Lo! The Sovereign LORD of HostsWill hew off the tree-crowns with an ax:The tall ones shall be felled,The lofty ones cut down: The thickets of the forest shall be hacked away with iron,And the Lebanon trees shall fall in their majesty.^-p But a shoot shall grow out of the stump of Jesse,A twig shall sprout from his stock.

Behold, the Lord of the world, the Lord of hosts, shall cast forth slaughter into his camp, as grapes that are trod in a wine-press: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the mighty shall be humbled. And He shall slay the mighty men of his camp, who are strong as iron. And those that make war upon the earth shall be cast down.

the thickets of the forests The prominent branches, symbolizing the heroes. and the Lebanon The thickness of his forest and his stately forest. They are the multitudes of his armies.

Rabbi Elazar says: Concerning any person who has arrogance within him, it is fitting to hew him down, as a tree designated for idolatry [asheira] is hewn down, as it is written here with regard to the arrogant: “And the high ones of stature shall be hewn down [gedu’im]” (Isaiah 10:33), and it is written there with regard to trees designated for idolatry: “And hew down [teggade’un] their trees worshipped as part of idolatrous rites [asheireihem]” (Deuteronomy 7:5).

One must not walk in an overly erect posture nor with excessive heaviness, heel to toe, rather as one going to his occupations. Likewise our sages, of blessed memory, said: "If one walks with an overly erect posture even for four cubits, it is as if he pushes against the feet of the Divine Presence" (Berachot 43b), and it is written: "and those of lofty height will be cut down" (Isaiah 10:33).

When Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai reached there, i.e., the Roman camp, he said: Greetings to you, the king; greetings to you, the king. Vespasian said to him: You are liable for two death penalties, one because I am not a king and yet you call me king, and furthermore, if I am a king, why didn’t you come to me until now? Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: As for what you said about yourself: I am not a king, in truth, you are a king, if not now, then in the future. As if you are not a king, Jerusalem will not be handed over into your hand, as it is written: “And the Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one” (Isaiah 10:34). And “mighty one” means only a king, as it is written: “And their mighty one shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them” (Jeremiah 30:21), indicating that “mighty one” parallels “ruler.” And “Lebanon” means only the Temple, as it is stated: “That good mountain and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25). And as for what you said with your second comment: If I am a king why didn’t you come to me until now, there are zealots among us who did not allow us to do this.

Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, his name is Ẓemaḥ. Rebbi Yudan, the son of Rebbi Aivu, said his name is Menaḥem. Ḥanina the son of Rebbi Abbahu said: they have no disagreement since the numerical value of one is the numerical value of the other: Ẓemaḥ is equal to Menaḥem. Since Rebbi Yudan the son of Rebbi Aivu said, it happened to a Jew who was plowing in the valley of Arbel that his ox was bellowing. An Arab passed by and heard the bellowing of the ox. He said to him: Jew, Jew, unharness your ox, unharness your plow because the Temple was destroyed. The ox bellowed a second time. He said: Jew, Jew, harness your ox, fix your plow because King Messiah has been born. He said to him: What is his name? Menaḥem. He said to him: What is his father’s name? Ḥizqiah. He said to him: Where is he? He said to him: At the king’s palace in Bethlehem in Judea. He went and sold his ox and plow and made himself a vendor of baby linens. He went to towns and left towns until he came to that town. All the women bought from him but the mother of Menaḥem did not buy. He heard the women say: Menaḥem’s mother, Menaḥem’s mother, come and buy for your son! She said: I would rather strangle him like a hater of Israel because he was born on the day the Temple was destroyed. He said to her: I like him, because for him it was destroyed and for him it will be rebuilt. She said to him, I have no money. He said to her, that does not bother me, come and buy for him! If you have nothing with you today, I shall return another day and I will take it then. After some time he went up to that town and said to her: How is your baby doing? She said to him: After you had seen me there came storms and raised him and tore him from my hands. Rebbi Abun said: We do not need to learn from that Arab, is it not a full verse (Is. 10:35): “The Lebanon will fall through a noble one”? And the next verse is (11:1) “A sprout will come from the stem of Jesse.”

And a king shall come forth from the sons of Jesse, and from his children's children the Messiah shall be anointed.