Ezra 3:7-13

7 But they gave money to the hewers of stone(s), and to the layers of stone(s), and they gave meat, and drink, and oil, to men of Sidon, and to men of Tyre, that they should bring cedar trees from the Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, by that that Cyrus, king of Persia, had commanded to them. (And they gave money to the stone-cutters, and to the stone-layers, and they gave food, and drink, and oil, to men of Sidon, and to men of Tyre, to bring cedar wood from Lebanon over the sea to Joppa, as Cyrus, the king of Persia, had commanded them.)
8 And in the second year of their coming to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, and Joshua, the son of Jozadak, and others of their brethren, priests and deacons, and all that came from the captivity into Jerusalem, began the work of God's temple; and they ordained deacons, from twenty years and above, for to hasten the work of the Lord; (And so in the second year of their coming back to rebuild the Temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel, the son of Salathiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and others of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites, and all who came back from the captivity to Jerusalem, began work on God's Temple; and they ordained the Levites, from twenty years of age and older, to oversee, or to supervise, the work of the Lord;)
9 and Joshua stood, and his sons, and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, and the sons of Judah together, as one man, to be busy over them that made the work in the temple of God; and the sons of Henadad, (with) their sons, and their brethren, (the) deacons. (and Jeshua, and his sons, and his kinsmen, and Kadmiel, and his sons, the sons of Judah/the sons of Hodaviah, all stood together as one person, to oversee those who did the work in the Temple of God; and they were helped by the sons of Henadad, with their sons, and their kinsmen, the Levites.)
10 Therefore when the temple of the Lord was founded of stone-layers, (the) priests stood in their ornaments with trumps, and (the) deacons, the sons of Asaph, stood singing in cymbals, for to praise God, by the hand, or ordinance, of David, king of Israel. (And so when the stone-layers laid the foundation of the Temple of the Lord, the priests, wearing their adornments, stood blowing trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, stood singing with cymbals, to praise God, in the manner ordained by David, the king of Israel.)
11 And they sang together in hymns and acknowledging to the Lord, (singing,) For he is good, for his mercy is without end upon Israel. And all the people cried with [a] great cry, in praising the Lord, for the temple of the Lord was founded. (And they sang together with hymns and thanksgiving to the Lord, singing, For he is good, and his mercy is upon Israel forevermore. And all the people cried out with a great shout, praising the Lord, for the foundation of the Temple of the Lord had been laid.)
12 Also full many of the priests, and of the deacons, and the princes of (the) fathers, and the elder men, that had seen the former temple, when it was founded, and (now) saw this temple before their eyes, wept with great voice, and many men crying in great gladness raised up the voice; (And a great many of the priests, and the Levites, and the leaders of the families of the tribes, and the elders, who had seen the first Temple, and now saw the foundation for this Temple laid before their eyes, wept with a great wailing, and many others raised up their voices, and shouted with great gladness;)
13 and no man might know the voice of cry of the men being glad, and the voice of weeping of the people; for the people cried together with [a] great cry, and the voice of them was heard afar. (and no one could distinguish between the sound of the people being glad, and the sound of the people weeping; for the people cried out with such a great shout, or with such noise, and their sound was heard afar off.)

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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.