Ezra 3
1 After the Israeli people [returned to Israel, and] had begun to live in their towns, (in the autumn of/after the hot season ended in) that year, they all gathered together in Jerusalem.
And it arrived the month seventh and [the] people of Israel [were] in the cities. And they gathered the people like a man one to Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua, the son of Jehozadak, and his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his friends, all began to rebuild the altar of God, the one whom the Israeli people [worshiped]. They did that in order that they could sacrifice burned offerings on it, according to what the prophet Moses had written in the laws [that God gave to him].
And he arose Jeshua [the] son of Jozadak and brothers his the priests and Zerubbabel [the] son of Shealtiel and brothers his and they rebuilt [the] altar of [the] God of Israel to offer up on it burnt offerings according to [what] is written in [the] law of Moses [the] man of God.
3 Even though they were afraid of the people who were already living in that area, they rebuilt the altar at the same place [where the previous altar had been]. Before they started to lay the foundation of Yahweh’s temple, [the priests] started to burn sacrifices to Yahweh [on the altar]. They offered sacrifices every morning and every evening. Fifteen days after [they started to offer these sacrifices], the people celebrated the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters, as [Moses] had commanded them to do in the laws [that God gave to him]. Each day the priests offered the sacrifices [that were required] for that day. In addition, they presented the regular burned offerings and the offerings [that were required] for the New Moon Festivals and the other festivals that they celebrated each year to [honor] Yahweh. They also brought other offerings only because they desired to bring them, [not because they were required to bring them].
And they established the altar on foundations its for terror [was] on them from [the] peoples of the lands (and they offered up *QK) on it burnt offerings to Yahweh burnt offerings of the morning and of the evening.
And they celebrated [the] festival of booths according to [what] is written and a burnt offering of a day in a day by number according to [the] ordinance of [the] matter of a day in day its.
And after this a burnt offering of continuity and for the new moons and for all [the] appointed times of Yahweh consecrated and for every [one who] offered a freewill offering to Yahweh.
From day one of the month seventh they began to offer up burnt offerings to Yahweh and [the] temple of Yahweh not it was founded.
7 Then the Israelis hired masons and carpenters, and they bought [logs from] cedar trees from the people of Tyre and Sidon [cities], and they gave those people food and wine and olive oil for the logs. They brought the logs down from [the mountains in] Lebanon [to the Mediterranean seacoast and then floated them along the coast of the Sea, ] to Joppa. King Cyrus permitted them to do that. [Then the logs were brought from Joppa inland up to Jerusalem].
And people gave money to the masons and to the craftsmen and food and drink and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians to bring wood of cedar from Lebanon to [the] sea of Joppa according to [the] permission of Cyrus [the] king of Persia to them.
8 The Israelis started to rebuild the temple in the (spring/time before the hot season) of the second year after they returned to Jerusalem. Zerubbabel and Jeshua and all the people who had returned to Jerusalem worked on the building. All the (Levites/men who did work in the temple) supervised this work.
And in the year second of coming their to [the] house of God to Jerusalem in the month second they began Zerubbabel [the] son of Shealtiel and Jeshua [the] son of Jozadak and [the] rest of brothers their - the priests and the Levites and all those [who] had come from the captivity Jerusalem and they appointed the Levites from a son of twenty year[s] and up-wards to act as overseers over [the] work of [the] house of Yahweh.
9 Jeshua and his sons and his other relatives, and Kadmiel and his sons, who were descendants of Hodaviah, also helped to supervise the work. The family of Henadad, who were also all Levites, joined with them in supervising this work.
And he stood Jeshua sons his and brothers his Kadmiel and sons his [the] sons of Judah as one to act as overseers over [the] doer of the work on [the] house of God. [the] sons of Henadad sons their and brothers their the Levites.
10 When the builders finished laying the foundation of the temple, the priests put on their robes and stood in their places, blowing their trumpets. Then the Levites, who were descendants of Asaph, clashed/banged their cymbals to praise Yahweh, just as King David had [many years previously] told [Asaph and the other musicians] to do.
And they founded the builders [the] temple of Yahweh and they appointed the priests fully clothed with trumpets and the Levites [the] sons of Asaph with cymbals to praise Yahweh on [the] hands of David [the] king of Israel.
11 They praised Yahweh and thanked him, and they sang this song about him: “He is very good [to us]! He faithfully loves us Israeli people, and he will love us forever.” Then all the people shouted loudly, praising Yahweh because they had finished laying the foundation of Yahweh’s temple.
And they sang with praising and with giving thanks to Yahweh for [he is] good for for ever covenant loyalty his [is] towards Israel and all the people they shouted a shout of joy great with praising Yahweh because it was founded [the] house of Yahweh.
12 Many of the [old] priests, Levites, and leaders of families remembered [what] the first temple [was like], and they cried aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid [because they knew that the new temple would not be as beautiful as the first temple]. But the other people shouted joyfully.
And many of the priests and the Levites and [the] heads of the fathers old who they had seen the house first when founded it this the house with own eyes their [were] weeping with a voice great and many [people] with a shout of joy with gladness to lift up a voice.
13 The shouting and the crying was very loud; [even people] far away could hear it.
And not the people [were] recognizing [the] sound of [the] shout of happiness to [the] sound of [the] weeping of the people for the people [were] shouting a shout of joy great and the sound it was heard to from a distance.
