Ezra 3:10-13
New English Translation
10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions,[a] and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by[b] King David of Israel.[c] 11 With antiphonal response they sang,[d] praising and glorifying the Lord:
“For he is good;
his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”
All the people gave a loud[e] shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established. 12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders[f]—older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established[g]—were weeping loudly,[h] and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. 13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly[i] that the sound was heard a long way off.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Ezra 3:10 sn This was a long, straight, metallic instrument used for signal calls, rather than the traditional ram’s horn (both instruments are typically translated “trumpet” by English versions).
- Ezra 3:10 tn Heb “according to the hands of.”
- Ezra 3:10 sn See Pss 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.
- Ezra 3:11 tn Heb “they answered.”
- Ezra 3:11 tn Heb “great.”
- Ezra 3:12 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
- Ezra 3:12 sn The temple had been destroyed some fifty years earlier by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.
- Ezra 3:12 tn Heb “with a great voice.”
- Ezra 3:13 tn Heb “a great shout.”
Ezra 3:10-13
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments were stationed to praise the Lord with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, according to the directions of King David of Israel;(A) 11 and they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever toward Israel.”
And all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord had been laid.(B) 12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, old people who had seen the first house on its foundations, wept with a loud voice when they saw this house, though many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away.
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