זכריה, פרק א׳, פסוק ב׳

The destruction and the resulting exile left a deep scar on the nation. Prophecy seeks to give spiritual meaning to these difficult historical events and to shed light on the people's current situation. Although God speaks directly to the prophet, He addresses him as a representative of the entire nation, communicating as if speaking directly with all of Israel [אבן עזרא].

The primary approach among commentators is that the focus of God's anger rests on the generation that experienced the destruction of the First Temple [רש״י]. The prophet makes it clear that the loss of their city, the exile, and the destruction of the Temple were not historical accidents. Instead, they were the direct result of God's anger and a punishment for the people's sins [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל]. Before the disaster struck, God sent prophets, initiating attempts to encourage the people to repent and avoid the tragedy. Because they refused, hardship fell upon them. Furthermore, this serves as a reminder that even during the days of Cyrus, when the people experienced a partial redemption, God's anger remains present, showing that the state of exile has not fully come to an end [מלבי״ם].

A completely different approach shifts the target of the divine anger. In this view, God is not angry with the ancestors of Israel. Instead, His anger is directed at the nations of the world, such as Babylon and the kings of Persia, for what they did to the Israelites' ancestors. The fall of the Babylonian empire and the destruction of Nebuchadnezzar's descendants are not seen as random historical events. Rather, they are an expression of God's fury against the nations that oppressed and harmed Israel [אברבנאל].