1 And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his brethren, arose and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.
3 Though fear had come upon them because of the people of those lands, they set the altar on its bases; and they offered burnt offerings on it to Jehovah, both the morning and evening burnt offerings.
4 They also kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered day by day the burnt offerings by number, as commanded by ordinance, day by day.
5 Afterward they offered the continual burnt offering, and those for the new moons and for all the appointed meetings of Jehovah that were consecrated, and those of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to Jehovah.
6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to Jehovah, although the foundation of the temple of Jehovah had not been laid.
7 They also gave money to the masons and the craftsmen, and food, drink, and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, according to the permission which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
8 Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began, and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of Jehovah.
9 Then Jeshua with his sons and brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, and the sons of Judah, arose as one to oversee those working on the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brethren the Levites.
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Jehovah, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise Jehovah, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel.
11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to Jehovah: For He is good, for His mercy is eternal toward Israel. Then all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised Jehovah, because the foundation of the house of Jehovah was laid.
12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes. And many shouted aloud for joy,
13 so that the people could not discern the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard afar off.