יחזקאל, פרק ט׳, פסוק ה׳

A severe and uncompromising divine decree echoes through the prophetic vision, drawing an absolute line between the righteous and the guilty in Jerusalem. God issues a harsh judgment against the sinful residents, directing His command toward six destroyers armed with deadly weapons. The prophet hears God explicitly order this group to follow behind the man dressed in linen. While the linen-clad man is tasked with marking the righteous who are to be spared, the destroyers are given a grim mandate: they must strike down and kill every remaining inhabitant of the city who does not bear the protective mark.

This vision carries a profound historical and symbolic weight. The armed destroyers represent the leaders of the city who were granted divine permission to carry out violence within Jerusalem, reflecting the tragic reality of civil war and internal slaughter that plagued the city during its siege. In this context, the protective mark corresponds directly to the prophet Jeremiah's urgent plea for the people to surrender to the Chaldeans. Those who heeded his warning and surrendered survived the devastating siege, while the rest were ultimately doomed to destruction [מלבי״ם].

The divine instruction to show no pity carries a dual meaning, rooted in the different ways the command was traditionally recorded and read. On a basic level, it serves as a simple, direct warning from God to withhold all mercy from the condemned. Yet, a deeper layer of severity reveals that the destroyers are commanded to strike down even those individuals who would naturally evoke compassion. If even the most vulnerable are not to be spared, it is certain that the rest of the population must face the same fate [רד״ק]. Furthermore, the command is directed at the destroyers not merely as individuals, but as a single, collective entity, emphasizing the unified and absolute nature of their grim mission [רד״ק, מנחת שי].