Ezra 3:11-13

3:11 With antiphonal response they sang, ¹  praising and glorifying the Lord:

“For he is good;

his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”

All the people gave a loud ²  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 ³  – older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established ⁴  – were weeping loudly, ⁵  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 ⁶  that the sound was heard a long way off.

[3:11]  ¹ tn Heb “they answered.”

[3:11]  ² tn Heb “great.”

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

[3:12]  ⁴ sn The temple had been destroyed some fifty years earlier by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.

[3:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “with a great voice.”

[3:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “a great shout.”