Ezra 3
New King James Version
Worship Restored at Jerusalem
3 And when the (A)seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then [a]Jeshua the son of (B)Jozadak[b] and his brethren the priests, (C)and Zerubbabel the son of (D)Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is (E)written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those countries, they set the altar on its [c]bases; and they offered (F)burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening burnt offerings. 4 (G)They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, (H)as it is written, and (I)offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required by ordinance for each day. 5 Afterwards they offered the (J)regular burnt offering, and those for New Moons and for all the appointed feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly 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, although the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid. 7 They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters, and (K)food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to (L)Joppa, (M)according to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
Restoration of the Temple Begins
8 Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, (N)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of [d]Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work (O)and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. 9 Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of [e]Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, (P)the[f] priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the (Q)ordinance[g] of David king of Israel. 11 (R)And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord:
Then 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 But many of the priests and Levites and (U)heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, 13 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 sound was heard afar off.
Footnotes
- Ezra 3:2 Or Joshua
- Ezra 3:2 Jehozadak, 1 Chr. 6:14
- Ezra 3:3 foundations
- Ezra 3:8 Jehozadak, 1 Chr. 6:14
- Ezra 3:9 Hodaviah, Ezra 2:40
- Ezra 3:10 So with LXX, Syr., Vg.; MT they stationed the priests
- Ezra 3:10 Lit. hands
Ezra 3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 3
Restoration of the Altar. 1 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people gathered in Jerusalem as a single entity. 2 Then Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, with his brothers, set out to rebuild the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer upon it the holocausts as prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God.
3 Despite their fear of the peoples that surrounded them, they erected the altar on its former site, and upon it they presented burnt offerings to the Lord both morning and evening. 4 They also celebrated the Feast of Booths as prescribed and offered the holocausts required for each day.
5 [a]In addition, they presented the regular burnt offerings and the sacrifices prescribed for the new moons and for the festivals sacred to the Lord, as well as all the free-will offerings made to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to present burnt offerings to the Lord, even though the foundations of the temple of the Lord had not yet been laid.
Founding of the Temple. 7 Then money was contributed to the masons and the carpenters, while food, drink, and oil were given to the Sidonians and the Tyrians so that they could procure cedar trees and transport them from Lebanon by sea to Jaffa, permission for which was granted by King Cyrus of Persia.
8 In the second month of the second year of their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, together with the rest of their brothers, the priests, the Levites, and all the people who had returned to Jerusalem from their captivity, began their project. 9 Jeshua, along with his sons and his brothers, together with Kadmiel and Binnui, the son of Henadad, and their sons and brethren, agreed to supervise the workers in the house of God.
10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their robes with their trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with their cymbals, were stationed there to praise the Lord according to the ordinances established by King David of Israel. 11 They chanted praise and offered thanksgiving to the Lord, singing:
“The Lord is good,
and everlasting is his faithful love toward Israel.”
Then all the people raised a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord had been laid.[b]
12 However, many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, elderly people who had seen the former house, wept loudly in sorrow when they beheld the foundations of this one, although many others shouted aloud for joy. 13 As a result, the people were unable to distinguish the clamor of the joyful shouts from the cries of those who were weeping. So great were the shouts and the cries that the sounds could be heard a long distance away.
Ezra 3
King James Version
3 And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.
2 Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded 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 And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord, even burnt offerings morning and evening.
4 They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;
5 And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord.
6 From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid.
7 They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
8 Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the Lord.
9 Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.
11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. 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 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that 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 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
