In this vision, Ezekiel was shown how God saw His people’s spiritual state and what He would do about it.
It would be so easy to be caught up in the judgements against Israel, and see an unjust God without mercy, but Ezekiel notes in this vision that some would be spared.
After calling for the men appointed to punish the city (the is a prophetic vision – there were no literal men at this stage), God instructed one of them to:
Ezekiel 9:4Walk through the streets of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of all who weep and sigh because of the detestable sins being committed in their city.
The other men were then told to:
Ezekiel 9:5-6 Follow him through the city and kill everyone whose forehead is not marked. Show no mercy; have no pity! Kill them all—old and young, girls and women and little children. But do not touch anyone with the mark. Begin right here at the Temple.
That Bible blog 