יחזקאל, פרק כ״ו, פסוק ט׳

The siege on the city escalates as the attacking army deploys an array of destructive weapons against its fortified defenses. The primary approach among commentators is that heavy siege engines are positioned directly against the city walls to deliver devastating blows [מצודת ציון, רד״ק]. These massive machines are designed to hurl giant stones with immense force, intended to completely shatter the fortifications [רש״י, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective suggests that these engines fire arrows to terrify the city's defenders, preventing them from mounting any resistance from atop the wall [רד״ק].

In contrast to this realistic depiction of siege warfare, another approach views the attack as a metaphor for how easily the city will fall. According to this idea, the enemy will not even need large catapult stones. Instead, they will simply take the shields that caught the defenders' own arrows and fire those exact weapons back to bring down the wall [מלבי״ם].

As the assault continues, the enemy forces turn their attention to breaking down and ruining the city's towers [מצודת ציון]. The attackers are described as using swords to achieve this, but commentators agree that these are not ordinary hand-held weapons. Rather, the description refers to heavy, iron tools of destruction specifically forged to smash through stone, or it represents the overall art of ruin that the invading army brings with it [רש״י, מצודת ציון, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. However, a metaphorical view is presented here as well. To highlight the sheer helplessness and vulnerability of the besieged city, this interpretation suggests that the enemy will easily tear down the massive stone towers using nothing more than standard swords, entirely bypassing the need for heavy battering rams [מלבי״ם].