ישעיהו, פרק י״ד, פסוק י״ז

Onlookers witnessing the downfall of a once-feared tyrant stand in utter disbelief. They marvel at how a ruler who sowed such widespread destruction could be reduced to such a lowly state. During his reign, the king took the bustling, inhabited world and reduced it to an absolute wasteland, leaving it barren like a desert [רד״ק, מצודת ציון, אבן עזרא, מלבי״ם].

When reflecting on the ruined cities, a debate arises regarding whose settlements were actually destroyed. One perspective suggests that the king, driven by uncontrollable rage, destroyed his very own cities whenever his subjects dared to disobey his commands [מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא]. Others reject the notion that a ruler would ruin his own territory. Instead, they explain that the devastation was inflicted upon the cities of the broader world, or perhaps cities located within the desert regions [אבן עזרא, שד״ל].

The sheer cruelty of the tyrant was equally visible in his treatment of captives. The primary approach among commentators is that the king never released his prisoners to let them return to their homes [רש״י, מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ]. However, other scholars argue that merely denying prisoners the right to go home does not fully capture the depth of his cruelty. They maintain that the king never even opened the doors of the prison itself; anyone who entered his dungeons was doomed to remain there forever [רד״ק, אבן עזרא, שד״ל]. A unique perspective deepens this picture of brutality, noting that even when captives were securely locked inside the prison with no possibility of escape, the king still refused to unlock their personal chains [מלבי״ם].