Ezra 9:9-11

New English Translation

⁹ Although we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our servitude. He has extended kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, in that he has revived us^[a] to restore the temple of our God and to raise up^[b] its ruins and to give us a protective wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁰ “And now what are we able to say after this, our God? For we have forsaken your commandments ¹¹ which you commanded us through your servants the prophets with these words:^[c] ‘The land that you are entering to possess is a land defiled by the impurities of the local residents!^[d] With their abominations they have filled it from one end to the other with their filthiness.