Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people 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.
After these things were finished, the leaders came to me and said, 'The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding nations. They are following the disgusting practices of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites.'
The leaders are telling Ezra that God's people have been adopting the sinful religious practices of the pagan nations around them instead of staying faithful to God.
📚 Historical Context
This occurs after the Jewish exiles had returned from Babylon and rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. Ezra, a priest and scribe, had come from Babylon to teach God's law to the people. The concern was that intermarriage and adopting pagan worship practices would lead Israel away from God again, just as it had before their exile.
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