Ezra 6:16

16 Then the Israelites, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles joyfully celebrated the dedication of this house of God.

Ezra 6:16 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 6:16

And the children of Israel
Those of the ten tribes that remained after the body of the people were carried captive, or came with the Jews at their return:

the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the
captivity;
those of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin:

kept the dedication of this house of God with joy;
they set it apart for sacred use and service, with feasting and other expressions of joy and gladness, as follows.

Ezra 6:16 In-Context

14 So the elders of the Jews built and prospered because of the prophesying of the prophet Haggai and Zechariah, Iddo's son. They finished building by the command of Israel's God and of Cyrus, Darius, and King Artaxerxes of Persia.

15 This house was completed on the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the rule of King Darius.

16 Then the Israelites, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles joyfully celebrated the dedication of this house of God.

17 At the dedication of this house of God, they offered one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a purification offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

18 They set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their sections for the service of God in Jerusalem, as it is written in the scroll from Moses.