Ezra 3:8-13

3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, ¹  in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, ²  along with the rest of their associates, ³  the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed ⁴  the Levites who were at least twenty years old ⁵  to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple. 3:9 So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives, ⁶  Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah ⁷ ), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives ⁸  the Levites. 3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, ⁹  and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by ¹⁰  King David of Israel. ¹¹  3:11 With antiphonal response they sang, ¹²  praising and glorifying the Lord:

“For he is good;

his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”

All the people gave a loud ¹³  shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established. 3:12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders ¹⁴  – older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established ¹⁵  – were weeping loudly, ¹⁶  and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. 3:13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly ¹⁷  that the sound was heard a long way off.

[3:8]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:8]  ² tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[3:8]  ³ tn Heb “their brothers.”

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “stood.”

[3:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”

[3:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “brothers.”

[3:9]  ⁷ sn The name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB “Judah”) is probably a variant of Hodaviah (see Ezra 2:40; cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[3:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “brothers.”

[3:10]  ⁹ sn This was a long, straight, metallic instrument used for signal calls, rather than the traditional ram’s horn (both instruments are typically translated “trumpet” by English versions).

[3:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “according to the hands of.”

[3:10]  ¹¹ sn See Ps 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.

[3:11]  ¹² tn Heb “they answered.”

[3:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “great.”

[3:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”

[3:12]  ¹⁵ sn The temple had been destroyed some fifty years earlier by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.

[3:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “with a great voice.”

[3:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a great shout.”