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defile, be defiled
Definition:
The terms "defile" and "be defiled" refer to becoming polluted or dirty. Something can be defiled in a physical, moral, or ritual sense.
- God warned the Israelites to not defile themselves by eating or touching things that he had declared as "unclean" and "unholy."
- Certain things such as dead bodies and contagious diseases were declared by God to be unclean and would defile a person if they touched them.
- God commanded the Israelites to avoid sexual sins. These would defile them and make them unacceptable to God.
- There were also certain kinds of bodily processes that defiled a person temporarily until he could become ritually pure again.
- In the New Testament, Jesus taught that sinful thoughts and actions are what truly defile a person.
Translation Suggestions:
- The term "defile" can also be translated as "cause to be unclean" or "cause to be unrighteous" or "cause to be ritually unacceptable."
- To "be defiled" could be translated as "become unclean" or "be caused to be morally unacceptable (to God)" or "become ritually unacceptable."
(See also: ../kt/unclean.md, ../kt/clean.md)