that she requires seeking, and from here comes the obligation to perform remembrances of the Temple (זכר למקדש) in every generation of exile.

The final section paints the restoration. I will restore the tents of Yaakov and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on its mound (על תלה) and the palace will stand in its proper place. Rashi identifies the palace (ארמון) as the Temple; Radak, following Targum Yonatan, sees in it both the royal palace and the Temple. The ruler will come from within (והיה אדירו ממנו), and Radak explains the emphasis: Israel will no longer be ruled by a foreigner or pay tribute to foreign kings. The verse closes with a phrase the commentators read in different ways: I will draw him near and he will approach Me, for who would dare pledge his heart to approach Me (כי מי הוא זה ערב את לבו לגשת אלי). Metzudat David understands it as God planting the fear of heaven in the ruler’s heart, since no one could draw close without divine help; Rashi reads it as a rhetorical question about who would dare approach to protest against God’s decree. The covenant formula follows: you shall be My people and I will be your God.

The chapter ends with a storm. Verses 23 and 24 repeat, with slight variations, the oracle of the whirlwind from chapter 23,. The storm now falls on the head of the wicked, which Rashi identifies with the idolatrous nations, and the LORD’s anger will not turn back until He has accomplished the purposes of His heart. The final words return to the opening command to write: in the end of days you will understand it (באחרית הימים תתבוננו בה). Metzudat David explains that even if the fulfillment is delayed, those who see it at the end will understand that God did not abandon His word. The scroll was written for exactly that reader.

פרק ל׳ · Chapter 30

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

הַדָּבָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָיָ֣ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֔הוּ מֵאֵ֥ת יְהֹוָ֖ה לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

The word that came to Jeremiah from GOD:

The superscription introduces a new unit of prophecy without date or setting, in contrast to the dated chapters around it. Radak simply notes that the verse is self-explanatory. Its very plainness is significant: chapters 30 through 33, known as the Book of Consolation (ספר הנחמות), open with the same formula as the prophecies of doom, signaling that comfort comes from the same divine source that decreed the destruction.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

כֹּֽה־אָמַ֧ר יְהֹוָ֛ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר כְּתׇב־לְךָ֗ אֵ֧ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֛ים אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּ֥רְתִּי אֵלֶ֖יךָ אֶל־סֵֽפֶר׃

English:

Thus said the ETERNAL, the God of Israel: Write down in a scroll all the words that I have spoken to you.

Instead of preaching aloud, Yirmiyahu is commanded to write these words in a scroll. Radak explains that they concern events destined for the end of days, and are set down right after the prophecies of disaster so that the generation which saw the doom fulfilled would trust the consolation too. Metzudat David notes that 'the words I have spoken' refers to the oracle that follows, and reads 'el sefer' as 'onto' a scroll.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

כִּ֠י הִנֵּ֨ה יָמִ֤ים בָּאִים֙ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֔ה וְ֠שַׁבְתִּ֠י אֶת־שְׁב֨וּת עַמִּ֧י יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וִֽיהוּדָ֖ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה וַהֲשִׁבֹתִ֗ים אֶל־הָאָ֛רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תִּי לַאֲבוֹתָ֖ם וִֽירֵשֽׁוּהָ׃ {פ}

English:

For days are coming—declares GOD—when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah, said GOD; and I will bring them back to the land that I gave their ancestors, and they shall possess it.

This verse gives the reason for writing: days are coming when God will restore the fortunes of Israel and Judah. Rashi explains that the prophet should not think a scroll pointless because all will perish. Radak observes that the return from Bavel included only Yehudah and Binyamin, so the promise reaches to the days of the Mashiach, and Metzudat David calls it the final redemption, written down so readers may hope for it.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
כי הנה ימים באים. ולא תאמר למה אכתבנו כי יאבדו כולם ואין קורא בו ואין זוכרו עוד כי הנה ימים באים וגו':
For, behold, days are coming And you shall not say, Why should I write it, since they all will perish, and no one will read it, neither will anyone remember it anymore, for, "behold, days are coming, etc."

