יחזקאל, פרק ט״ז, פסוק ס״א

In the future, God will restore Jerusalem to its former standing and shower it with goodness. In the face of this ultimate kindness, the city will remember its past wrongdoings and feel a deep sense of shame, realizing that it once repaid God with evil while He now responds with boundless good [רש״י, מצודת דוד].

This profound shame will be triggered specifically when Jerusalem takes control of the surrounding regions, both larger and smaller than itself. Commentators offer different perspectives on the identity of these neighboring areas. One approach identifies the larger regions as Samaria and the smaller ones as Sodom [מלבי״ם, שטיינזלץ]. By having these places become subordinate to Jerusalem, they will serve as a constant, humbling reminder of the city's own past failures, ensuring it remembers that it sinned just as they did [מלבי״ם]. Another approach ties this expansion to the future gathering of exiles and the ultimate redemption, a time when the kingdom will be firmly centered in Judah. In this view, the larger region is Samaria, representing the tribe of Ephraim, while the smaller ones are the tribes of Benjamin and Simeon [רד״ק].

These surrounding cities and regions will be given to Jerusalem as dependents, functioning as suburbs and villages that are completely attached to the capital [רש״י, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון]. This expanded authority will even extend over nations that have no connection to the laws of Israel, such as Sodom [רד״ק].

Importantly, this future prosperity and expansion will not occur because Jerusalem successfully kept its covenant with God. Since the city previously broke its promises, this new era of blessing stems entirely from God's own mercy and His commitment to the covenant. The future relationship will not depend on the people's actions, but will be maintained solely by God [מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, a Midrashic tradition suggests that the new territories added to Jerusalem will not be drawn from the original ancestral lands promised to Abraham, but will instead be granted as an entirely new gift from God [רש״י, רד״ק].