ישעיהו, פרק ל״א, פסוק ה׳

A powerful image from the natural world captures the intense and immediate way God defends Jerusalem from its enemies. He is compared to birds in flight, a metaphor that carries two main meanings. The first highlights maternal and natural protection. Just as birds hover over their nests to shield their young in times of danger, God will watch over the city [מלבי״ם, אבן עזרא, שד״ל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The second meaning emphasizes incredible speed, showing that God will rush to save Jerusalem as swiftly as a bird darts through the sky [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, אברבנאל].

This defense is an ongoing, continuous act of shielding and saving. The protection acts as a physical cover, much like a mother bird spreading her wings over her chicks to hide them and keep predators away [אבן עזרא, שד״ל, מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, this rescue will be entirely miraculous and supernatural. The people will not even need to make standard military preparations, as God Himself provides the ultimate defense [מלבי״ם].

The final stage of this salvation involves God passing over the city, an idea understood in two distinct ways. The primary approach among commentators is that this refers to a physical skipping, echoing how God passed over the homes of the Israelites during the Plague of the Firstborn in Egypt. When destruction strikes the Assyrian camp, it will leap entirely over Jerusalem, destroying only the enemy [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא]. Some connect this skipping directly back to the bird metaphor, picturing a bird hopping quickly from place to place to secure its young [שד״ל]. Alternatively, this passing over represents deep compassion, mercy, and pardon toward the people [רש״י, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Ultimately, the rescue is completed by actively pulling the people out of danger [רש״י, מצודת ציון, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. God will even reach directly into the enemy camp to snatch back the captives and spoils that the attackers have already seized [מלבי״ם].