ישעיהו, פרק כ״ח, פסוק י״א

A prophet's message of spiritual guidance often meets a solid wall of alienation. Instead of penetrating the hearts of the listeners, the words bounce off, distorted by the very people they are meant to heal. The primary approach among commentators is that the people process the prophecy in a completely warped manner. When the prophet speaks, his words sound to them like a mocked language—clumsy, backward, and crooked to the ear [רש״י, מצודת ציון]. They hear him as a stutterer struggling to form a coherent thought [מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, his warnings sound like a completely foreign tongue, as alien to them as the language of the Romans would be to the Persians [מלבי״ם]. Even though the prophet speaks in a pure and refined manner, his message remains entirely meaningless in their eyes [מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

This breakdown in communication does not come from a real language barrier, but from intentional stubbornness. The people actively pretend not to understand the prophecy [רד״ק]. When the prophet tries to teach them commandments, they complain that his words are strange and twisted, simply because they have no desire to absorb the message [צאינה וראינה]. As a result, they only pick up on fragmented, shallow pieces of the instruction, while the core rebuke and the fear of God never actually reach their hearts [שד״ל].

Other perspectives offer a completely different angle, shifting the focus from the people's stubbornness to either an educational method or a divine consequence. One approach views this dynamic as an instruction for the prophet himself. Just as a teacher of young children simplifies their vocabulary and replaces difficult words with easier ones suited to the children's age, the prophet must adapt his message to match the low spiritual level of the people [אבן עזרא].

Another perspective frames this as a form of divine punishment. Since the people refused to listen to standard rebuke, God will change His relationship with them and speak in a different language. He will stop guiding them with pleasantness and instead deal with them through strict judgment and severe consequences. Alternatively, this means God will send enemies from a distant land who speak an actual foreign language that the people truly will not understand [שד״ל].