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וְאֵ֣לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר דִּבֶּ֧ר יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וְאֶל־יְהוּדָֽה׃

English:

And these are the words that GOD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

A brief heading introduces the poem proper: these are the words God spoke concerning Israel and Judah. Metzudat David glosses the preposition 'el' as 'al' -- concerning, not addressed to. Radak adds that these words are future prophecies, as he explained on verse 2. The repeated pairing of the northern and southern kingdoms announces that the consolation embraces the whole people, including the ten tribes long since exiled by Ashur.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

כִּי־כֹה֙ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה ק֥וֹל חֲרָדָ֖ה שָׁמָ֑עְנוּ פַּ֖חַד וְאֵ֥ין שָׁלֽוֹם׃

English:

Thus said GOD: We have heard cries of panic, Terror without relief.

The consolation opens, surprisingly, with terror: a sound of trembling, fear and no peace. Rashi records two readings -- the panic of the exiles at the news about Bavel, or, in the midrash, the war of Gog and Magog. Metzudat David adopts the second and notes the doubled phrasing to show how great the fear will be, while Radak suggests these words will be spoken by all the nations in the days of the Mashiach.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
קול חרדה שמענו. יש פותרין על שמועת בבל שהיו חרידים ממנה אותם שגלו שם ומדרש אגדה על מלחמת גוג ומגוג:
A sound of quaking we have heard Some interpret this as alluding to the tidings of Babylon, from which those exiled there quaked. But the Midrash Aggadah explains it as an allusion to the war of Gog and Magog.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

שַׁאֲלוּ־נָ֣א וּרְא֔וּ אִם־יֹלֵ֖ד זָכָ֑ר מַדּ֩וּעַ֩ רָאִ֨יתִי כׇל־גֶּ֜בֶר יָדָ֤יו עַל־חֲלָצָיו֙ כַּיּ֣וֹלֵדָ֔ה וְנֶהֶפְכ֥וּ כׇל־פָּנִ֖ים לְיֵרָקֽוֹן׃

English:

Ask and see: Surely males do not bear young! Why then do I see every man With his hands on his loins Like a woman in labor? Why have all faces turned pale?

A bold image: can a male give birth? Then why does every man clutch his loins like a woman in labor, every face turned pale? Radak explains that childbirth pains exceed all others, so the prophet uses them for the extremity of distress, and that faces turn pale as blood flees them. Rashi glosses 'chalatzav' as loins. Metzudat David frames it as a rhetorical challenge: go ask what is happening in the world.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אם יולד זכר. אם דרך לזכרים ללדת שיאחזום חבלים כיולדה: חלציו. כמו מתניו:
whether a male gives birth Whether it is customary for males to give birth, so that labor pains should seize them like a woman in confinement. his loins like מָתְנָיו.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

ה֗וֹי כִּ֥י גָד֛וֹל הַיּ֥וֹם הַה֖וּא מֵאַ֣יִן כָּמֹ֑הוּ וְעֵֽת־צָרָ֥ה הִיא֙ לְיַֽעֲקֹ֔ב וּמִמֶּ֖נָּה יִוָּשֵֽׁעַ׃

English:

Ah, that day is awesome; There is none like it! It is a time of trouble for Jacob, But he shall be delivered from it.

One of the most quoted lines in the book: alas, that day is great, a time of trouble for Yaakov, and from it he shall be saved (וממנה יושע). Rashi identifies the day as the killing of Belshatzar or the fall of Gog. Radak links it to Gog and Magog, citing Yeshayahu and Daniel. Metzudat David stresses that out of that very trouble salvation will yet emerge -- deliverance comes from within the crisis.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
היום ההוא. יום הריגת בלשאצר ומפלת בבל, ע"א יום מפלת גוג:
that day The day of the assassination of Belshazzar and the downfall of Babylon. Another explanation: the day of the downfall of Gog.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וְהָיָה֩ בַיּ֨וֹם הַה֜וּא נְאֻ֣ם ׀ יְהֹוָ֣ה צְבָא֗וֹת אֶשְׁבֹּ֤ר עֻלּוֹ֙ מֵעַ֣ל צַוָּארֶ֔ךָ וּמוֹסְרוֹתֶ֖יךָ אֲנַתֵּ֑ק וְלֹא־יַעַבְדוּ־ב֥וֹ ע֖וֹד זָרִֽים׃

English:

In that day—declares GOD of Hosts—I will break the yoke from off your neck and I will rip off your bonds. Strangers shall no longer make slaves of them;

