Ezra 3:1-2

The Altar is Rebuilt

3:1 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites ¹  were living ²  in their ³  towns, the people assembled ⁴  in ⁵  Jerusalem. ⁶  3:2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak ⁷  and his priestly colleagues ⁸  and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues ⁹  started to build ¹⁰  the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by ¹¹  the law of Moses the man of God.

Ezra 3:12-13

3:12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders ¹²  – older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established ¹³  – were weeping loudly, ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  that the sound was heard a long way off.

[3:1]  ¹ tn Heb “the sons of Israel.”

[3:1]  ² tn The word “living” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied. Some translations supply “settled” (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).

[3:1]  ³ tc The translation reads with some medieval Hebrew MSS and ancient versions בְּעָרֵיהֶם (be’arehem, “in their towns”), rather than the reading בֶּעָרִים (be’arim, “in the towns”) found in the MT. Cf. Neh 7:72 HT [7:73 ET].

[3:1]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew text adds the phrase “like one man.” This has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “to.”

[3:1]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:2]  ⁷ sn Jozadak (also in 3:8) is a variant spelling of Jehozadak.

[3:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”

[3:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “his brothers.”

[3:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “arose and built.”

[3:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “written in.” Cf. v. 4.

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

[3:12]  ¹³ sn The temple had been destroyed some fifty years earlier by the Babylonians in 586 b.c.

[3:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “with a great voice.”

[3:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a great shout.”