The final prophecy of destruction seals the fate of a once-great empire, transforming its downfall into a lasting song of mourning. The very essence of the message is a lament, intended to be cried out aloud with wailing when the time of ruin arrives [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
The identity of those who will raise their voices in this sorrowful song carries several layers of meaning. On a practical level, the task falls to women from foreign lands, as leading public mourning was traditionally a role held by women [רד״ק]. Alternatively, the mourners represent entire foreign communities and nations, much like the poetic phrase "Daughter of Zion" refers to a whole population. In this sense, the nations of the world will collectively grieve the empire's collapse [רד״ק, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective suggests the mourning will echo specifically through the residents of the villages and surrounding suburbs of those foreign nations [רד״ק].
This tragic song is uniquely crafted for Egypt and its vast population. Because it references specific features like Egypt's famous rivers, the lament is exclusive to this empire and cannot be applied to the ruin of any other country [מצודת דוד].
Beneath the surface of the mourning lies a deeper, gradual process of collapse that unfolds in three distinct stages [מלבי״ם]. The tragedy begins with an initial defeat of Egyptian forces outside their own borders, an event mourned directly by the Egyptians themselves. As the conflict deepens into the second stage, the enemy invades the Egyptian homeland, bringing down not only Egypt but also the various nations that allied with it. At this point, the grief spreads, and the lament is taken up by the surrounding nations of the world. Finally, the third stage brings total devastation, reducing the entire country to a desolate wasteland. The destruction is so absolute that not a single Egyptian remains to weep for their own land, leaving only the foreign nations to mourn the complete erasure of the empire.