Ezra 3
1And
when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as
one man to Jerusalem.
2Then stood up Jeshua
the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar
of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.
3And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people
of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.
4They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily
burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;
5And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and
of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto
the LORD.
6From the first day of the seventh
month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.
7They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink,
and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the
grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.
8Now
in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,
and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come
out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work
of the house of the LORD.
9Then stood Jeshua
with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house
of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.
10And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their
apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king
of Israel.
11And they sang together by course
in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever 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.
12But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient
men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice;
and many shouted aloud for joy:
13So that
the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted
with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.