On that day God will break the yoke from Israel's neck and tear its bonds, and strangers will no longer enslave it. Rashi explains this as removing the yoke of the nations. Metzudat David identifies it as the Kasdim's yoke, while Radak suggests Gog and Magog or every nation that ruled Israel in exile, cites the Targum, and notes the shift between second and third person as typical biblical style.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אשבר עלו. יסור עול האומות מעל ישראל:
I will break his yoke The yoke of the heathens will be removed from Israel.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וְעָ֣בְד֔וּ אֵ֖ת יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֑ם וְאֵת֙ דָּוִ֣ד מַלְכָּ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָקִ֖ים לָהֶֽם׃ {ס}         

English:

instead, they shall serve the ETERNAL their God and David, the king whom I will raise up for them.

Freed from foreign masters, Israel will serve the LORD their God and Dovid their king whom God will raise up. Radak offers two readings: King Dovid himself, raised from the dust at the resurrection of the dead, or the Mashiach his descendant, called by his ancestor's name. The verse replaces the service of strangers in verse 8 with the service of God and His anointed, uniting spiritual and political restoration.

פסוק י׳ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וְאַתָּ֡ה אַל־תִּירָא֩ עַבְדִּ֨י יַעֲקֹ֤ב נְאֻם־יְהֹוָה֙ וְאַל־תֵּחַ֣ת יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל כִּ֠י הִנְנִ֤י מוֹשִֽׁיעֲךָ֙ מֵֽרָח֔וֹק וְאֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֖ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ שִׁבְיָ֑ם וְשָׁ֧ב יַעֲקֹ֛ב וְשָׁקַ֥ט וְשַׁאֲנַ֖ן וְאֵ֥ין מַחֲרִֽיד׃

English:

But you, Have no fear, My servant Jacob —declares GOD— Be not dismayed, O Israel! I will deliver you from far away, Your folk from their land of captivity. And Jacob shall again have calm And quiet with none to trouble him;

Do not fear, My servant Yaakov: God will save Israel from afar and its seed from the land of captivity, and Yaakov will return to quiet. Rashi reads it as reassurance amid Bavel's downfall. Radak explains 'your seed' as the little children, who will leave exile calmly with the adults rather than in flight. Metzudat David says that from then on no one will make Yaakov afraid. The lines recur in chapter 46.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ואתה אל תירא. מכל הרעות אשר תראה באה על בבל אשר אתה בתוכה: ושאנן. כמו ושקט:
And you, fear not Because of all the evils that you will see befalling Babylon in whose midst you are. and at ease like וְֹשָקֵט.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

כִּֽי־אִתְּךָ֥ אֲנִ֛י נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֖ה לְהֽוֹשִׁיעֶ֑ךָ כִּי֩ אֶעֱשֶׂ֨ה כָלָ֜ה בְּכׇֽל־הַגּוֹיִ֣ם ׀ אֲשֶׁ֧ר הֲפִצוֹתִ֣יךָ שָּׁ֗ם אַ֤ךְ אֹֽתְךָ֙ לֹֽא־אֶעֱשֶׂ֣ה כָלָ֔ה וְיִסַּרְתִּ֙יךָ֙ לַמִּשְׁפָּ֔ט וְנַקֵּ֖ה לֹ֥א אֲנַקֶּֽךָּ׃ {ס}         

English:

For I am with you to deliver you —declares GOD. I will make an end of all the nations Among which I have dispersed you; But I will not make an end of you! I will not leave you unpunished, But will chastise you in measure.

God will make a full end of the nations among which Israel is scattered, but not of Israel; still, He will chastise it in measure (ויסרתיך למשפט). Rashi glosses this as restrained judgment and reads 'nakeh' as total destruction. Radak explains that Israel is disciplined according to what it can bear rather than the full measure of anger, recalling the prayer of chapter 10, chastise me, but in measure.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ויסרתיך למשפט. בדין חסוך: ונקה לא אנקך. ל' טיאוט השמד:
but I will chasten you in measure according to the law of the Torah. and I will not completely destroy you an expression of a sweeping destruction.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

כִּ֣י כֹ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אָנ֣וּשׁ לְשִׁבְרֵ֑ךְ נַחְלָ֖ה מַכָּתֵֽךְ׃

English:

For thus said GOD: Your injury is incurable, Your wound severe;

The poem turns to an incurable wound: your fracture is grievous, your blow severe. Rashi gives a French gloss for the fracture. Metzudat David concedes that the wound truly was painful. Radak notes the feminine address to the community of Israel and connects the verse to what precedes and follows: though the injury is grave now, there is still hope, for those who harm Israel will themselves be struck.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אנוש לשברך נחלה. שברך אנפר"ש בלעז:
Your injury is painful, your wound grievous (Enfers in Old French).

