Ezra 6:16

16 And then the Israelites celebrated - priests, Levites, every last exile, exuberantly celebrated the dedication of The Temple 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 leaders of the Jews continued to build; the work went well under the preaching of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo. They completed the rebuilding under orders of the God of Israel and authorization by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.
15 The Temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16 And then the Israelites celebrated - priests, Levites, every last exile, exuberantly celebrated the dedication of The Temple of God.
17 At the dedication of this Temple of God they sacrificed a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs - and, as an Absolution-Offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel.
18 They placed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their places for the service of God at Jerusalem - all as written out in the Book of Moses.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.