יחזקאל, פרק כ״א, פסוק ל״ד

A harsh prophecy of destruction shatters the Ammonites' illusion of safety, revealing a devastating defeat that mirrors the fate of the wicked among the Israelites. The Ammonites placed their trust in false prophets, diviners, and stargazers [מצודת ציון]. The primary approach among commentators is that these diviners misled the people with empty promises, assuring them that the sword of the Babylonian king would never reach their borders and that they would remain completely unharmed [רש"י, מצודת דוד, רד"ק, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, an alternative perspective connects these false visions to the murder of Gedaliah. In this view, the deception was a promise that the Ammonites' own weapons were primed to easily and deceitfully slaughter the remaining survivors of the Israelites without a war [מלבי"ם].

Ultimately, these deceitful promises sealed the doom of the Ammonites. The false prophecies blinded them, leading them to willingly offer their own necks to the slaughter [רש"י]. Their destiny is tied directly to the slain wicked who have already fallen. God decreed that the Ammonites would fall and be killed alongside the sinners of the Israelites who previously met the same violent end [רש"י, מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, רד"ק, אברבנאל].

The arrival of their punishment is compared to the setting of the sun, symbolizing the fading of their success and the dawn of their disaster [מצודת ציון, מצודת דוד, רש"י, אברבנאל]. This day of ruin finally came because their sins had reached their absolute limit. Their wickedness filled its measure entirely, triggering their complete and final destruction [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל, ביאור שטיינזלץ].