Ezra 3

Modern

Literal

Sacrifices Restored

¹By the seventh month, the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem.

¹And the seventh month had come, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, and the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

²Then Jeshua son of Jozadak^a and his fellow priests, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates, began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.

²And Jeshua son of Jozadak arose, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer on it burnt offerings, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.

³They set up the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD—both the morning and evening burnt offerings—even though they feared the people of the land.

³And they set the altar on its bases despite the dread upon them of the people of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to YHWH, burnt offerings at the morning and at the evening.

⁴They also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles^a in accordance with what is written, and they offered burnt offerings daily based on the number prescribed for each day.

⁴And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and the burnt offering day by day by number according to the ordinance, the matter of a day in its day,

⁵After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings and those for New Moons and for all the appointed sacred feasts of the LORD, as well as all the freewill offerings brought to the LORD.

⁵and afterward the continual burnt offering, and for New Moons, and for all the appointed feasts of YHWH that were consecrated, and for everyone who freely offered a freewill offering to YHWH.

⁶On the first day of the seventh month, the Israelites began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.

⁶From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to YHWH, and the temple of YHWH had not been founded.

⁷They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

⁷And they gave silver to the masons and to the carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians, to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, by permission of Cyrus king of Persia concerning them.

Temple Restoration Begins

⁸In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years of age or older to supervise the construction of the house of the LORD.

⁸In the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, and in the second month, began Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those coming out of the captivity to Jerusalem. And they appointed the Levites, from a son of twenty years and above, to oversee upon the work of the house of YHWH.

⁹So Jeshua and his sons and brothers, Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Yehudah),^a and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.

⁹And Jeshua arose, and his sons and brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Judah), as one, to oversee upon those doing the work in the house of God—the sons of Henadad, and their sons and their brothers the Levites.

¹⁰When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their positions to praise the LORD, as David king of Israel had prescribed.

¹⁰And the builders of the temple of YHWH laid the foundation, and they stood—the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph with cymbals—to praise YHWH according to the ordinance of David king of Israel.

¹¹And they sang responsively with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD:

“For He is good;

for His loving devotion^a to Israel endures forever.”

Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD had been laid.

¹¹And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to YHWH: “For He is good, even to forever His loving devotion is over Israel.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised YHWH, because the house of YHWH had been founded.

¹²But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first temple wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple. Still, many others shouted joyfully.

¹²And many of the priests, and the Levites, and the heads of the fathers, the aged who had seen the first temple, when this temple had been founded before their eyes, wept in a loud voice. And many shouted for joy, lifting up the voice.

¹³The people could not distinguish the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people were making so much noise. And the sound was heard from afar.

¹³And 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 in a loud shout, and the sound was heard even to afar off.