OET interlinear EZRA 6:21

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וַ⁠יֹּאכְל֣וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל

and,ate sons_of Yisrael

Sons here means descendants. The book is envisioning all of the Israelites as descendants of the patriarch Jacob, who was also known as Israel. Alternate translation: “And the Israelites ate”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

וַ⁠יֹּאכְל֣וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל

and,ate sons_of Yisrael

Here the book leaves out some of the words that a sentence would ordinarily need in order to be complete. Alternate translation: “And the Israelites ate the Passover meal”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

וְ⁠כֹ֗ל הַ⁠נִּבְדָּ֛ל מִ⁠טֻּמְאַ֥ת גּוֹיֵֽ־הָ⁠אָ֖רֶץ אֲלֵ⁠הֶ֑ם לִ⁠דְרֹ֕שׁ לַֽ⁠יהוָ֖ה

and=all/each/any/every the,separated from,uncleanness nations the=earth/land joined,them to,seek to/for=YHWH

This could mean one of two possibilities. (1) It could be referring to people from other nations who had converted and become Jews. Alternate translation: “and anyone from another nation who had abandoned their former practices and become a Jew and would now worship and obey Yahweh” or (2) It could be referring to Israelites who had not been taken into exile but who had adopted the customs and practices of the other people groups that had come to live in the former Jewish homeland. Alternate translation: “as well as Israelites who had not gone into exile, who had adopted foreign practices, but who would now join the returned exiles in worshiping and obeying Yahweh”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

וְ⁠כֹ֗ל הַ⁠נִּבְדָּ֛ל מִ⁠טֻּמְאַ֥ת גּוֹיֵֽ־הָ⁠אָ֖רֶץ

and=all/each/any/every the,separated from,uncleanness nations the=earth/land

Being separated from uncleanness represents refusing to do things that make people unclean. Alternate translation: “and everyone who refused to do the things that made them unclean that the other people groups living in the land did”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

מִ⁠טֻּמְאַ֥ת גּוֹיֵֽ־הָ⁠אָ֖רֶץ

from,uncleanness nations the=earth/land

Here, uncleanness represents being unacceptable to God. Alternate translation: “from the things that made the nations around them unacceptable to God”

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

גּוֹיֵֽ־הָ⁠אָ֖רֶץ

nations the=earth/land

Like the people of the land in 4:4, this expression refers to the non-Israelite people groups who were living in this area. (Review the note at 4:4 if that would be helpful.) Alternate translation: “the foreign people groups living nearby”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

לִ⁠דְרֹ֕שׁ לַֽ⁠יהוָ֖ה

to,seek to/for=YHWH

To seek Yahweh means to choose to know, worship, and obey him. Alternate translation: “to worship and obey Yahweh”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / distinguish

אֱלֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל

god Yisrael

As in 4:1, this phrase provides further background information about who Yahweh is. In context, it helps distinguish Yahweh from the gods of the nations of the land. Alternate translation: “Yahweh, the God whom the people of Israel worshiped”