Ezra / Chapter 3

Ezra 3

13 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

In the seventh month, the returned exiles gather in Jerusalem. Jeshua the priest and Zerubbabel rebuild the altar on its original foundation and resume the daily burnt offerings, the Festival of Booths, and the regular sacrificial calendar — all before the Temple itself is rebuilt. In the second year, they lay the foundation of the new Temple with Levitical musicians leading worship. The people erupt in praise, but the older generation who remember Solomon's Temple weep loudly at the sight. The sound of weeping and the sound of joy are indistinguishable from a distance.

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The theological center of this chapter is verse 12: the old men who had seen the first Temple weep when the foundation of the second is laid. This is not nostalgia — it is grief born of comparison. Haggai 2:3 confirms that the second Temple appeared as 'nothing' compared to Solomon's. The weeping acknowledges genuine loss: the glory of the first Temple, the ark of the covenant (now gone), and the unbroken continuity of Davidic worship. Yet the narrator refuses to separate the weeping from the joy — verse 13 says 'the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping.' The two responses are not competing but coexisting, and the text honors both without declaring either inappropriate. This is one of the most emotionally complex moments in the Hebrew Bible.

Translation Friction

The chronology between Ezra 3 and the parallel accounts in Haggai and Zechariah creates tension. Ezra 3 places the foundation-laying in the second year of the return (approximately 536 BCE), but Haggai 1:1-2 (dated to 520 BCE) describes the Temple as not yet rebuilt and implies the foundation work had stalled. Either the initial foundation was laid and then abandoned for sixteen years, or the accounts describe different stages of the same process. We render Ezra 3 as it stands, trusting the narrator's chronological framework. The phrase 'according to the prescription of David king of Israel' in verse 10 raises the question of how much of the pre-exilic liturgical tradition survived the exile — enough, apparently, for the returnees to reconstruct Davidic worship patterns.

Connections

The rebuilding of the altar before the Temple mirrors the patriarchal pattern: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob built altars before any permanent sanctuary existed (Genesis 12:7; 26:25; 33:20). The seventh-month gathering echoes the dedication of Solomon's Temple during the Festival of Booths (1 Kings 8:2). The Levitical praise with cymbals and trumpets follows the pattern David established (1 Chronicles 16:4-6; 25:1-7). The antiphonal chant 'For he is good, for his faithful love endures forever toward Israel' (verse 11) is the signature refrain of Israelite worship, appearing in Psalms 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 136:1 and at the dedication of Solomon's Temple (2 Chronicles 5:13).

Ezra 3:1

וַיִּגַּע֙ הַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וּבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בֶּעָרִ֑ים וַיֵּאָסְפ֥וּ הָעָ֛ם כְּאִ֥ישׁ אֶחָ֖ד אֶל־יְרוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites were settled in their towns, the people assembled as one in Jerusalem.

KJV And 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The seventh month (Tishrei) was the most sacred month in the Israelite calendar, containing the Feast of Trumpets (1st), the Day of Atonement (10th), and the Festival of Booths (15th-21st). The phrase ke-ish echad ('as one man') emphasizes complete unity — the same expression used of Israel's assembly at Mizpah (Judges 20:1) and at Sinai in rabbinic tradition.
Ezra 3:2

וַיָּ֡קׇם יֵשׁ֣וּעַ בֶּן־יוֹצָדָ֣ק וְ֠אֶחָ֠יו הַכֹּהֲנִ֞ים וּזְרֻבָּבֶ֤ל בֶּן־שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵל֙ וְאֶחָ֔יו וַיִּבְנ֕וּ אֶת־מִזְבַּ֖ח אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לְהַעֲל֤וֹת עָלָיו֙ עֹל֔וֹת כַּכָּת֕וּב בְּתוֹרַ֖ת מֹשֶׁ֥ה אִישׁ־הָאֱלֹהִֽים׃

Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his kinsmen, rose up and built the altar of the God of Israel to offer burnt offerings on it, as prescribed in the Law of Moses the man of God.

