The generation of the Flood was destroyed by the very thing they worshipped. The Mekhilta draws a chilling connection between their sin and their punishment through a play on Hebrew words.
The men of that generation "set their eyes" — the Hebrew "eineihem" implies lustful gazing — upon women below them, seeking to satisfy their desires without restraint. They used their eyes as instruments of corruption, turning the gift of sight into a weapon of predatory lust.
God responded with devastating precision. He opened "mayanot" — springs and fountains — from above and below to destroy them. The word "mayanot" echoes "eineihem." They abused their eyes, so God unleashed the waters with a name that mirrored their sin.
As it is written (Genesis 7:11): "On this day, all the fountains of the great deep burst, and the windows of heaven were opened." The Flood did not come from one direction alone. It erupted from beneath the earth and poured down from the sky simultaneously — a total, inescapable deluge.
The Mekhilta uses this wordplay to teach a broader principle of divine justice: the punishment always fits the crime. God does not strike arbitrarily. The measure a person uses is the measure used against them. The generation that corrupted their vision was consumed by the very element whose name echoed their corruption — water from every direction, matching the eyes that looked in every forbidden direction.