תהלים, פרק י״ח, פסוק מ״ו

The absolute downfall of foreign enemies goes far beyond a simple military defeat; it becomes a total physical and mental collapse. Even the most highly protected spaces fail to offer them shelter from overwhelming terror and exhaustion. The primary approach among commentators describes this collapse as a process of withering and drying up, much like a fading leaf that slowly loses its strength. However, other scholars view this decline differently. Some interpret it as a state of intense fatigue and weariness [רש"י, אבן עזרא, מלבי"ם], while others describe it as extreme confusion and panic [מאירי], or as deep agony and pain [מצודת דוד]. According to one perspective, this process of destruction unfolds in stages. First, the foreign enemies are completely wiped out, and only afterward do other nations emerge from the confined places where they were previously held [אלשיך].

As these enemies face their end, their reaction is understood in two distinct ways. One approach focuses on overwhelming terror, mortal fear, and a sudden loss of physical strength [רש"י, רד"ק, אבן עזרא, מאירי]. Gripped by this fear, the enemies tremble before God even while hiding deep inside their palaces, fortresses, and secure rooms, or they are forced to flee their shelters in panic [רד"ק, אבן עזרא, מאירי, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. A contrasting perspective describes the enemies as physically limping rather than merely trembling [רש"י, מצודת ציון, מלבי"ם]. In this view, their limping is the direct result of being bound in iron chains and enduring the harsh torment of the prisons where they are held captive [רש"י, מצודת דוד].

A final interpretation bridges the concepts of exhaustion and physical disability. It illustrates a scene where the enemies finally emerge from their distant, locked confines. As they make the long journey to surrender and submit to the victor, they are forced to limp forward, completely drained by sheer fatigue [מלבי"ם].