Ezra 6:21

21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and ¹also by every one who had joined them and separated himself ²from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.

Ezra 6:21 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 6:21

And the children of Israel, which were come again out of
captivity
The tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with some of the ten tribes mixed with them:

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;
such of the Gentiles in the dominions of Babylon, and came with the Jews from thence, who were enlightened into the knowledge and worship of the true God, and not only renounced their idolatry, here called filthiness, but were circumcised, and embraced the religion of the Jews, and so were proselytes of righteousness, as they call them; or otherwise they would not have been allowed to eat of the passover, as they did, ( Exodus 12:48 ) .

Ezra 6:21 In-Context

19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the returned exiles kept the Passover.

20 For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.

21 It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.

22 And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the LORD had made them joyful and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, so that he aided them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.

Cross References

• 1. Nehemiah 9:2; Nehemiah 10:28; [Ezra 9:1]
• 2. Ezra 9:11