ירמיהו, פרק מ״ט, פסוק כ״א

The total collapse of a proud nation does not happen in silence; it sends shockwaves that alter the global landscape. The destruction of Edom will be so massive and dramatic that its impact will ripple across the entire world. Like a heavy object plummeting from a great height and crashing with a deafening sound, Edom, a nation defined by its pride and arrogance, will experience a sudden downfall that will be heard from afar [רד״ק]. The resulting tremors felt across the earth are not necessarily physical shifts in the ground. Rather, they represent a deep anxiety that will grip other nations. As neighboring peoples hear of Edom's sudden ruin, they will tremble with fear, terrified that a similar fate might soon reach them [מצודת דוד].

Amidst this global shock, the broken and desperate cries of the Edomites will rise up and become a massive wail recognized around the world [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This profound cry is said to reach as far as the Red Sea, a detail that commentators explain in several distinct ways.

One approach views this as a poetic exaggeration meant to capture the sheer volume of their screaming. Even though a vast desert separates the land of Edom from the Red Sea, the sound of their destruction will be so intense that it will carry across the barren wasteland [רד״ק]. Another perspective suggests that the Red Sea represents a distant location close to the original homeland of the Edomites. In this light, the metaphor highlights how their cries of ruin will echo all the way back to their ancient place of origin [מצודת דוד]. Taking a more historical approach, the mention of the Red Sea serves as a reminder of the Exodus from Egypt. A great and bitter cry of this magnitude was only ever heard once before at the Red Sea, when God saved the Israelites and the drowning Egyptians cried out in their final moments [מלבי״ם].