KJV Then 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

תּוֹרַת torat
"Law" — instruction, teaching, law, directive, guidance

Torah here functions as the authoritative written standard for worship. The returnees do not improvise — they rebuild according to the Mosaic blueprint. This signals that the post-exilic community will be defined by adherence to written Scripture.

Translator Notes

  1. Jeshua (Yeshua, a shortened form of Yehoshua/Joshua) son of Jozadak was the first post-exilic high priest, descended from the last pre-exilic high priest Seraiah, who was executed by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:18-21). Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel was of Davidic lineage. Together, the priestly and royal lines cooperate in the restoration.
  2. The phrase be-torat Mosheh ish ha-Elohim ('in the Law of Moses the man of God') establishes Torah as the constitutional document of the restored community. The altar is built according to written instruction, not oral tradition or innovation.
Ezra 3:3

וַיָּכִ֤ינוּ הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ עַל־מְכוֹנֹתָ֔יו כִּ֚י בְּאֵימָ֣ה עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם מֵעַמֵּ֖י הָאֲרָצ֑וֹת וַיַּעֲל֤וּ עָלָיו֙ עֹל֔וֹת לַיהוָ֖ה עֹל֥וֹת לַבֹּ֖קֶר וְלָעָֽרֶב׃

They set the altar on its foundation, for dread of the surrounding peoples was upon them, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD — burnt offerings morning and evening.

KJV And 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase ki be-eimah aleihem ('for dread was upon them') reveals the precarious situation: the returnees rebuilt the altar not despite their fear but perhaps because of it — worship was their response to threat. The morning and evening burnt offerings (olot la-boqer ve-la-arev) resumed the tamid, the perpetual offering commanded in Exodus 29:38-42, which had ceased when the Temple was destroyed.
Ezra 3:4

וַֽיַּעֲשׂ֛וּ אֶת־חַ֥ג הַסֻּכּ֖וֹת כַּכָּת֑וּב וְעֹלַ֨ת י֤וֹם בְּיוֹם֙ בְּמִסְפָּ֔ר כְּמִשְׁפַּ֖ט דְּבַר־י֥וֹם בְּיוֹמֽוֹ׃

They observed the Festival of Booths as prescribed, offering the daily burnt offerings in their proper number according to the requirement for each day.

KJV They 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;

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The Festival of Booths (Sukkot) required a complex sacrificial schedule: Numbers 29:12-38 prescribes a decreasing sequence from thirteen bulls on the first day down to seven on the seventh, plus rams, lambs, and grain offerings. The phrase devar yom be-yomo ('the matter of each day in its day') indicates meticulous observance of this detailed calendar.
Ezra 3:5

וְאַ֣חֲרֵי כֵ֗ן עֹלַ֤ת תָּמִיד֙ וְלַחֳדָשִׁ֔ים וּלְכׇל־מוֹעֲדֵ֥י יְהוָ֖ה הַמְקֻדָּשִׁ֑ים וּלְכֹ֛ל מִתְנַדֵּ֥ב נְדָבָ֖ה לַיהוָֽה׃

And after that, the regular burnt offering, the new moon offerings, all the appointed festivals of the LORD that are holy, and every freewill offering to the LORD.

KJV And 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The tamid ('perpetual/regular offering') resumed daily — morning and evening — as the backbone of Temple worship. The new moon offerings (Numbers 28:11-15) and festival calendar were layered on top. The freewill offerings (nedavah) allowed individual Israelites to express personal devotion beyond the required schedule. The entire sacrificial system was being reconstituted from the ground up.
Ezra 3:6

מִיּ֤וֹם אֶחָד֙ לַחֹ֣דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י הֵחֵ֕לּוּ לְהַעֲל֥וֹת עֹל֖וֹת לַיהוָ֑ה וְהֵיכַ֥ל יְהוָ֖ה לֹ֥א יֻסָּֽד׃

From the first day of the seventh month they began offering burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD's Temple had not yet been laid.

