Ezra 3
1 And the seventh month comes, and the sons of Israel [are] in the cities, and the people are gathered, as one man, to Jerusalem.
It was the seventh month after the people of Israel came back to their cities, when they gathered together as one man in Jerusalem.
2 And Jeshua son of Jozadak rises, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and they build the altar of the God of Israel, to cause to ascend on it burnt-offerings, as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God.
Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brothers rose up and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.
3 And they establish the altar on its bases, because of the fear on them of the peoples of the lands, and he causes burnt-offerings to ascend on it to YHWH, burnt-offerings for the morning and for the evening.
Then they established the altar on its stand, for dread was on them because of the people of the land. They offered burnt offerings to Yahweh at dawn and evening.
4 And they make the Celebration of the Shelters as it is written, and the burnt-offering of the day daily in number according to the ordinance, the matter of a day in its day;
They also observed the Festival of Shelters as it is written and offered burnt offerings day by day according to the decree, each day's duty on its day.
5 and after this a continual burnt-offering, and for new moons, and for all appointed times of YHWH that are sanctified; and for everyone who is willingly offering a willing-offering to YHWH.
Accordingly, there were daily burnt offerings and monthly ones and offerings for all the fixed feasts of Yahweh, along with all the freewill offerings.
6 From the first day of the seventh month they have begun to cause burnt-offerings to ascend to YHWH, and the temple of YHWH has not been founded,
They began to offer up burnt offerings to Yahweh on the first day of the seventh month, although the temple had not been founded.
7 and they give money to hewers and to craftsmen, and food, and drink, and oil to Zidonians and to Tyrians, to bring in cedar-trees from Lebanon to the Sea of Joppa, according to the permission of Cyrus king of Persia concerning them.
So they gave silver to the stoneworkers and craftsmen, and they gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so they would bring cedar trees by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized for them by Cyrus, king of Persia.
8 And in the second year of their coming to the house of God, to Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those coming from the captivity to Jerusalem, and they appoint the Levites from a son of twenty years and upward, to overlook the work of the house of YHWH.
Then in the second month of the second year after they came to the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, the rest of the priests, the Levites, and those who came from captivity back to Jerusalem began the work. They assigned the Levites twenty years old and older to oversee the work of Yahweh's house.
9 And Jeshua stands, [and] his sons, and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, sons of Judah together, to overlook those doing the work in the house of God; the sons of Henadad, [and] their sons and their brothers the Levites.
Jeshua and his sons and brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, who were descendants of Hodaviah), and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers-all of them were Levites-joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.
10 And those building have founded the temple of YHWH, and they appoint the priests, clothed, with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise YHWH, by means of [the instruments of] David king of Israel.
The builders laid a foundation for Yahweh's temple. This enabled the priests to stand in their garments with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, to praise Yahweh with cymbals, just as the hand of David, king of Israel had commanded.
11 And they respond in praising and in giving thanks to YHWH, “For [He is] good, for His kindness [is] for all time over Israel!” And all the people have shouted [with] a great shout in giving praise to YHWH, because the house of YHWH has been founded.
They sang with praise and thankfulness to Yahweh, “He is good! His covenant faithfulness to Israel endures forever.” All the people cried out with a great shout of joy in praise of Yahweh because the temple's foundations had been laid.
12 And many of the priests, and the Levites, and the heads of the fathers, the aged men who had seen the first house—in this house being founded before their eyes—are weeping with a loud voice, and many with a shout, in joy, lifting up the voice;
But many of the priests, Levites, and chief patriarchs, those who were old and had seen the first house, when this house's foundations were laid before their eyes, wept loudly. But many people had shouts of joy with gladness and an excited sound.
13 and the people are not discerning the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people are shouting [with] a great shout, and the noise has been heard to a distance.
As a result, people were not able to distinguish the joyful and glad sounds from the sound of people weeping, for the people were crying out with great joy, and the sound was heard from far away.
