Amalek and the Lawgiver

[15] Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi in the name of Rabbi Alexandri: One verse says, "You shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek" (Deuteronomy 25:19), and another verse says, "For I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek" (Exodus 17:14). How can these two verses be reconciled? Before he stretched out his hand against the Throne, "you shall blot out Amalek"; but once he stretched out his hand against the Throne, "I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek." But is it possible for flesh and blood to stretch out his hand against the Throne of the Holy One, blessed be He? Rather, it was because he was poised to destroy Jerusalem, of which it is written, "At that time they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of the LORD" (Jeremiah 3:17); therefore, "for I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven" (Exodus, ibid.).