KJV From 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The first day of the seventh month is the Feast of Trumpets (later Rosh Hashanah). The narrator emphasizes a striking fact: sacrificial worship resumed on an open-air altar before the Temple existed. The altar was sufficient for worship; the building was secondary to the act of offering. This theological priority — sacrifice before structure — echoes the patriarchal period.
Ezra 3:7

וַיִּתְּנ֣וּ כֶ֗סֶף לַחֹצְבִים֙ וְלֶחָ֣רָשִׁ֔ים וּמַאֲכָ֤ל וּמִשְׁתֶּה֙ וָשֶׁ֔מֶן לַצִּדֹנִ֖ים וְלַצֹּרִ֑ים לְהָבִ֣יא ׀ עֲצֵ֣י אֲרָזִ֗ים מִן־הַלְּבָנוֹן֙ אֶל־יָ֣ם יָפ֔וֹא כְּרִשְׁי֕וֹן כּ֥וֹרֶשׁ מֶֽלֶךְ־פָּרַ֖ס עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃

They gave silver to the stonecutters and craftsmen, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians to bring cedar logs from Lebanon by sea to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

KJV They 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The arrangement mirrors Solomon's Temple construction: Solomon also imported Lebanese cedar through Phoenician contractors via the port of Joppa (2 Chronicles 2:15-16). The returnees are deliberately replicating the pattern of the first Temple. The term rishyon ('authorization, permit') is a Persian loanword reflecting the bureaucratic apparatus of the empire — Cyrus's decree provided the legal framework for these expenditures.
Ezra 3:8

וּבַשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשֵּׁנִ֗ית לְבוֹאָ֞ם אֶל־בֵּ֤ית הָאֱלֹהִים֙ לִיר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם בַּחֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ הַשֵּׁנִ֔י הֵחֵ֡לּוּ זְרֻבָּבֶ֣ל בֶּן־שְׁאַלְתִּיאֵ֣ל וְיֵשׁ֣וּעַ בֶּן־יוֹצָדָ֡ק וּשְׁאָ֣ר אֲ֠חֵיהֶ֠ם הַכֹּהֲנִ֨ים וְהַלְוִיִּ֜ם וְכׇל־הַבָּאִ֤ים מֵהַשְּׁבִי֙ יְר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם וַיַּעֲמִ֙ידוּ֙ אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֔ם מִבֶּ֛ן עֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וָמַ֑עְלָה לְנַצֵּ֖חַ עַל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת בֵּית־יְהוָֽה׃

In the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their kinsmen — the priests, the Levites, and all who had come from the exile to Jerusalem — began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the construction of the house of the LORD.

KJV Now 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The second month (Iyyar, roughly April-May) was also when Solomon began building the first Temple (1 Kings 6:1) — another deliberate parallel. The age threshold of twenty for Levitical supervisors is lower than the thirty specified in Numbers 4:3 but matches the age David set in 1 Chronicles 23:24-27. The post-exilic community adapted the threshold to meet the reality of limited Levitical manpower.
Ezra 3:9

וַיַּעֲמֹ֣ד יֵ֠שׁ֠וּעַ בָּנָ֨יו וְאֶחָ֜יו קַדְמִיאֵ֧ל וּבָנָ֛יו בְּנֵ֥י יְהוּדָ֖ה כְּאֶחָ֑ד לְנַצֵּ֗חַ עַל־עֹשֵׂ֤ה הַמְּלָאכָה֙ בְּבֵ֣ית הָאֱלֹהִ֔ים בְּנֵ֧י חֵנָדָ֛ד בְּנֵיהֶ֥ם וַאֲחֵיהֶ֖ם הַלְוִיִּֽם׃

Jeshua with his sons and kinsmen, Kadmiel with his sons — the descendants of Hodaviah — stood together to supervise the workers in the house of God, along with the sons of Henadad and their sons and kinsmen, the Levites.

