Ezra 6:21
What does Ezra 6:21 mean?
A plain-English look at Ezra 6:21 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Ezra 6:21 means
Those who ate the Passover include the returned exiles and all who had separated themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel. The feast is not ethnically narrow but spiritually defined: participation belongs to those who renounce defilement and pursue the Lord. This shows a community gathered by repentance and faithfulness, not merely by ancestry. The restored temple becomes the center for a purified people committed to seek God together, marking a hopeful contrast to the compromises that had led to exile.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000And the children of Israel that were come again out of the captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, did eat,
KJV
King James Version · 1611And the children of Israel, which were come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the Lord God of Israel, did eat,
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901And the children of Israel that were come again out of the captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, did eat,
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949And the children of Israel, who had come back, and all those who were joined to them, after separating themselves from the evil ways of the people of the land to become the servants of the Lord, the God of Israel, took food together,
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And the sons of Israel, those returning from the captivity, and every one who is separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the land unto them, to seek to Jehovah, God of Israel, do eat,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752And the children of Israel that were returned from captivity, and all that had separated themselves from the filthiness of the nations of the earth to them, to seek the Lord the God of Israel, did eat.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890And the children of Israel that were come back out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves to them from the filthiness of the nations of the land, to seek Jehovah theGod of Israel, did eat;
Context
After describing purified ministers, the text names the worshipers: the repentant and the seeking. This emphasizes holiness and inclusion of genuine converts or returnees aligned with Israel’s God. The next verse (22) will report the joy of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread and attribute that joy to Jehovah’s action in turning the king’s heart. The flow from purity to joy shows the moral and spiritual renewal that the rebuilt temple facilitates among the people.
v.20For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure: and they killed the passover for all the children of the captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.
v.21This passage
v.22and kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for Jehovah had made them joyful, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Numbers 9:10
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your generations shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be on a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto Jehovah.
- Ezra 9:11
which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land through the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their filthiness:
- Isaiah 52:11
Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; cleanse yourselves, ye that bear the vessels of Jehovah.
- 2 Corinthians 6:17
Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you,
- Exodus 12:47
All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
- Ezra 9:1
Now when these things were done, the princes drew near unto me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.