ירמיהו, פרק מ״ו, פסוק ט״ו

A sudden, unexplained collapse of mighty warriors on the battlefield raises a profound rhetorical question, which is immediately met with a theological answer. Men of immense power, great heroes, and skilled horse riders are seen completely overwhelmed [מצודת ציון, שטיינזלץ]. Rather than suffering a standard military defeat, they are swept away as if by a violent force of nature. This sweeping action is compared to a heavy, driving rain that completely floods a field and washes away the earth [רש״י, מצודת ציון, רד״ק]. Alternatively, it is viewed as a severe storm violently snapping branches, leading to total destruction and loss [רש״י].

The narrative asks why these powerful individuals were so easily washed away, unable to hold their ground even within their fortified cities [מצודת דוד, מלבי״ם]. Even though the heroes were a vast group, they were swept away as single units, showing that the destruction was absolute and each warrior was targeted and fell individually [רד״ק].

The reason they could not hold their position is that they were not merely fighting another human army. God Himself fought against them. He personally crushed them, thrust them away with force [מצודת ציון], and decreed their ultimate downfall from heaven [מצודת דוד, רד״ק, שטיינזלץ, צאינה וראינה].

In contrast to this military interpretation, a midrashic tradition links this collapse to the events of the plagues in Egypt. In this view, the mighty ones represent either the Egyptian sorcerers or the spiritual guardian angel of the Egyptian nation, and the sweeping destruction refers specifically to the plague of leprosy [נחל שורק, חומת אנך, אהבת יהונתן]. Their inability to stand means that this severe illness clung to them relentlessly, never leaving them until the day they died. God struck them with this affliction as a direct punishment because they dared to deny His power to alter the very laws of nature [נחל שורק, חומת אנך, אהבת יהונתן].