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

אֵֽין־דָּ֥ן דִּינֵ֖ךְ לְמָז֑וֹר רְפֻא֥וֹת תְּעָלָ֖ה אֵ֥ין לָֽךְ׃

English:

No one pleads for the healing of your sickness, There is no remedy, no recovery for you.

No one pleads your cause; there is no remedy, no healing for you. Rashi explains that no one imagines Israel could be saved. Metzudat David pictures physicians who have despaired and therefore stop treating the patient altogether. Radak explains that the whole passage is a parable (משל), comparing the great calamities and the destruction of the land to a severe illness no one hopes to cure.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
למזור. רפואה אין אדם סבור שתהא לך תשועה: תעלה. רפואה לשון הועיל:
to be healed cure. No one thinks that you will have salvation. healing a cure, an expression of availing.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

כׇּל־מְאַהֲבַ֣יִךְ שְׁכֵח֔וּךְ אוֹתָ֖ךְ לֹ֣א יִדְרֹ֑שׁוּ כִּי֩ מַכַּ֨ת אוֹיֵ֤ב הִכִּיתִיךְ֙ מוּסַ֣ר אַכְזָרִ֔י עַ֚ל רֹ֣ב עֲוֺנֵ֔ךְ עָצְמ֖וּ חַטֹּאתָֽיִךְ׃

English:

All your lovers have forgotten you, They do not seek you out; For I have struck you as an enemy strikes, With cruel chastisement, Because your iniquity was so great And your sins so many.

All your lovers have forgotten you, for God struck you with the blow of an enemy, a cruel chastisement, because of your many sins. Radak identifies the lovers as Ashur and Mitzrayim, who could not even save themselves from Nevuchadnetzar, and cites his father's reading that, like visitors of a dying man, they despaired. Metzudat David stresses that the blow was not for nothing. Rashi glosses 'musar achzari' as cruel suffering.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
מוסר אכזרי. ייסורי אכזריות המוסר אכזרי הוא:
cruel chastisement chastisements of cruelty. The chastisement is cruel.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

מַה־תִּזְעַק֙ עַל־שִׁבְרֵ֔ךְ אָנ֖וּשׁ מַכְאֹבֵ֑ךְ עַ֣ל ׀ רֹ֣ב עֲוֺנֵ֗ךְ עָֽצְמוּ֙ חַטֹּאתַ֔יִךְ עָשִׂ֥יתִי אֵ֖לֶּה לָֽךְ׃

English:

Why cry out over your injury, That your wound is incurable? I did these things to you Because your iniquity was so great And your sins so many.

Why cry out over your fracture? God did these things because of the greatness of Israel's iniquity. Metzudat David reads it as a rebuke: there is no ground for complaint, since the blows were just recompense. Radak notes the shift to masculine address, speaking to the people rather than the community, and adds that even so, those who devour Israel will not go free, preparing for the reversal in the next verse.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

לָכֵ֞ן כׇּל־אֹכְלַ֙יִךְ֙ יֵאָכֵ֔לוּ וְכׇל־צָרַ֥יִךְ כֻּלָּ֖ם בַּשְּׁבִ֣י יֵלֵ֑כוּ וְהָי֤וּ שֹׁאסַ֙יִךְ֙ לִמְשִׁסָּ֔ה וְכׇל־בֹּזְזַ֖יִךְ אֶתֵּ֥ן לָבַֽז׃

English:

Assuredly, All who wanted to devour you shall be devoured, And every one of your foes shall go into captivity; Those who despoiled you shall be despoiled, And all who pillaged you I will give up to pillage.

The reversal: therefore all who devour you will be devoured, your foes will go into captivity, your plunderers be plundered. Rashi reads 'therefore' as an oath. Metzudat David explains that since God repays measure for measure, the destroyers will be destroyed in turn. Radak explains the repetition as emphasis and discusses the root of 'shosayich.' The word 'therefore,' usually introducing doom, here introduces deliverance.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
לכן. שבועה: שאסיך למשסה. לשון ביזה וכת"י ויהון עדיך לעדי:
Therefore This is an expression denoting an oath. those who plunder you an expression of spoil, and so did Jonathan render it: וִיהוֹן עָדַיִךְ לַעֲדִי.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

כִּי֩ אַעֲלֶ֨ה אֲרֻכָ֥ה לָ֛ךְ וּמִמַּכּוֹתַ֥יִךְ אֶרְפָּאֵ֖ךְ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֑ה כִּ֤י נִדָּחָה֙ קָ֣רְאוּ לָ֔ךְ צִיּ֣וֹן הִ֔יא דֹּרֵ֖שׁ אֵ֥ין לָֽהּ׃ {ס}         

English:

But I will bring healing to you And cure you of your wounds —declares GOD. Though they called you “Outcast, That Zion whom no one seeks out,”

God will bring healing and cure Israel's wounds, because they called her an outcast -- Zion, whom no one seeks. Rashi and Radak gloss 'arukhah' as healing, and Radak explains it is the nations who mock Zion as a city with no one to seek its restoration. Metzudat David says God Himself will seek her. Chazal derive from this verse the obligation of remembrances of the Temple (זכר למקדש).
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ארוכה. רפואה:
healing Heb. ארכה.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

כֹּ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה הִנְנִי־שָׁב֙ שְׁבוּת֙ אׇהֳלֵ֣י יַֽעֲק֔וֹב וּמִשְׁכְּנֹתָ֖יו אֲרַחֵ֑ם וְנִבְנְתָ֥ה עִיר֙ עַל־תִּלָּ֔הּ וְאַרְמ֖וֹן עַל־מִשְׁפָּט֥וֹ יֵשֵֽׁב׃

English:

Thus said GOD: I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents And have compassion upon his dwellings. The city shall be rebuilt on its mound, And the fortress in its proper place.

God will restore the tents of Yaakov; the city will be rebuilt on its mound and the palace stand in its place. Rashi identifies the palace (ארמון) as the Temple; Radak, following Targum Yonatan, includes both the royal palace and the Temple, and explains 'on its mound' as Jerusalem's height above the land. Metzudat David reads 'al mishpato' as rebuilt in the manner it once was.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וארמון. המקדש:
and the palace The Temple.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וְיָצָ֥א מֵהֶ֛ם תּוֹדָ֖ה וְק֣וֹל מְשַׂחֲקִ֑ים וְהִרְבִּתִים֙ וְלֹ֣א יִמְעָ֔טוּ וְהִכְבַּדְתִּ֖ים וְלֹ֥א יִצְעָֽרוּ׃

English:

From them shall issue thanksgiving And the sound of dancers. I will multiply them, And they shall not be few; I will make them honored, And they shall not be humbled.

From the restored tents will come thanksgiving and the sound of merrymakers; God will multiply and honor the people. Radak and Metzudat David explain the thanksgiving as gratitude for abundant good, and Metzudat David contrasts it with the dwindling population of exile in Bavel. Rashi glosses 'yitz'aru' as 'be diminished' and 'hikhbadtim' as becoming a numerous people, a meaning Radak also gives, citing the Targum.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
והכבדתים. שיהיו עם כבד: ולא יצערו. כמו ימעטו:
and I will increase them I will make them a numerous nation. and they shall not become few in number like יִמְעָטוּ.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וְהָי֤וּ בָנָיו֙ כְּקֶ֔דֶם וַעֲדָת֖וֹ לְפָנַ֣י תִּכּ֑וֹן וּפָ֣קַדְתִּ֔י עַ֖ל כׇּל־לֹחֲצָֽיו׃

English:

His children shall be as of old, And his community shall be established by My grace; And I will deal with all his oppressors.

