מיכה, פרק א׳, פסוק ו׳

The total collapse of a bustling capital city and its transformation into simple farmland serves as the ultimate divine punishment for leading the people into sin [מצודת דוד]. God declares that He Himself is the author of this destruction, though the physical demolition of the city walls and buildings will be carried out by the king of Assyria, acting as an agent of divine providence [רד״ק, אבן עזרא].

The prophetic vision outlines a gradual but absolute process of ruin. First, the once populated city will be reduced to mere mounds of rubble. The ruined homes will resemble a field scattered with piles of stones that no one bothers to clear away [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד], the result of deep and thorough destruction [אבן עזרא].

Following this initial devastation, the site will be repurposed for planting vineyards. Because Samaria was built on a mountain, its topography makes it an ideal location for growing vines [רד״ק, מצודת דוד]. This agricultural takeover ensures that the city will never be rebuilt or inhabited again [אבן עזרא]. As farmers arrive to prepare the soil for their new vineyards, they will need to clear the debris [מלבי״ם]. They will take the stones from the shattered walls and buildings and send them tumbling down the mountainside into the valley below, pouring them out much like a rush of spilling water [רש״י, מצודת ציון, רד״ק, מלבי״ם, שטיינזלץ].

The destruction will ultimately reach its peak by going far below the surface. The ruin will not stop at the fallen walls but will tear up and expose the hidden foundations buried deep within the earth [מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ]. This final act of uprooting will be carried out by the farmers themselves as they remove every last stone to make room for their vines [מלבי״ם]. By the end of this process, the landscape will be so completely altered that the original site of the city will be entirely unrecognizable [אבן עזרא].