Ezra 3

1And the seventh month comes, and the sons of Israel [are] in the cities, and the people are gathered, as one man, to Jerusalem.

2And Jeshua son of Jozadak rises, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and they build the altar of the God of Israel, to cause to ascend on it burnt-offerings, as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of God.

3And they establish the altar on its bases, because of the fear on them of the peoples of the lands, and he causes burnt-offerings to ascend on it to YHWH, burnt-offerings for the morning and for the evening.

4And they make the Celebration of the Shelters as it is written, and the burnt-offering of the day daily in number according to the ordinance, the matter of a day in its day;

5and after this a continual burnt-offering, and for new moons, and for all appointed times of YHWH that are sanctified; and for everyone who is willingly offering a willing-offering to YHWH.

6From the first day of the seventh month they have begun to cause burnt-offerings to ascend to YHWH, and the temple of YHWH has not been founded,

7and they give money to hewers and to craftsmen, and food, and drink, and oil to Zidonians and to Tyrians, to bring in cedar-trees from Lebanon to the Sea of Joppa, according to the permission of Cyrus king of Persia concerning them.

8And in the second year of their coming to the house of God, to Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those coming from the captivity to Jerusalem, and they appoint the Levites from a son of twenty years and upward, to overlook the work of the house of YHWH.

9And Jeshua stands, [and] his sons, and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, sons of Judah together, to overlook those doing the work in the house of God; the sons of Henadad, [and] their sons and their brothers the Levites.

10And those building have founded the temple of YHWH, and they appoint the priests, clothed, with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise YHWH, by means of [the instruments of] David king of Israel.

11And they respond in praising and in giving thanks to YHWH, “For [He is] good, for His kindness [is] for all time over Israel!” And all the people have shouted [with] a great shout in giving praise to YHWH, because the house of YHWH has been founded.

12And many of the priests, and the Levites, and the heads of the fathers, the aged men who had seen the first house—in this house being founded before their eyes—are weeping with a loud voice, and many with a shout, in joy, lifting up the voice;

13and the people are not discerning the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people, for the people are shouting [with] a great shout, and the noise has been heard to a distance.