Ezra 3

And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

1The seventh month came. The people of Israel were living in their towns. They all came together in Jerusalem, like one person.

2Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

2Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and the other priests stood up. Priests were men who led worship and gave gifts to God. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his helpers stood up too. They built an altar for the God of Israel. An altar is a stone table for offerings. They would burn animal gifts on it, just as the law of Moses said. Moses was a leader God had chosen long before.

3And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

3They set the altar on its base where it belonged. They were afraid of the people living around them. Still they burned offerings to the LORD on the altar. They did this every morning and every evening.

4They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;

4They also kept the Feast of Tabernacles, just as the law said. That was a week when people lived in little shelters. It helped them remember their long journey through the desert. Each day they gave the right number of offerings.

5And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the LORD.

5After that they gave the regular offerings each day. They also gave offerings at the start of each new month. They gave offerings at all the special holy feasts too. And they brought gifts they simply wanted to give.

6From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.

6They started giving offerings to the LORD on the first day of the seventh month. But the base of the temple had not been laid yet. The temple was the house built for worshiping God.

7They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.

7They paid money to the stone workers and the wood workers. They gave food, drink, and olive oil to the men of Sidon and Tyre. Those men brought cedar logs down from Lebanon. The logs came by sea to the town of Joppa. King Cyrus of Persia had given them permission to do this.

NoteThe KJV says they gave "meat" to the workers. In 1611 "meat" meant food of any kind, not just animal meat.

8Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.

8They had come back to God's house in Jerusalem. In the second month of the next year, the work began. Zerubbabel, Jeshua, the priests, the Levites, and all who came home started it. Levites were men who helped the priests with temple work. They chose Levites who were twenty years old or older. These men would watch over the building work.

9Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

9So Jeshua worked with his sons and his brothers. Kadmiel and his sons worked with them. The sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers helped too. All of them were Levites. Together they watched over the workers on God's house.

10And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

10The builders laid the base of the temple. Then the priests put on their special clothes and took up trumpets. The Levites, the sons of Asaph, took up cymbals. Cymbals are round metal plates you clap together. They all stood ready to praise the LORD. They did it the way King David had told them long ago.

11And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. 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.

11They sang back and forth to each other, praising and thanking the LORD. They sang, "He is good. His faithful love for Israel lasts forever." Then all the people gave a huge shout of praise. They shouted because the base of the LORD's house was laid.

12But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

12Many older priests, Levites, and family leaders had seen the first temple. When they saw this new base, they cried out loud. But many other people shouted with joy.

13So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

13The noise was so loud that no one could tell the sounds apart. The happy shouts and the crying sounded like one big noise. People far away could hear it.