Ezra 3

Then the seventh month came and the sons of Israel were in their cities. And the people were gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

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

And they set up the altar on its foundation, for dread was on them because of the peoples of the lands. Then they offered up on it burnt up offerings to God, burnt up offerings at the morning and at the evening.

Then they made the Festival of Huts as is written, with a burnt up offering day by day, by number according to the ordinance of the matter of the day, on its day.

And after this was a continual burnt up offering, and for the new moons, and for all the consecrated appointed times of God, and for everyone who freely offered a freewill offering to God. \*

From day one of the seventh month they began to offer up burnt up offerings to God, but the temple of God had not been founded.

And 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 trees of cedar from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the permission of Cyrus, the king of Persia, given to them. \*

Then in the second year of their coming to the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all the ones who came from captivity to Jerusalem began, and they appointed the Levites from a son of 20 years and above to act as overseers for the work of the house of God.

And Jeshua, his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, stood as one to act as overseers for the ones doing the work at the house of God, the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their brothers the Levites. \*

Then the ones who were building laid the foundation of the temple of God. And they caused to stand the clothed priests with the trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with the cymbals, to praise God in accordance with the hands of David, the king of Israel.

Then they sang in response, praising and giving thanks to God: “For he is good, for his covenant faithfulness to Israel is to eternity!” And all the people shouted a great shout in praise to God because the foundation of the house of God had been laid. \*

But many from the priests and the Levites, and the heads of the fathers, the old men who had seen the first house, at the founding of this house in their eyes, were weeping with a loud voice. Yet many with a shout, with joy, were lifting up a voice.

So the people could not differentiate the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people. For the people were shouting a great shout, and the sound was heard as far as from a remote place. \*