יחזקאל, פרק ז׳, פסוק י״ג

The harsh reality of an inevitable exile strips everyday economic and social concerns of all their normal meaning. Buying and selling land, once a matter of great importance, loses its value when an entire nation is about to be uprooted. Under normal circumstances, a person who sells a field expects to return to it during the Jubilee year [רד״ק]. However, with the looming destruction, a seller will never again see the property he gave up, leaving him with no reason to mourn the loss of his wealth [רש״י, מצודת דוד]. Taking a different perspective, [מלבי״ם] suggests that the seller actually benefits from losing his property. By selling his land, he joins the lower class, which ironically increases his chances of being spared by the invading enemy. The poor are more likely to be left behind in the land, whereas the wealthy landowners face certain death.

Even if the exiles survive the initial destruction and live long lives, their survival offers little comfort. They will spend the rest of their days living as foreigners in a strange land, completely unable to ever return to their ancestral inheritance [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

The underlying cause of this devastating outcome is tied to the prophetic warnings given to the people. There are two primary ways to understand this decree. One approach explains that the prophecy of destruction directed at the masses is absolute and will never be reversed [מלבי״ם, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective views this as a reflection of the nation's deep stubbornness. Despite the prophets constantly warning the masses to repent, the people completely refused to turn back from their destructive path [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד].

This stubbornness stemmed from the fact that the people had become deeply entangled in their own wrongdoings. Because they were so attached to their sins, they could not find the inner courage to overcome their negative desires and return to a proper path [רש״י, רד״ק]. This spiritual weakness carried severe consequences across all areas of life. Because they could not strengthen themselves spiritually, they would also fail to find the physical strength needed to fight off their enemies in battle [מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, this moral failure meant they would lose any future right to reclaim their land [מצודת דוד], and ultimately, the sinners would simply not survive the crushing hardships of the exile [ביאור שטיינזלץ].