Yaakov's children will be as of old, his congregation established before God, and God will punish all his oppressors. Metzudat David explains 'as of old' as beloved to God as in former days, and 'established before Me' as God watching over them to settle them in abundant good. The verse balances inner restoration -- the community renewed -- with outward justice against those who oppressed it during exile.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וְהָיָ֨ה אַדִּיר֜וֹ מִמֶּ֗נּוּ וּמֹֽשְׁלוֹ֙ מִקִּרְבּ֣וֹ יֵצֵ֔א וְהִקְרַבְתִּ֖יו וְנִגַּ֣שׁ אֵלָ֑י כִּי֩ מִ֨י הוּא־זֶ֜ה עָרַ֧ב אֶת־לִבּ֛וֹ לָגֶ֥שֶׁת אֵלַ֖י נְאֻם־יְהֹוָֽה׃

English:

His chieftain shall be one of his own, His ruler shall come from his midst; I will bring him near, that he may approach Me —declares GOD— For who would otherwise dare approach Me?

Israel's ruler will come from its own midst; God will draw him near. Radak explains that Israel will never again be ruled by foreigners or pay tribute. Metzudat David reads the closing question as God planting fear of heaven in the ruler, since none could draw near unaided. Rashi instead reads 'arav et libo' as pledging the heart, and the question as who would dare approach God to protest.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אדירו. שר שלו: ערב את לבו. לשון ערבון פרוויל"א הטינ"א בלע"ז: לגשת אלי. למלחמה למחות בידי:
their prince lit., his mighty one. pledged his heart an expression of a pledge (fermaille, aatine in French). to approach Me to war, to stop Me.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וִהְיִ֥יתֶם לִ֖י לְעָ֑ם וְאָ֣נֹכִ֔י אֶהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶ֖ם לֵאלֹהִֽים׃ {ס}         

English:

You shall be My people, And I will be your God.

The covenant formula seals the restoration: you shall be My people and I will be your God. Metzudat David explains that all will believe in God and be His people, and He will watch over them and do them good. The phrase echoes the covenant at Sinai and anticipates the new covenant of the next chapter, presenting the return as a renewal of the original relationship rather than a mere political recovery.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

הִנֵּ֣ה ׀ סַעֲרַ֣ת יְהֹוָ֗ה חֵמָה֙ יָֽצְאָ֔ה סַ֖עַר מִתְגּוֹרֵ֑ר עַ֛ל רֹ֥אשׁ רְשָׁעִ֖ים יָחֽוּל׃

English:

Lo, GOD’s storm goes forth in fury, A raging tempest; It shall whirl down upon the head of the wicked.

The storm of the LORD goes forth in fury, a whirling tempest upon the head of the wicked. Radak observes that the oracle repeats one from chapter 23, catalogs the slight differences and explains the repetition as reinforcement. Rashi reads the wicked as the idolatrous nations and 'mitgorer' as settling upon them. Metzudat David notes the past tense standing for the future, a tempest that will rest on the wicked.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
מתגורר. חונה ודר ל' ארץ מגורי ודוגמתו וסער מתחולל (לעיל כב) האמור במקרא האחר הוא זה ששניהם ל' חנייה: על ראש רשעים. על ראש עכו"ם:
settling storm camping and dwelling an expression of "the land of the sojournings of (מְגוּרֵי)" (Gen. 37:1), and a similar case is "and a whirling (מִתְחוֹלֵל) storm" (supra 23:19) stated in the other verse is the same as this for both of them are expressions of camping. on the head[s] of the wicked On the heads of the heathens.

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

לֹ֣א יָשׁ֗וּב חֲרוֹן֙ אַף־יְהֹוָ֔ה עַד־עֲשֹׂת֥וֹ וְעַד־הֲקִימ֖וֹ מְזִמּ֣וֹת לִבּ֑וֹ בְּאַחֲרִ֥ית הַיָּמִ֖ים תִּתְבּ֥וֹנְנוּ בָֽהּ׃

English:

The anger of GOD shall not turn back Till it has fulfilled and completed God’s purposes. In the days to come You shall perceive it.

God's anger will not turn back until He has fulfilled the purposes of His heart; in the end of days you will understand it. Metzudat David explains that even if fulfillment is delayed, those who witness it will understand that God did not retreat from His word. The closing phrase (באחרית הימים) returns to the command to write in verse 2: the scroll is meant for a future reader.

← Jeremiah 29 | Jeremiah 31 →

Back to Jeremiah | Back to Nach Yomi