Ezra 3:11

11 They sang antiphonally praise and thanksgiving to God: Yes! God is good! Oh yes - he'll never quit loving Israel!

Ezra 3:11 Meaning and Commentary

Ezra 3:11

And they sang together by course
They sang by turns in responses, and answered one another, as the word signifies; when one company had performed their part, another took theirs:

in praising and giving thanks to the Lord;
for returning them to their own land, and giving them opportunity, ability, and will, to set about the rebuilding of the temple of the Lord, and restoring the pure worship of God;

because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever towards Israel;
which words are often repeated in ( Psalms 136:1-26 ) and which might be the psalm the Levites now sung by responses:

and all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the
Lord;
to express their joy, in the best manner they could, on this solemn occasion:

because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid;
which gave them hope the temple in due time would be rebuilt, and the service of it restored; see ( Job 38:6 Job 38:7 ) .

Ezra 3:11 In-Context

9 Jeshua and his family joined Kadmiel, Binnui, and Hodaviah, along with the extended family of Henadad - all Levites - to direct the work crew on The Temple of God.

10 When the workers laid the foundation of The Temple of God, the priests in their robes stood up with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise God in the tradition of David king of Israel.

11 They sang antiphonally praise and thanksgiving to God: Yes! God is good! Oh yes - he'll never quit loving Israel!

12 As many were noisily shouting with joy, many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first Temple, when they saw the foundations of this Temple laid, wept loudly for joy.

13 People couldn't distinguish the shouting from the weeping. The sound of their voices reverberated for miles around.