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Ezra 3
New King James Version
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 International Version
Ezra 3
New International Version
Rebuilding the Altar
3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,(A) the people assembled(B) together as one in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua(C) son of Jozadak(D) and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel(E) 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(F) the man of God. 3 Despite their fear(G) of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices.(H) 4 Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles(I) with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. 5 After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon(J) sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord,(K) 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.
Rebuilding the Temple
7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters,(L) and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs(M) by sea from Lebanon(N) to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus(O) king of Persia.
8 In the second month(P) of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel(Q) 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(R) years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. 9 Joshua(S) 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.
10 When the builders laid(T) the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets,(U) and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise(V) the Lord, as prescribed by David(W) king of Israel.(X) 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:
“He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.”(Y)
And all the people gave a great shout(Z) of praise to the Lord, because the foundation(AA) 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,(AB) wept(AC) aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy(AD) from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.
Footnotes
- Ezra 3:9 Hebrew Yehudah, a variant of Hodaviah
Ezra 3
English Standard Version
Ezra 3
English Standard Version
Rebuilding the Altar
3 (A)When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and (B)Zerubbabel the son of (C)Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, (D)as it is written in the Law of Moses the (E)man of God. 3 They set the altar in its place, (F)for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and (G)they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 (H)And they kept the Feast of Booths, (I)as it is written, (J)and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, 5 and after that the regular burnt (K)offerings, the offerings at the new moon (L)and at all the appointed feasts of the Lord, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid. 7 So they gave money to the masons and the carpenters, (M)and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians (N)to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, (O)according to the grant that they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
Rebuilding the Temple
8 Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, (P)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and (Q)Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They (R)appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to (S)supervise the work of the house of the Lord. 9 And (T)Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together (U)supervised the workmen in the house of God, along with the (V)sons of Henadad and the Levites, their sons and brothers.
10 And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, (W)according to the directions of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord,
(X)“For he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever 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 heads of fathers' houses, (Y)old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, 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 with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.
Ezra 3
New American Standard Bible
Ezra 3
New American Standard Bible
Altar and Sacrifices Restored
3 Now when the seventh month came, and (A)the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one person to Jerusalem. 2 Then (B)Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and (C)Zerubbabel the son (D)of Shealtiel and his brothers, rose up and (E)built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, (F)as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God. 3 So they set up the altar on its foundation, because [a](G)they were terrified of the peoples of the lands; and they (H)offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. 4 They also celebrated the (I)Feast of [b]Booths, (J)as it is written, and offered [c]the prescribed number of burnt offerings daily, (K)according to the ordinance, [d]as each day required; 5 and afterward there was a (L)continual burnt offering, also (M)for the new moons and (N)for all the appointed festivals of the Lord that were consecrated, and from everyone who offered a [e]voluntary offering to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid. 7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and (O)food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians (P)to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at (Q)Joppa, according to the permission they had [f]from (R)Cyrus king of Persia.
Temple Restoration Begun
8 Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, (S)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and (T)appointed the Levites who were twenty years old and upward to oversee the work of the house of the Lord. 9 Then (U)Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of [g]Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.
10 Now when the builders had (V)laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, [h]the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord (W)according to the [i]directions of King David of Israel. 11 And (X)they sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “(Y)For He is good, for His favor is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout of joy when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, (Z)the old men who had seen the first [j]temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, because the people were shouting with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.
Footnotes
- Ezra 3:3 Lit terror was upon them from
- Ezra 3:4 Or Tabernacles
- Ezra 3:4 Lit by number
- Ezra 3:4 Lit a day’s word on its day
- Ezra 3:5 Or freewill offering
- Ezra 3:7 Lit of
- Ezra 3:9 In Ezra 2:40, Hodaviah; in Neh 7:43, Hodevah
- Ezra 3:10 As in LXX and some mss; MT they set the priests
- Ezra 3:10 Lit hands
- Ezra 3:12 Lit house
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.