Ezra 3
1 It was the seventh month after the people of Israel came back to their cities, when they gathered together as one man in Jerusalem.
When the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in their cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.
2 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.
Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up with his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers, and built 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 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.
In spite of their fear because of the peoples of the surrounding lands, they set the altar on its base; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.
4 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.
They kept the feast of tents, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required;
5 Accordingly, there were daily burnt offerings and monthly ones and offerings for all the fixed feasts of Yahweh, along with all the freewill offerings.
and afterward the continual burnt offering, the offerings of the new moons, of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD.
6 They began to offer up burnt offerings to Yahweh on the first day of the seventh month, although the temple had not been founded.
From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD; but the foundation of the LORD's temple was not yet laid.
7 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.
They also gave money to the masons, and to the carpenters. They also gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Koresh King of Persia.
8 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.
Now in the second year of their coming to God's house 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 had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the LORD's house.
9 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.
Then Jeshua stood with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Hodaviah, together, to have the oversight of the workmen in God's house: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.
10 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.
When the builders laid the foundation of the LORD's temple, they set the priests in their clothing with trumpets, with the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel.
11 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.
They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to the LORD, "For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel." All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD had been laid.
12 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.
But many of the priests and Levites and heads of ancestral houses, 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. Many also shouted aloud for joy,
13 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.
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 far away.
