ירמיהו, פרק כ״א, פסוק ד׳

A harsh prophetic message shatters the people's hopes for salvation. Instead of the enemy retreating from the walls of the besieged city, God reveals that Jerusalem's defenses will completely collapse and turn inward.

The declaration that the weapons of war will be turned around carries several layers of meaning, ranging from the physical to the spiritual. On a practical level, the weapons held by Jerusalem's defenders will lose their effectiveness against the outside threat and instead work against the defenders themselves [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The situation will become so desperate that it will feel as though their arms have been handed directly to the enemy, leaving the fighters entirely powerless to strike back [רד״ק].

Beyond a loss of military power, this turning of weapons points to a tragic civil conflict within the city walls. As severe famine grips the population, desperate residents will launch an internal rebellion, demanding to surrender to the Chaldeans. Consequently, the city's warriors will be forced to draw their swords and fight against their own people [מלבי״ם].

Alongside these physical and social breakdowns, the city will experience a profound spiritual collapse. A separate tradition views the weapons of war as mystical defenses. The wise men of Jerusalem relied on their ability to invoke the upper angels in charge of disasters, believing this spiritual knowledge would save them. To counter this, God will switch the responsibilities of these heavenly forces with one another. This divine reshuffling will thoroughly confuse the people, leaving them with no idea which angel to call upon for protection [רש״י, חומת אנך].

The prophecy concludes with a chilling promise to gather the threat directly into the center of the city. This gathering can be understood as the final breach of the walls, where God will bring the besieging Chaldean army right into the heart of Jerusalem [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Alternatively, what God brings into the city are His own weapons of war. Rather than an invading army, this divine arsenal will take the form of a devastating plague, brought upon the inhabitants by the Angel of Death [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ].