ישעיהו, פרק ל״ג, פסוק י״ג

A public call is issued to recognize God's mighty actions, addressing two distinct groups: those who are far and those who are near. Although phrased as a command to listen and know, this is actually a prophecy about a guaranteed future event. It is a certainty that will eventually cause everyone together to witness what God has done [שד"ל].

The primary approach among commentators places this message against the historical backdrop of the downfall of Sennacherib and the Assyrian army. In this context, the distant group represents the inhabitants of faraway lands who will only hear the rumors of the army's collapse. The near group, on the other hand, consists of those physically present in the Assyrian camp. By witnessing the event firsthand, they will intimately recognize the power of God who struck them down, finally understanding that the Assyrian king did not achieve his conquests through his own strength as he had boasted [רד"ק, מצודת דוד]. Normally, rumors tend to exaggerate an event as they travel further from the source. However, the sheer magnitude of this miracle is so great that those who experience it up close will recognize its full, wondrous power just as deeply as those hearing about it from afar [מלבי"ם]. Another perspective identifies the nearby group specifically as the Israelites, who were miraculously saved from the siege of Jerusalem [אבן עזרא].

Moving beyond geography and history, other commentators interpret the concepts of distance and closeness in a spiritual sense, relating to the timeline of a person's relationship with God. The distant ones represent the completely righteous who have believed in God and followed His will since their youth, a distant time in the past. The near ones are those who have repented, having only recently drawn close to Him [רש"י]. A completely different approach views this as a direct address to the nations of the world rather than to the Israelites. Here, the distance and closeness refer to the timing of historical events. God urges the nations to reflect on the distant past, specifically the ancient events that happened to the Israelites. By studying these past events, the nations can understand the near future, recognizing the displays of power and the judgments that God is about to bring upon them [אברבנאל].