יחזקאל, פרק ט׳, פסוק ז׳

Divine judgment begins in the most sacred of spaces, bringing a shocking suspension of the standard laws regarding purity and contamination. God commands the destroyers to leave the slain exactly where they fall, filling the area with bodies without any concern for defiling the Temple [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This severe instruction operates on the principle of measure for measure. Because the people had already contaminated the sanctuary through idol worship, it is now deemed acceptable to defile it with their corpses [רד״ק]. The destruction covers the entire Temple complex, extending through the courtyards of both the men and the women, as well as the broader Temple Mount [רד״ק].

Once the devastation within the sacred grounds is complete, the punishment moves along a clear path from the inside out. Only after striking down the people within the Temple complex do the destroyers proceed into the rest of the city [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This specific outward movement mirrors the social reality of the era. The initial rebellion took root around the Temple itself, and as a result, the mutual slaughter ignites within those very courtyards before spilling out into the wider city, where the people ultimately turn on one another [מלבי״ם].