Ezra 3

1 By the seventh month, the Israelites [sons of Israel, descendants of Jacob] had settled [lived, dwelled] in their towns [cities, communities], and the people [nation, community] assembled [gathered, came together] as one man [united, in unity] in Jerusalem [city of peace, capital of Israel]. word study 2 Then Jeshua [the son of Jehovah, a high priest] son of Jozadak [Jehovah is righteous] and his fellow priests [brothers, companions in ministry], along with Zerubbabel [born in Babylon, a leader of Judah] son of Shealtiel [I have asked of God] and his associates [brethren, relatives], began to build [establish, reconstruct] the altar [place of sacrifice, sacred table] of the God [Elohim, the supreme Being] of Israel [the chosen people, descendants of Jacob] to sacrifice [offer, present] burnt offerings [ascending sacrifices, consecrated gifts] on it, as it is written [recorded, inscribed] in the Law [Torah, instruction] of Moses [the prophet, leader of Israel] the man [human, servant] of God [the Almighty]. word study 3 They set up the altar [on its original foundation, as a base for worship] on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings [evening and morning sacrifices, a step or stairs to God] on it to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]—both the morning [the break of day, a time of new beginnings] and evening [sunset, the end of the day] burnt offerings—even though they feared [experienced terror or dread] the people of the land [the surrounding countries, a people or nation]. word study 4 They also celebrated the Feast [a festival] of Tabernacles [booths, temporary shelters] in accordance with what is written [as prescribed, according to the Law], and they offered burnt offerings [sacrifices, gifts to God] daily based on the number [quantity, amount] prescribed for each day [a 24-hour period, a daily cycle]. word study 5 After that [following this event], they presented the regular [continual, daily] burnt offerings [ascending to the altar] and those for New Moons [lunar cycles, monthly renewal] and for all [every single one] the appointed [set, consecrated] sacred feasts [holy gatherings, meetings] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], as well as all [every single] the freewill [voluntary, spontaneous] offerings [gifts, sacrifices] brought [given, offered] to the LORD [Yehovah]. word study 6 On the first day of the seventh month, the Israelites began [to initiate, start] to offer [to present, bring near] burnt offerings [sacrifices completely consumed by fire] to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], although [even though, notwithstanding] the foundation [base, starting point] of the temple [large public building, sacred place] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] had not [lacking, absent] been laid [founded, established]. word study 7 They gave [provided, paid] money to the masons [skilled stoneworkers] and carpenters [artisans, craftsmen], and food [provisions, sustenance] and drink [beverages, refreshments] and oil [olive oil, anointing oil] to the people of Sidon [Sidonians, inhabitants of Sidon] and Tyre [Tyrians, people of Tyre] to bring cedar logs [cedar trees, timber] from Lebanon [the mountain range, a region of abundance] to Joppa [a coastal city, a port] by sea [the Mediterranean, the ocean], as authorized [permitted, granted] by Cyrus [a ruler] king of Persia [the Persian Empire, a dominant world power]. word study 8 In the second month of the second year after they had arrived [come, entered] at the house [dwelling place, temple] of God [Elohim, the supreme Lord] in Jerusalem [the city of peace], Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest [remnant, remaining part] of their associates [brothers, companions] including the priests [spiritual leaders], the Levites [descendants of Levi], and all who had returned [come back, been restored] to Jerusalem from the captivity [exile, bondage], began [started, initiated] the work [labor, task]. They appointed [assigned, designated] Levites twenty years [a period of time, a score] of age or older [and upward, and above] to supervise [oversee, direct] the construction [building, edification] of the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [Yehovah, the Lord God]. word study 9 So Jeshua [a leader who helped the Israelites return from exile] and his sons and brothers, Kadmiel [a Levite who helped rebuild the temple] and his sons (descendants of Yehudah), and the sons of Henadad [meaning’favour of God’] and their sons and brothers—all [united as one, standing together] Levites [descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons]—joined together [in unity and cooperation] to supervise [to oversee, conduct, and direct] those working on the house [the dwelling place, temple] of God [Elohim, the supreme God]. word study 10 When the builders [laid the foundation, established the base] had laid the foundation of the temple [large public building, palace] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], the priests [those who serve God, lead in worship] in their apparel [special robes, garments] with trumpets [instruments making a quavering note], and the Levites [descendants of Levi, tribe of Israel] (the sons of Asaph [gatherer, father of Hezekiah’s secretary]) with cymbals [double tinklers, musical instruments], took their positions [stood, rose up] to praise [celebrate, shine] the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], as David [youngest son of Jesse, king of Israel] king of Israel [symbolic name of Jacob, descendants] had prescribed [given direction, ordered]. word study 11 And they sang responsively [in harmony] with praise [celebrating, honoring] and thanksgiving [expressing gratitude] to the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God]: “For He is good [kind, benevolent]; for His loving devotion [faithful love] to Israel [God’s chosen people] endures [remains, persists] forever [for all eternity].” Then all the people [the entire nation, every individual] gave a great [loud, joyful] shout of praise [celebration, adoration] to the LORD [the Almighty], because the foundation [base, starting point] of the house [temple, dwelling place] of the LORD [the Holy One] had been laid [established, founded]. word study 12 But many [a large number, a multitude] of the older [aged, elderly] priests [spiritual leaders, mediators], Levites [descendants of Levi, temple servants], and family heads [chiefs, fathers] who had seen [beheld, witnessed] the first [original, primary] temple [house, place of worship] wept [cried, mourned] loudly [with a loud voice, in grief] when they saw [beheld, looked upon] the foundation [base, starting point] of this [new, second] temple [house, place of worship]. Still, many [a large number, a multitude] others shouted [cried out, exclaimed] joyfully [with joy, in celebration, with a loud voice]. word study 13 The people [a multitude, a nation] could not distinguish [discern, recognize] the shouts [loud cries, joyful noises] of joy [happiness, gladness] from the sound [voice, noise] of weeping [crying, lamentation], because the people [a crowd, a gathering] were making so much noise [a loud shout, a great outcry]. And the sound [voice, noise] was heard [listened to, perceived] from afar [a distant place, a far-off location]. word study