Ezra 3

1

When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,

the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem.

2

Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of

Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel

to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the

Law of Moses the man of God.

3

Despite their fear of the people around them, they built the altar on its

foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD, both the

morning and evening sacrifices.

4

Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Feast of

Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed

for each day. 

5

After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon

sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred feasts of the LORD,

as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the LORD.

6

On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings

to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid.

7

Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and

drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring

cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

8

In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God

in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak and the rest

of their brothers (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from

the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work, appoinying Levites twenty years of

age and older to supervise the building of the house of the LORD.

9

Jeshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmei and his sons (descendants of

Hodaviah) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers - all Levites -

joined together in supervising those work on the house of God.

10

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests

in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Aspah)

with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David

king of Israel.

11

With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: "He is good; his love

to Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout of praise to

the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

12

But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen

the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple

being laid, while many others shouted for joy.

13

No one could idstinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of

weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard

far away.