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Ezra 3

KJV · Chapter 3/10

1And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem.

2Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

3And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the Lord, even burnt offerings morning and evening.

4They kept also the feast of tabernacles, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the custom, as the duty of every day required;

5And afterward offered the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of the Lord that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a freewill offering unto the Lord.

6From the first day of the seventh month began they to offer burnt offerings unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid.

7They gave money also unto the masons, and to the carpenters; and meat, and drink, and oil, unto them of Zidon, and to them of Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant that they had of Cyrus king of Persia.

8Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the Lord.

9Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites.

10And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the Lord, after the ordinance of David king of Israel.

11And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

12But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

13So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The returnees rebuild the altar of sacrifice in Jerusalem and resume offerings to the Lord. Then they lay the foundation of the new temple, amid celebration and also the weeping of the elders who remembered the former temple.

Explanation

Even before rebuilding the temple building itself, the people prioritize restoring worship: the altar is put back into use amid the ruins, even amid fear of hostile neighboring peoples. When the temple's foundation is laid, the scene is one of mixed emotion — young people shout for joy, while the elders who had seen the glory of Solomon's temple weep, knowing this new building will be more modest. This mixture of joy and grief is honest and human: restoration doesn't always erase the longing for what was lost. Today's application is that starting over is worthwhile even when the new chapter seems smaller than the past.

Fun facts

  • The 'Feast of Tabernacles,' celebrated right after their return, recalls the 40 years in the wilderness and reinforces the theme of a people beginning their walk with God anew.
  • The contrast between weeping and joy at the temple's foundation is cited later in other prophetic texts as a sign that God's restoration is never identical to the past, yet is still genuine.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ezra 3:1As soon as the seventh month arrives, a month of major feasts on the Jewish calendar, the whole people gather in Jerusalem as one man — the first great gathering after the return from exile.
  2. Ezra 3:2Jeshua the priest and Zerubbabel the political leader join together to rebuild the altar first, following the instructions of the law of Moses, even before turning to the temple itself.
  3. Ezra 3:3Even before rebuilding the temple, the people set the altar up on its exact former site, because they were afraid of the neighboring peoples surrounding them. Raising the altar first shows that the priority was to resume the daily sacrifices, even with the temple still in ruins all around it.
  4. Ezra 3:4They keep the feast of Tabernacles, exactly as the law required, offering sacrifices day after day, each thing at its appointed time.
  5. Ezra 3:5After that, the daily sacrifices resume, along with the new moon celebrations and other fixed feasts, besides the freewill offerings each person brought.
  6. Ezra 3:6The sacrifices begin again on the very first day of the seventh month, but the text is careful to note: the temple itself did not even have its foundation laid yet.
  7. Ezra 3:7To hire masons and carpenters, and to bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the port of Joppa, they use the same route Solomon had used centuries before to build the first temple.
  8. Ezra 3:8In the second year after their arrival, the work on the temple finally gets underway in earnest, with Levites twenty years old and up appointed to oversee the construction work.
  9. Ezra 3:9The Levitical families organize themselves to oversee the work as a single group, showing that this construction phase also needed trusted people coordinating the manual labor.
  10. Ezra 3:10When the temple's foundation is finally laid, priests with trumpets and Levites with instruments step in to celebrate, following a pattern that went back to David. This is no silent construction project: laying a stone foundation is treated as an event that deserves music and collective praise.
  11. Ezra 3:11Priests and people sing back and forth, repeating a refrain already traditional in Israel: the Lord is good, his mercy endures forever toward Israel. It is the same kind of celebration seen in the days of David.
  12. Ezra 3:12The elders, who had seen the former temple before it was destroyed, weep aloud at the sight of this new foundation, far more modest than Solomon's. At the same time, the younger ones celebrate with joy, because for them this alone is already cause for celebration. The text says no one could tell the sound of weeping apart from the shouts of joy, all mixed together in the same crowd.
  13. Ezra 3:13The voices of those weeping as they remembered the old temple mixed so thoroughly with the voices of celebration from the younger ones that no one could tell one sound from the other — and the whole noise was heard from a great distance.

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