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The Rebuilding of the Temple Begins

King Cyrus of Persia had said the Israelites could have cedar trees brought from Lebanon to Joppa by sea. So they sent grain, wine, and olive oil to the cities of Tyre and Sidon as payment for these trees, and they gave money to the stoneworkers and carpenters.

During the second month[a] of the second year after the people had returned from Babylonia, they started rebuilding the Lord's temple. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the priests, the Levites, and everyone else who had returned started working. Every Levite over 20 years of age was put in charge of some part of the work. The Levites in charge of the whole project were Joshua and his sons and relatives and Kadmiel and his sons from the family of Hodaviah.[b] The family of Henadad worked along with them.

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Footnotes

  1. 3.8 second month: Ziv, the second month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-April to mid-May.
  2. 3.9 Hodaviah: Or “Yehudah” or “Hodiah.”

Rebuilding the Temple

Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters,(A) and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs(B) by sea from Lebanon(C) to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus(D) king of Persia.

In the second month(E) of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel(F) son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites twenty(G) years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. Joshua(H) and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah[a]) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezra 3:9 Hebrew Yehudah, a variant of Hodaviah