Ezr 3 | NASB1995 | STEP | Now when the seventh month came , and the sons of Israel were in the cities , the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem .

Ezra 3

Altar and Sacrifices Restored

1 Now when the seventh month came, and ^athe sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then ^bJeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and ^cZerubbabel the son ^dof Shealtiel and his brothers arose and ^ebuilt the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, ^fas it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. 3 So they set up the altar on its foundation, for ^{▼▼ Lit terror was upon them
,} ^hthey were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they ⁱoffered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 They celebrated the ^jFeast of ^{▼▼ Or Tabernacles}Booths, ^las it is written, and offered ^{▼▼ Lit by number}the fixed number of burnt offerings daily, ⁿaccording to the ordinance, as each day required; 5 and afterward there was a ^ocontinual burnt offering, also ^pfor the new moons and ^qfor all the fixed festivals of the Lord that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a freewill offering to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid. 7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and ^rfood, drink and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians, ^sto bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at ^tJoppa, according to the permission they had ^{▼▼ Lit of}from ^vCyrus king of Persia.

Temple Restoration Begun

8 Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem in the second month, ^wZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and ^xappointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. 9 Then ^yJeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of ^{▼▼ In Ezr.2.40, Hodaviah}Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.

10 Now when the builders had ^aalaid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, ^{▼▼ So with the Gr and some mss; M.T. they set the priests}the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord ^acaccording to the ^{▼▼ Lit hands}directions of King David of Israel. 11 ^aeThey sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, ^af“For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” 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 Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, ^agthe old men who had seen the first ^{▼▼ Lit house}temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.