Ezra 3:7-13

7 Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and ¹food, drink and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians, ²to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at ³Joppa, according to the permission they had from ⁴Cyrus king of Persia.

Temple Restoration Begun

8 Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem in the second month, ⁵Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and ⁶appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.

9 Then ⁷Jeshua with his sons and brothers stood united with Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah and the sons of Henadad with their sons and brothers the Levites, to oversee the workmen in the temple of God.

10 Now when the builders had ⁸laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD ⁹according to the directions of King David of Israel.

11 ¹⁰They sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, saying, "¹¹For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever." And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

12 Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' households, ¹²the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy,

13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away.

Ezra 3:7-13 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EZRA 3

This chapter relates how that the people of Israel returned from captivity, gathered to Jerusalem, and set up the altar, where sacrifices were offered, Ezr 3:1-3, and kept the feast of tabernacles, and offered the sacrifices of that, besides the daily sacrifice, and of other festivals; and contributed to the workmen that prepared for the building of the temple, Ezr 3:4-7 and began it by laying the foundation of it; which to some was matter of joy, to others of grief, on different accounts, Ezr 3:8-13.

Cross References

• 1. 2 Chronicles 2:10; Acts 12:20
• 2. 2 Chronicles 2:16
• 3. Acts 9:36
• 4. Ezra 1:2; Ezra 6:3
• 5. Ezra 3:2; Ezra 4:3
• 6. 1 Chronicles 23:4, 24
• 7. Ezra 2:40
• 8. Zechariah 4:6-10
• 9. 1 Chronicles 6:31; 1 Chronicles 25:1
• 10. 2 Chronicles 7:3; Nehemiah 12:24, 40
• 11. 1 Chronicles 16:34; 2 Chronicles 5:13; Psalms 100:5; Psalms 106:1; Psalms 107:1; Psalms 118:1; Psalms 131:1; Jeremiah 33:11
• 12. Haggai 2:3

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "of"
• [b]. In Ezra 2:40, "Hodaviah"
• [c]. So with the Gr and some mss; M.T. "they set the priests"
• [d]. Lit "hands"
• [e]. Lit "house"