Ezra 3
1 By the time of the seventh month, the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people gathered together as one in Jerusalem.
And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and the priests with him, together with Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and his relatives, started to build the altar of the God of Israel in order to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, as instructed by the Law of Moses, the man of God.
Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.
3 Even though they were afraid of the local people, they set up the altar on its original foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both morning and evening burnt offerings.
And they set the altar upon its base; for fear was upon them because of the people of the countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.
4 They observed the Festival of Shelters as the Law required, sacrificing the specified number of burnt offerings each day.
And they kept the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and [offered] the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required;
5 After that also presented the daily burnt offerings and the new moon offerings, as well as those for all the yearly festivals of the lord and for those who brought voluntary offerings to the Lord.
and afterward the continual burnt offering, and [the offerings] of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.
6 So from the first day of the seventh month, the Israelites began to present burnt offerings to the Lord, even though the foundation of the Lord's Temple had not been laid.
From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD: but the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.
7 They paid masons and carpenters, and provided food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre for them to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as King Cyrus of Persia had authorized.
They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, unto Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
8 In the second month of the second year after arriving at God's Temple in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, Jeshua, son of Jozadak, and those with them—the priests, the Levites, and everyone who had come back to Jerusalem from captivity—began the work. They put Levites twenty years and older to in charge of building the Lord's Temple.
Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of the LORD.
9 Jeshua and his sons and relatives, Kadmiel and his sons, the descendants of Yehudah, the sons of Henadad and their sons and relatives, all of them Levites, supervised those working on God's Temple.
Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to have the oversight of the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the Lord's Temple, the priests dressed in their special clothes and carrying trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) carrying cymbals, all took their places to praise the Lord, following the instructions given by King David of Israel.
And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the order of David king of Israel.
11 They sang with praise and thanks to the Lord: “God is good; for his trustworthy love for Israel lasts forever.” Then everyone there gave a tremendous shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the Lord's Temple had been laid.
And they sang one to another in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD, [saying], For he is good, for his mercy [endureth] for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
12 But many of the older priests, Levites, and family leaders who remembered the first Temple wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this Temple, though many others shouted for joy.
But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ [houses], the old men that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:
13 However, nobody could tell the shouts of joy from the cries of weeping, because everyone was making so much noise—so much so it could be heard a long way away.
so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
