Ezra

Restoration of the Altar and Worship

By the seventh month, the Israelites were already settled in their cities. Then, all the people gathered in Jerusalem.

Joshua, son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, with his brothers, began rebuilding the altar of the God of Israel to offer the sacrifices upon it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God.

They built the altar in the same place, despite the fear they had of the people of the land, and they offered burnt offerings upon it, as well as the morning and evening sacrifices.

They celebrated the Feast of the Tabernacles as written and offered burnt offerings daily according to the established ritual.

Then they continued offering the perpetual sacrifice and the sacrifices on the Sabbaths, the New Moon, and all the solemnities of the Lord, besides what everyone would offer voluntarily to the Lord.

They began offering burnt offerings on the first day of the seventh month, although the foundation of the house of the Lord had not yet been laid.

They gave money to the masons and carpenters. They also provided food, wine, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians to transport cedar lumber from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by Cyrus, king of Persia.

In the second year, after they arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel, son of Shea-ltiel, and Joshua, son of Jozadak, with the rest of their brothers, the priests, the Levites and all who had returned to Jerusalem from exile, began the work: they appointed the Levites who were twenty years old and upward to supervise the work in the house of the Lord.

Joshua, his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, and the sons of Hodaviah, all together agreed to supervise those who worked in the house of God.

When the workers had laid the foundation for the Sanctuary of the Lord, the priests, clothed in fine linen, came forward with trumpets, and the Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals. They sang to the Lord according to the ordinance of David, king of Israel.

They thanked the Lord, singing and praising: “For he is good, for his love for Israel is eternal.” All the people shouted aloud the praises of the Lord, for the foundation of the house of the Lord had now been laid. Many priests, Levites, and older heads of the families who had seen the first house wept with great lamentation as the foundation was laid.

But others raised their voices with shouts of joy;

and the people could not distinguish the shouts of rejoicing from the cries of weeping, for the people shouted so loudly that the noise was heard afar.