Chapter 3

Altar and Sacrifices Restored

1 Now when the seventh month came, and athe sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

2 Then aJeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and bZerubbabel the son cof Shealtiel and his brothers arose and dbuilt the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, eas it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

3 So they set up the altar on its foundation, for 1athey were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they boffered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening.

4 They celebrated the aFeast of 1Booths, bas it is written, and offered 2the fixed number of burnt offerings daily, caccording to the ordinance, as each day required;

5 and afterward there was a acontinual burnt offering, also bfor the new moons and cfor all the fixed festivals of the Lord that were consecrated, and from everyone who 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, but the foundation of the temple of the Lord had not been laid.

7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and afood, drink and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians, bto bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at cJoppa, according to the permission they had 1from dCyrus 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, aZerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and 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 bappointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the Lord.

9 Then aJeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of 1Judah 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 alaid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, 1the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord baccording to the 2directions of King David of Israel.

11 aThey sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “bFor He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” 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 Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, athe old men who had seen the first 1temple, 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, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.