3:1 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites¹ were in their² cities, the people were assembled³ in⁴ Jerusalem. 3:2 Then Jeshua the son of Josadak and his priestly brethren⁵ and Zerrubabel son of Shealtiel and his brethren arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer burnt offerings on it as is required by⁶ the law of Moses the man of God. 3:3 They established the altar on its foundations, for they were in terror of the local peoples,⁷ and they offered on it burnt offerings to the LORD, both the morning and the evening offerings. 3:4 They observed the Feast of Sukkot as required and offered burnt offerings daily by number according to the requirement for each day. 3:5 Afterwards they offered the continual burnt offerings and those for the new moons and those for all the holy assemblies of the LORD and all those that were being voluntarily offered to the LORD. 3:6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the LORD’s temple was not at that time established.

3:7 So they provided money for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and oil for the people of Sidon and Tyre so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, in accord with the edict of Cyrus king of Persia. 3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerrubabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Josadak initiated things, along with the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed⁸ the Levites who were at least twenty years old⁹ to take charge of the work on the LORD’s temple. 3:9 So Jeshua appointed his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah), together to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their brothers the Levites. 3:10 When the builders established the LORD’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the LORD according to the guidance of David king of Israel. 3:11 With antiphonal response they sang,¹⁰ praising and glorifying the LORD. “For he is good; his loving kindness toward Israel is forever.” All the people gave a loud¹¹ shout as they praised the LORD when the temple of the LORD was established. 3:12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders¹²—elders, who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established—were weeping loudly,¹³ and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. 3:13 People were unable to differentiate between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard at a great distance.