A piercing theological question arises when observing a world where the wicked rule without limits. It appears as though God has hidden His face, leaving humanity abandoned to a cruel fate. Humans, the very beings for whom the world was created, seem to have lost their elevated status, reduced to meaningless creatures left entirely to chance.
To capture this tragedy, the state of humanity is likened to two types of helpless animals. First, people are compared to fish in the sea. The primary approach among commentators is that this imagery expresses a state of complete vulnerability and chaos. Just as fish swim without laws and can be caught by anyone without restriction, human lives are left unprotected. This aquatic world reflects a brutal reality where the large simply swallow the small, and according to one perspective, it highlights a state of existence stripped of intellect and logic [אבן עזרא]. The great, wicked hunter casting his net over these defenseless people is identified as Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. He captures nations with ease and without facing any real resistance, treating human beings like unclaimed fish [רש״י, רד״ק, אברבנאל].
The imagery then escalates, comparing humanity to small, short-legged creeping things [מצודת ציון]. While both fish and creeping creatures represent a state of being entirely forsaken, the creeping things illustrate an even deeper level of vulnerability. Fish at least enjoy the natural cover of the ocean depths, and catching them requires tactics, tools, and effort. In contrast, creeping things live exposed on dry land, where anyone can simply gather them up without the slightest exertion [מלבי״ם].
Such a helpless reality can only exist in a world that feels devoid of a ruler. There appears to be no leader or higher power stepping in to stop the hunter from claiming his prey [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Because he faces no divine intervention, the wicked hunter begins to believe that his triumphs are entirely the result of his own might. Blind to the truth that all power originates from God, he is emboldened to continue his merciless campaign of destruction and slaughter across the nations [אברבנאל].