Ezra 9:11
What does Ezra 9:11 mean?
A plain-English look at Ezra 9:11 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Ezra 9:11 means
Ezra cites God’s command, given through His servants the prophets, that the land they entered was defiled by the abominations of its inhabitants. The point is spiritual and moral: the people of the land practiced things that polluted it before God. Israel was to regard the land as holy unto Jehovah and to purge themselves from influences that would draw them into idolatry and immorality. By recalling this, Ezra shows that the intermarriage issue is not cultural snobbery but obedience to revealed will. The prophets consistently called Israel to separation from the practices that had provoked God’s judgment on the land’s former inhabitants.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000which 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:
KJV
King James Version · 1611Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901which 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:
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Which you gave to your servants the prophets, saying, The land into which you are going, to take it for a heritage, is an unclean land, because of the evil lives of the peoples of the land and their disgusting ways, which have made the land unclean from end to end.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862that Thou hast commanded by the hands of thy servants the prophets, saying, The land into which ye are going to possess it, <FI>is<Fi> a land of impurity, by the impurity of the people of the lands, by their abominations with which they have filled it--from mouth unto mouth--by their uncleanness;
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Which thou hast commanded by the hand of thy servants the prophets, saying: The land which you go to possess, is an unclean land, according to the uncleanness of the people, and of other lands, with their abominations, who have filled it from mouth to mouth with their filth.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess [it], is an unclean land through the filthiness of the peoples of the lands, through their abominations with which they have filled it from one end to another through their uncleanness.
Context
Verse 11 spells out the authority behind Ezra’s concern: God’s word via the prophets. This clarifies that the current compromise contradicts longstanding revelation. It prepares for verse 12, which states the specific prohibitions and their purpose. The argument builds: God warned about the land’s moral uncleanness; therefore His people must not bind themselves in ways that would normalize or adopt such practices. The prayer tightens from principle to practical command.
v.10And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,
v.11This passage
v.12now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity for ever; that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Ezra 6:21
And 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,
- Ezekiel 36:25
And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
- 2 Chronicles 33:2
And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, after the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out before the children of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 18:12
For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah: and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 12:31
Thou shalt not do so unto Jehovah thy God: for every abomination to Jehovah, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods.