Ezra 3 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

Chapter 3

Restoration of the Altar. 1 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people gathered in Jerusalem as a single entity. 2 Then Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, with his brothers, set out to rebuild the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer upon it the holocausts as prescribed in the law of Moses, the man of God.

3 Despite their fear of the peoples that surrounded them, they erected the altar on its former site, and upon it they presented burnt offerings to the Lord both morning and evening. 4 They also celebrated the Feast of Booths as prescribed and offered the holocausts required for each day.

5 [a]In addition, they presented the regular burnt offerings and the sacrifices prescribed for the new moons and for the festivals sacred to the Lord, as well as all the free-will offerings made to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to present burnt offerings to the Lord, even though the foundations of the temple of the Lord had not yet been laid.

Founding of the Temple. 7 Then money was contributed to the masons and the carpenters, while food, drink, and oil were given to the Sidonians and the Tyrians so that they could procure cedar trees and transport them from Lebanon by sea to Jaffa, permission for which was granted by King Cyrus of Persia.

8 In the second month of the second year of their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, together with the rest of their brothers, the priests, the Levites, and all the people who had returned to Jerusalem from their captivity, began their project. 9 Jeshua, along with his sons and his brothers, together with Kadmiel and Binnui, the son of Henadad, and their sons and brethren, agreed to supervise the workers in the house of God.

10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their robes with their trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with their cymbals, were stationed there to praise the Lord according to the ordinances established by King David of Israel. 11 They chanted praise and offered thanksgiving to the Lord, singing:

“The Lord is good,
and everlasting is his faithful love toward Israel.”

Then all the people raised a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord had been laid.[b]

12 However, many of the priests and Levites and heads of families, elderly people who had seen the former house, wept loudly in sorrow when they beheld the foundations of this one, although many others shouted aloud for joy. 13 As a result, the people were unable to distinguish the clamor of the joyful shouts from the cries of those who were weeping. So great were the shouts and the cries that the sounds could be heard a long distance away.

Footnotes

  1. Ezra 3:5 The returning exiles did not wait until the temple was rebuilt to make sacrifices to God because they realized their great need for God and how their disobedience had destroyed them.
  2. Ezra 3:11 See the psalms of thanksgiving (e.g., the whole of Ps 136).

You Might Also Like:

Ezra 3 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

3 And the seventh month cometh, and the sons of Israel [are] in the cities, and the people are gathered, as one men, unto Jerusalem. 2 And rise doth Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and they build the altar of the God of Israel, ...
Read More

Ezra 3 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

3 And when the seventh month was come, and the sons of Israel were in their cities. And the people was gathered as one man into Jerusalem. (And when the seventh month had come, with all the Israelites in their cities, then the people gathered together as one person in Jerusalem.) 2 And Joshua, the s...
Read More

Ezra 3 - World English Bible (WEB)

3 When the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up with his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brothers, and built the altar of th...
Read More

Ezra 3 - The Voice (VOICE)

When the Jews return to Jerusalem, they are ready to reconstitute the nation and reclaim God’s promise to Abraham and their ancestors. All families are asked to prove their lineage before they return to their ancestors’ cities, and all priests are asked to do the same before they begin service at th...
Read More

Ezra 3 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Rebuilding the Temple3 When the seventh month arrived and the sons of Israel were settled in the towns, the people gathered together as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak, his fellow kohanim, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of I...
Read More

Ezra 3 - Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

Worship Restored at Jerusalem3 When the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jo′zadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerub′babel the son of She-al′ti-el with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of ...
Read More

Ezra 3 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Worship Restored at Jerusalem3 When the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then arose Jeshua the son of Jo′zadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerub′babel the son of She-al′ti-el with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of ...
Read More

Ezra 3 - Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

3 And when the seventh month was come, and the Bnei Yisroel were in the towns, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Yerushalayim. 2 Then stood up Yeshua ben Yehotzadak [T.N. This man is the prophetic namesake of the coming Moshiach—see Zech 6:11-12], and his brethren the kohanim, an...
Read More

Ezra 3 - New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Worship Restored at Jerusalem3 When the seventh month came, and the Israelites were in the towns, the people gathered together in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his kin set out to build the altar of the God of Israel, to offer ...
Read More

Ezra 3 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Worship Restored at Jerusalem3 When the seventh month came, and the Israelites were in the towns, the people gathered together in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his kin set out to build the altar of the God of Israel, to offer ...
Read More

Ezra 3 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Worship Restored at Jerusalem3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites were in their[a] towns, the people gathered together as one in Jerusalem.(A)2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak with his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his kin set out to build the altar of the God of Israel,...
Read More

Ezra 3 - New Living Translation (NLT)

The Altar Is Rebuilt3 In early autumn,[a] when the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people assembled in Jerusalem with a unified purpose. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jehozadak[b] joined his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel with his family in rebuilding the altar of the God of Is...
Read More

Ezra 3 - New Life Version (NLV)

Worship Begins3 When the seventh month came, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jozadak’s son Jeshua and his brothers the religious leaders, and Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel and his brothers, built the altar of the God of Israel, to...
Read More

Ezra 3 - New King James Version (NKJV)

Worship Restored at Jerusalem3 And when the (A)seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then [a]Jeshua the son of (B)Jozadak[b] and his brethren the priests, (C)and Zerubbabel the son of (D)Shealtiel and his breth...
Read More

Ezra 3 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Rebuilding the altar3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to...
Read More

Ezra 3 - New International Version (NIV)

Rebuilding the Altar3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,(A) the people assembled(B) together as one in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua(C) son of Jozadak(D) and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel(E) and his associates began to build the altar of the Go...
Read More

Ezra 3 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

The People Rebuild the Altar3 The Israelites had made their homes in their towns. In the seventh month all of them gathered together in Jerusalem. 2 Then Joshua began to build the altar for burnt offerings to honor the God of Israel. Joshua was the son of Jozadak. The other priests helped Joshua. S...
Read More