עמוס, פרק ה׳, פסוק ג׳

The prophecy of destruction paints a grim picture of extreme population decline for the Kingdom of Israel, revealing exactly why the nation will be completely unable to rebuild itself. The blow to the people is so severe that natural recovery becomes impossible, leaving the nation fractured and near total annihilation.

The impending devastation is expressed by personifying the cities themselves, describing them as taking action when referring to their inhabitants [רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. There are different ways to understand the nature of the population being measured. One approach views the numbers simply as the total population, referring to a city that holds a thousand residents [רש״י, שטיינזלץ]. Alternatively, the focus is specifically on the military force, describing a thousand men marching out of the city gates to wage war [אבן עזרא, רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

Regardless of how the population is counted, the outcome is catastrophic. Out of a thousand people, only one hundred will survive. This exact ratio applies to smaller towns as well, where a group of one hundred will be reduced to a mere ten. With nine-tenths of the population wiped out by sword, famine, and plague, the surviving tenth faces eventual exile [רד״ק, מלבי״ם]. Because these few survivors are left within the town, the city itself is described as the entity that leaves them behind [רד״ק].

This staggering loss of human life, leaving only a tenth of the original strength, clarifies why the kingdom will never be able to rise again on its own [אבן עזרא, מלבי״ם]. It demonstrates that even while the Israelites were still living on their own land, they were essentially abandoned and on the brink of complete destruction [אברבנאל]. Ultimately, this harsh reality is directed specifically at the cities belonging to the House of Israel [מצודת דוד].