Ezra 3
1 After the Israeli people [returned to Israel, and] had begun to live in their towns, (in the autumn of/after the hot season ended in) that year, they all gathered together in Jerusalem.
And when the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua, the son of Jehozadak, and his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his friends, all began to rebuild the altar of God, the one whom the Israeli people [worshiped]. They did that in order that they could sacrifice burned offerings on it, according to what the prophet Moses had written in the laws [that God gave to him].
Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, stood up and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.
3 Even though they were afraid of the people who were already living in that area, they rebuilt the altar at the same place [where the previous altar had been]. Before they started to lay the foundation of Yahweh’s temple, [the priests] started to burn sacrifices to Yahweh [on the altar]. They offered sacrifices every morning and every evening. Fifteen days after [they started to offer these sacrifices], the people celebrated the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters, as [Moses] had commanded them to do in the laws [that God gave to him]. Each day the priests offered the sacrifices [that were required] for that day. In addition, they presented the regular burned offerings and the offerings [that were required] for the New Moon Festivals and the other festivals that they celebrated each year to [honor] Yahweh. They also brought other offerings only because they desired to bring them, [not because they were required to bring them].
And they set the altar upon its base, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the countries. And they offered burnt offerings on it to Jehovah, even burnt offerings morning and evening.
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.
And afterward the continual burnt offering, and the offerings of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of Jehovah that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to Jehovah.
From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to Jehovah. But the foundation of the temple of Jehovah was not yet laid.
7 Then the Israelis hired masons and carpenters, and they bought [logs from] cedar trees from the people of Tyre and Sidon [cities], and they gave those people food and wine and olive oil for the logs. They brought the logs down from [the mountains in] Lebanon [to the Mediterranean seacoast and then floated them along the coast of the Sea, ] to Joppa. King Cyrus permitted them to do that. [Then the logs were brought from Joppa inland up to Jerusalem].
Also they gave money to the masons, and to the carpenters, and food, and drink, and oil, to those of Sidon, and to those of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
8 The Israelis started to rebuild the temple in the (spring/time before the hot season) of the second year after they returned to Jerusalem. Zerubbabel and Jeshua and all the people who had returned to Jerusalem worked on the building. All the (Levites/men who did work in the temple) supervised this work.
Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who came out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began. And they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Jehovah.
9 Jeshua and his sons and his other relatives, and Kadmiel and his sons, who were descendants of Hodaviah, also helped to supervise the work. The family of Henadad, who were also all Levites, joined with them in supervising this work.
Then Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, stood together to have the oversight of the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.
10 When the builders finished laying the foundation of the temple, the priests put on their robes and stood in their places, blowing their trumpets. Then the Levites, who were descendants of Asaph, clashed/banged their cymbals to praise Yahweh, just as King David had [many years previously] told [Asaph and the other musicians] to do.
And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Jehovah, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise Jehovah, after the order of David king of Israel.
11 They praised Yahweh and thanked him, and they sang this song about him: “He is very good [to us]! He faithfully loves us Israeli people, and he will love us forever.” Then all the people shouted loudly, praising Yahweh because they had finished laying the foundation of Yahweh’s temple.
And they sang one to another in praising and giving thanks to Jehovah, saying, For he is good, for his loving kindness is forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Jehovah, because the foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid.
12 Many of the [old] priests, Levites, and leaders of families remembered [what] the first temple [was like], and they cried aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid [because they knew that the new temple would not be as beautiful as the first temple]. But the other people shouted joyfully.
But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers, the old men who 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 The shouting and the crying was very loud; [even people] far away could hear it.
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.
