God's divine plan involves a decisive and crushing blow against the Assyrian empire, strategically executed within the borders of the Land of Israel. This action represents the direct fulfillment of His calculated design [רש״י, מצודת דוד, שד״ל]. The specific choice to confront Assyria on the mountains of Israel points directly to Jerusalem and its surrounding peaks, where the Assyrian camp was ultimately defeated by an angel of God [רד״ק, אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד]. The enemy is completely trampled and ground down [רש״י, מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This public, overwhelming defeat serves a greater purpose. It shows all other nations that God Himself orchestrated the victory, firmly deterring any future attempts to wage war against Israel [מלבי״ם].
The immediate outcome of this downfall is liberation from intense oppression. Commentators offer different perspectives on what precisely is freed from this heavy weight. One approach suggests the relief is granted to the land and the mountains themselves, which were previously suffocated by the enemy's presence [אבן עזרא, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Another perspective argues that the freedom applies directly to the people of Israel. Although the nation is not named directly, it is naturally implied by the mention of the land. The shift from describing the oppressed as a plural group to a singular entity represents the entire nation experiencing relief as one unified body [שד״ל].
The suffering imposed by the Assyrian king is illustrated through two distinct concepts: a yoke and a burden. The yoke draws from agricultural imagery, much like the wooden frame placed on a cow's neck to force it to plow. It represents the harsh realities of occupation, forced labor, and heavy taxation [מצודת ציון, רד״ק]. The burden represents the crushing physical load placed directly upon the shoulders of the people [מצודת ציון, ביאור שטיינזלץ].
The order in which these hardships are removed reveals a profound insight into the nature of this salvation. In a typical human rebellion, the process begins from the bottom up. The oppressed first refuse to carry the burden by withholding their labor and taxes, and only later manage to overthrow the overarching yoke of the occupying power. However, because this rescue comes directly from God, the process is entirely reversed. God first shatters the overarching yoke by destroying the Assyrian camp. Once the occupying force is eliminated by His hand, the physical burdens and heavy loads simply fall away on their own, requiring no struggle or effort from the people [מלבי״ם].