Ezra 3:11-13

Contemporary English Version

^11 (A) They praised the Lord and gave thanks as they took turns singing:

Everyone started shouting and praising the Lord because work on the foundation of the temple had begun. ^12 (B) Many of the older priests and Levites and the heads of families wept bitterly because they remembered seeing the first temple years before. But others were so happy that they celebrated with joyful shouts. ¹³ Their shouting and crying were so noisy that it all sounded alike and could be heard a long way off.