Ezra 3:11

11 They sang to the Lord. They praised him. They gave thanks to him. They said, "The LORD is good. His faithful love to Israel continues forever." All of the people gave a loud shout. They praised the Lord. They were glad because the foundation of the LORD's temple had been laid.

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 Those who joined together to direct the work included Jeshua and his sons and brothers. They also included Kadmiel and his sons. And they included the sons of Henadad and all of their sons and brothers. All of those men were Levites. Kadmiel and his sons were members of the family line of Hodaviah.

10 The builders laid the foundation of the LORD's temple. Then the priests came. They were wearing their special clothes. They brought their trumpets with them. The Levites who belonged to the family line of Asaph also came. They brought their cymbals with them. The priests and Levites took their places to praise the Lord. They did everything just as King David had required them to.

11 They sang to the Lord. They praised him. They gave thanks to him. They said, "The LORD is good. His faithful love to Israel continues forever." All of the people gave a loud shout. They praised the Lord. They were glad because the foundation of the LORD's temple had been laid.

12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family leaders sobbed out loud. They had seen the first temple. So when they saw the foundation of the second temple being laid, they sobbed. Others shouted with joy.

13 No one could tell the difference between the shouts of joy and the sounds of sobbing. That's because the people made so much noise. The sound was heard far away.