Ezra 3

1When the seventh month arrived, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem.

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

3They set up the altar on its foundations, for fear was upon them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered up burnt offerings on it to Yahweh, burnt offerings morning and evening.

4They kept the Festival of Booths as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the ordinance, as each day required.

5And after that came the regular burnt offering, and the offerings for the new moons and for all the appointed feasts of Yahweh that were consecrated, and for everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to Yahweh.

6From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to Yahweh, though the foundation of the temple of Yahweh had not been laid.

7So they gave money to the stonecutters and to the craftsmen, and food and drink and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians, to bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the authorization of Cyrus king of Persia upon them.

8And in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who had come from the captivity to Jerusalem, began and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and upward to oversee the work of the house of Yahweh.

9Then Jeshua, his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, stood together as one to oversee those doing the work in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons and their brothers, the Levites.

10When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Yahweh, they stationed the priests, clothed in their vestments, with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise Yahweh according to the directions of David king of Israel.

11And they sang responsively praising and giving thanks to Yahweh: “For he is good, for his steadfast love toward Israel is forever.” And all the people shouted a great shout in praise to Yahweh because the house of Yahweh had been founded.

12But many of the priests and the Levites and the heads of the fathers’ houses, the old men who had seen the first house, were weeping with a loud voice when this house was founded before their eyes, while many were raising their voice with a shout of joy.

13And the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.