^3:8In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem,²¹ in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work,²² along with the rest of their associates,²³ the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed²⁴ the Levites who were at least twenty years old²⁵ to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple. ^3:9So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives,²⁶ Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah²⁷), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives²⁸ the Levites. ^3:10When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions,²⁹ and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by³⁰ King David of Israel.³¹^3:11With antiphonal response they sang,³² praising and glorifying the Lord:

“For he is good;

his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”

All the people gave a loud³³ shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established. ^3:12Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders³⁴—older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established³⁵—were weeping loudly,³⁶ and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. ^3:13People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly³⁷ that the sound was heard a long way off.

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Ezra 3:11: And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, “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.

Footnotes

21 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
22 Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
23 Heb “their brothers.”
24 Heb “stood.”
25 Heb “from twenty years and upward.”
26 Heb “brothers.”
27 The name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah; cf. , , “Judah”) is probably a variant of Hodaviah (see Ezra 2:40; cf. , , , , ).
28 Heb “brothers.”
29 This was a long, straight, metallic instrument used for signal calls, rather than the traditional ram’s horn (both instruments are typically translated “trumpet” by English versions).
30 Heb “according to the hands of.”
31 See Ps 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.
32 Heb “they answered.”
33 Heb “great.”
34 Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
35 The temple had been destroyed some fifty years earlier by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.
36 Heb “with a great voice.”
37 Heb “a great shout.”