Ezra 3:1

The Altar is Rebuilt

3:1 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites ¹  were living ²  in their ³  towns, the people assembled ⁴  in ⁵  Jerusalem. ⁶ 

Ezra 3:8

3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, ⁷  in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, ⁸  along with the rest of their associates, ⁹  the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed ¹⁰  the Levites who were at least twenty years old ¹¹  to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple.

Ezra 3:12

3:12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders ¹²  – older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established ¹³  – were weeping loudly, ¹⁴  and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout.

¹ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

² tn The word “living” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied. Some translations supply “settled” (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

³ tc The translation reads with some medieval Hebrew MSS and ancient versions בְּעָרֵיהֶם (be’arehem, “in their towns”), rather than the reading בֶּעָרִים (be’arim, “in the towns”) found in the MT. Cf. Neh 7:72 HT [7:73 ET].

⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds the phrase “like one man.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ tn Heb “to.”

⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁷ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁸ tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

⁹ tn Heb “their brothers.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “stood.”

¹¹ tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”

¹² tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

¹³ sn The temple had been destroyed some fifty years earlier by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.

¹⁴ tn Heb “with a great voice.”