יחזקאל, פרק כ״ד, פסוק י״א

The final stage of Jerusalem's destruction and purification is portrayed through a harsh, piercing metaphor. After the inhabitants have suffered the devastating blows of the siege, the focus shifts from the people to the physical city itself. Jerusalem is envisioned as an empty pot placed over a raging fire to burn away its deeply rooted sins. God Himself sets this pot upon the hot coals [רד"ק, אברבנאל]. It is placed on the fire completely empty [מצודת ציון], symbolizing the grim reality of the city after the "stew" that once filled it—representing the warriors and residents—has already dried up, burned, and perished [מלבי"ם, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל].

The purpose of the fierce fire is to heat the pot to a state of absolute dryness and scorching [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. As the flames rise, the intense heat burns and blackens the copper bottom and edges of the vessel [מצודת ציון, רד"ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ, אברבנאל]. This scorching of the pot's foundation carries distinct meanings. While [מלבי"ם] views it as a symbol for the violent breaching of the city walls, [רד"ק] understands it as the absolute desolation of the entire land, leaving it scorched with salt and sulfur.

Ultimately, this extreme heat serves to melt away the city's impurity, targeting the disgusting filth that has stubbornly clung to the sides of the pot [מצודת דוד, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The goal is the total destruction of this grime. The heat is so intense that the filth is entirely consumed, with [רש"י] and [רד"ק] noting that it is actually absorbed directly into the copper shards of the pot itself. The primary approach among commentators is that this brutal process of melting and burning is a necessary step to cleanse the city of its crimes. Only by increasing the heat, removing the wicked, and leaving Jerusalem as a desolate wasteland stripped of its people, can the sins of the nation be fully scrubbed away and the wickedness of Judah be completely destroyed [מלבי"ם, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].