Ezra 6:16

16 And the sons of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,

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 And the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered according to the prophecy of Haggai, the prophet, and Zechariah, the son of Iddo. They built and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel and according to the commandment of Cyrus and of Darius and of Artaxerxes, king of Persia.

15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius, the king.

16 And the sons of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,

17 and they offered at the dedication of this house of God one hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and as the sin of all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.

18 And they set the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their courses over the work of God, which is at Jerusalem, as it is written in the book of Moses.