Ezra3

Upon their return to Jerusalem in the seventh month, the children of Israel, led by Jeshua and Zerubbabel, first rebuilt the altar and resumed burnt offerings according to the Law of Moses. Despite fear of surrounding peoples, they diligently observed the Feast of Tabernacles and other sacrifices. In the second year, the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, marked by a great celebration with music and praise, though some elders who remembered the first temple wept.

The Altar Rebuilt and Worship Restored

1
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 Yeshua 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 the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Torah of Moses the man of God. ​
3
In spite of their fear because of the peoples of the surrounding lands, they set the altar on its base; and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening. ​
4
They kept the feast of booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required; ​
5
and afterward the continual burnt offering, the offerings of the new moons, of all the set feasts of the LORD that were consecrated, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to the LORD.
6
From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD; but the foundation of the LORD’s temple was not yet laid.
7
They also gave money to the masons, and to the carpenters. They also gave food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the grant that they had from Cyrus King of Persia. ​

Laying the Temple Foundation

8
Now in the second year of their coming to God’s house at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Yeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the LORD’s house. ​
9
Then Yeshua stood with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to have the oversight of the workmen in God’s house: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.
10
When the builders laid the foundation of the LORD’s temple, they set the priests in their clothing with shofars, with the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, according to the directions of David king of Israel. ​
11
They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to the LORD, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the LORD’s house had been laid. ​

Joy and Sorrow Mixed

12
But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice. Many also shouted aloud for joy, ​
13
so 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 far away.

Study Notes for Ezra 3

Verse 1

The gathering 'as one man' emphasizes the unity and commitment of the returnees to restoring corporate worship immediately. The seventh month (Tishri) was highly significant, containing the major fall festivals, including the Day of Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles.

Verse 2

The leaders, Jeshua (priestly authority) and Zerubbabel (civil/Davidic authority), prioritized rebuilding the altar first. This demonstrated the theological principle that atonement and sacrifice must precede the construction of the permanent Temple structure.

Verse 3

The urgency of setting up the altar was driven partly by 'fear' of the hostile surrounding populations. Resuming sacrifices was an act seeking immediate divine protection and covenant renewal before confronting external threats.

Verse 4

They immediately observed the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), a required festival celebrating God's provision and faithfulness during the wilderness wandering, making it highly appropriate for the newly returned exiles.

Verse 7

The procurement of materials mirrored that of Solomon’s original temple (1 Kings 5), utilizing Phoenician labor (Tyre and Sidon) and Lebanon cedar, highlighting the continuity of the building project and the support granted by Cyrus.

Verse 8

The official construction began two years after the initial return. The appointment of Levites twenty years old and upward reflects the organizational structure for temple service established by King David.

Verse 10

The ceremony followed the organized liturgical standards set by David, utilizing priests with trumpets and Levites with cymbals, marking a deliberate restoration of traditional, authorized Israelite worship practice.

Verse 11

The singing of the refrain 'for his mercy endureth for ever' (from Psalm 136) was a central element of temple liturgy. It emphasized the theological conviction that God's enduring covenant faithfulness had been demonstrated by their return from exile.

Verse 12

This verse captures the dramatic tension of the restoration. The older generation, having seen the magnificence of Solomon’s Temple (the 'first house'), wept with sorrow, contrasting sharply with the unrestrained joy of the younger generations.

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