יחזקאל, פרק כ״ב, פסוק א׳

Earlier visions painted a dramatic scene: the king of Babylon standing at a crossroads, guided by a divine decree to march upon Jerusalem rather than the Ammonite capital. This raises a natural question. Were the Ammonites somehow more righteous than the Israelites, and why did the sword of destruction point toward Jerusalem first? [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל]

To answer this, God delivers a new message to the prophet meant to expose the heavy weight of Jerusalem's sins, explaining exactly why divine anger targeted the city before any other [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל]. The judgment presented does not merely focus on the idolatry condemned in the past. Instead, it uncovers a deep, pervasive moral and social rot [אברבנאל].

The core of the city's guilt lay in blatant bloodshed. Murderers typically hide their crimes, striking in secret or in empty fields. In Jerusalem, however, lives were taken openly and publicly within the city walls, until the streets themselves were filled with blood [צאינה וראינה]. Alongside this violence, the society had plunged into a profound moral collapse. Leaders used their power for brutality. The people showed contempt for their parents and ruthlessly oppressed the most vulnerable among them, including converts, orphans, and widows. Destructive gossip circulated freely, directly leading to even more murder. The community was further stained by sexual immorality and the deliberate desecration of the Sabbath and holy objects [אברבנאל].

Ultimately, the prophecy reveals a society that had completely turned to waste. The corruption was so absolute that not even a handful of righteous individuals remained to shield the city from its fast-approaching ruin [מלבי״ם].