עמוס, פרק ד׳, פסוק ח׳

A severe and highly localized drought strikes the land, creating desperate conditions where rain falls in some areas but completely bypasses others. This uneven rainfall triggers a mass migration as people frantically search for any available water source. Residents from two or three neighboring cities, parched and suffering from the intense dryness, are forced to abandon their homes and wander [מצודת ציון]. They travel together toward a single city that was fortunate enough to receive rain, hoping to find enough water to survive [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

However, even after reaching their destination, the desperate travelers cannot quench their thirst [אבן עזרא]. The primary approach among commentators is that the single rainy city simply does not hold enough water to satisfy the needs of so many sudden refugees [מצודת דוד]. Expanding on this, a harsh social reality emerges: the local residents, realizing their limited supply cannot support three additional cities, refuse to share their water [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Alternatively, a physiological explanation suggests that a curse enters the bodies of the wanderers, ensuring that even the water they do manage to drink brings them no physical relief [מלבי״ם].

Ultimately, these devastating shortages of food and water are not random hardships. They are deliberate punishments meant to serve as wake-up calls to inspire repentance. Yet, despite the severity of the crisis, the people refuse to learn from their suffering and stubbornly decline to return to God [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].