מלכים ב, פרק כ״א, פסוק י״ג

A severe prophecy of ruin hangs over Jerusalem, conveyed through vivid imagery drawn from the worlds of construction and daily life. God decrees a harsh judgment and total destruction upon the city, mirroring the ruin that previously struck the kingdom of Israel and its sinful leaders. The judgment begins with concepts borrowed from a builder's trade, specifically the use of a measuring rope or string [מצודת ציון, רש״י]. The primary approach among commentators is that just as a builder stretches a line to measure and straighten a structure, God stretches a line of destruction over Jerusalem. This ensures He brings upon the city the exact same measure of ruin that He brought upon Samaria [רד״ק, אברבנאל, מצודת דוד, רלב״ג]. Furthermore, this line serves to carefully measure the city's sins so that the punishment fits the crimes perfectly [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Alongside the measuring string is a plumb line, a cord with a lead weight tied to the end, used by builders to align the height of a wall [רש״י, מצודת דוד, רלב״ג]. Here, it serves as a symbol of the absolute destruction that was once decreed upon the house of Ahab, which is now decreed upon Jerusalem. One unique approach draws a distinction between these two tools. While the measuring line maps out the length and width of the physical destruction on the ground, the plumb line measures the height. This symbolizes the destruction of the house of Ahab from high above, representing the permanent loss of their portion in the World to Come [מלבי״ם].

Following the builder's tools, the imagery shifts to the everyday act of dealing with a bowl or cooking pot [רד״ק, מצודת ציון]. The primary approach among commentators is that this depicts a person wiping a bowl entirely clean of any leftover food, and then turning it upside down so it will not gather dirt again [רד״ק, אברבנאל, מצודת דוד]. This paints a picture of a two-stage process of destruction. First, Jerusalem will be wiped completely empty of its residents, who will be sent into exile. Afterward, the city itself will be overturned and destroyed down to its very foundations, ensuring no one can settle there again [רד״ק, אברבנאל, מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. Alternatively, another perspective suggests that the action described actually implies a forceful strike. In this view, the image is of someone striking a full bowl with such violent force that it flips over, spilling its contents and leaving absolutely nothing inside [רלב״ג].