ישעיהו, פרק מ״ז, פסוק ב׳

A mighty and delicate empire is suddenly transformed into a despised slave. Babylon is pictured as a spoiled royal daughter who has lost all her wealth and dignity, now forced to perform the lowest, most menial tasks as she is led into exile.

Her new reality begins with hard, humiliating labor, typical of prisoners in dungeons [רד״ק, אברבנאל]. She must submit to the kings of Media and Persia, working the millstones to prepare provisions for the long road of exile ahead [רש״י]. Alternatively, this grueling work is simply her only way to find a bit of food after losing all her riches [מלבי״ם]. She is put to work grinding raw wheat, which is already referred to by its final, crushed result of flour, highlighting the ultimate product of her heavy labor [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד].

From this physical toil, her public humiliation deepens. As a noblewoman, she once wore a delicate veil to cover her face or hide her braided hair. Stripping away this covering to expose her face and hair is a profound disgrace, marking her as a lowly, captive slave [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל, שטיינזלץ, שד״ל]. Other perspectives suggest this unbinding refers to untying the knots of her fancy garments so she can perform physical labor [מלבי״ם], or exposing her arms and legs which were previously kept modestly wrapped and covered [רש״י].

As she walks the path of exile, she must expose herself even further. She is forced to bare the soles of her feet to walk the harsh roads [רד״ק, מצודת ציון, אברבנאל, מלבי״ם]. Another view notes that as a wealthy woman, she once wore long skirts that trailed on the ground, but now she must lift those elegant hems just to be able to march [שד״ל, שטיינזלץ]. This descent into disgrace reaches its peak when she encounters water. The soft, refined woman who always kept her legs covered is now forced to hike up her clothes, bare her thighs, and wade barefoot through flowing rivers, suffering the exact fate of common exiles and prisoners of war [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל, מלבי״ם].