46
The priests, the Levites, and some of the people settled in or near Jerusalem; the musicians and the Temple guards settled in nearby towns; and the rest of the Israelites settled in the towns where their ancestors had lived.
47
By the seventh month the people of Israel were all settled in their towns. Then they all assembled in the open square in front of the first gate on the east side of the Temple area.
48
Joshua son of Jehozadak, his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, together with his relatives, prepared the altar of the God of Israel,
49
so that they could burn sacrifices on it according to the instructions written in the Law of Moses, the man of God.
50
Some of the local people, even though they were stronger than the Jews and opposed to them, joined them in rebuilding the altar where it had stood before. Then the Jews began once again to burn the regular morning and evening sacrifices on the altar.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.