KJV Then 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The 'sons of Judah' (benei Yehudah) here is likely a variant spelling of 'Hodaviah' (see 2:40), not the tribe of Judah — these are Levitical supervisors, not lay tribal members. Henadad means 'favor of Hadad,' with Hadad being a storm deity — another example of a name reflecting the cultural environment of the exile.
Ezra 3:10

וְיִסְּד֥וּ הַבֹּנִ֖ים אֶת־הֵיכַ֣ל יְהוָ֑ה וַיַּעֲמִ֣ידוּ הַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים מְלֻ֠בָּשִׁ֠ים בַּחֲצֹ֨צְר֜וֹת וְהַלְוִיִּ֤ם בְּנֵי־אָסָף֙ בַּמְצִלְתַּ֔יִם לְהַלֵּ֖ל אֶת־יְהוָ֑ה עַל־יְדֵ֖י דָּוִ֥יד מֶֽלֶךְ־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

When the builders laid the foundation of the LORD's Temple, the priests stood in their vestments with trumpets, and the Levites — the sons of Asaph — with cymbals, to praise the LORD according to the directions of David king of Israel.

KJV And 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase al yedei David melekh Yisrael ('by the hands/direction of David king of Israel') credits David with establishing the liturgical patterns now being revived. The chatsotsrot (silver trumpets) were priestly instruments (Numbers 10:1-10); the metsiltayim (cymbals) were Levitical. The distinction between priestly and Levitical instruments was carefully maintained.
Ezra 3:11

וַֽיַּעֲנוּ֙ בְּהַלֵּ֤ל וּבְהוֹדֹת֙ לַיהוָ֔ה כִּ֣י ט֔וֹב כִּ֥י לְעוֹלָ֖ם חַסְדּ֣וֹ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְכׇל־הָעָ֞ם הֵרִ֤יעוּ תְרוּעָה֙ גְדוֹלָ֔ה בְּהַלֵּ֖ל לַיהוָ֑ה עַ֖ל הוּסַ֥ד בֵּית־יְהוָֽה׃

They sang responsively in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: 'For he is good, for his faithful love toward Israel endures forever.' And all the people raised a great shout of praise to the LORD because the foundation of the house of the LORD had been laid.

KJV And 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חַסְדּוֹ chasdo
"his faithful love" — loyal love, covenant faithfulness, steadfast love, mercy, devotion, kindness

Chesed is the covenant bond that holds even when circumstances collapse. The exiles sing of chesed precisely because they have experienced exile — God's faithful love is not contradicted by the catastrophe but proven through the restoration.

Translator Notes

  1. The antiphonal refrain ki tov ki le-olam chasdo al Yisrael ('for he is good, for his faithful love toward Israel is forever') is Israel's signature doxology. It appears at the dedication of Solomon's Temple (2 Chronicles 5:13), in multiple psalms (106:1; 107:1; 118:1-4; 136 passim), and at Jehoshaphat's battle (2 Chronicles 20:21). By singing this ancient refrain, the returnees stitch themselves into the continuum of Israelite worship.
  2. The verb he'iru teru'ah gedolah ('raised a great shout') uses teru'ah, the term for the war cry, the trumpet blast, and the acclamation of a king. This is not polite applause — it is the full-throated roar of a people witnessing their God's faithfulness.
Ezra 3:12

וְרַבִּ֡ים מֵהַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים וְהַלְוִיִּם֩ וְרָאשֵׁ֨י הָאָב֜וֹת הַזְּקֵנִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר רָא֜וּ אֶת־הַבַּ֤יִת הָרִאשׁוֹן֙ בְּיׇסְד֔וֹ זֶ֣ה הַבַּ֔יִת בְּעֵינֵיהֶ֖ם בֹּכִ֣ים בְּק֣וֹל גָּד֑וֹל וְרַבִּ֛ים בִּתְרוּעָ֥ה בְשִׂמְחָ֖ה לְהָרִ֥ים קֽוֹל׃

But many of the priests, Levites, and heads of ancestral houses — the old men who had seen the first house — wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this house being laid before their eyes. And many others raised their voices in shouts of joy.

KJV But 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:

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This is the emotional climax of the chapter. The old men (ha-zeqenim) who had seen Solomon's Temple as children — they would have been at least seventy years old by this point — look at the new foundation and weep. The weeping is not criticized; neither is the joy. The text presents both responses as legitimate. Haggai 2:3 confirms the disparity: 'Who among you saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?'
  2. The Hebrew places the weeping and the joy in the same sentence, grammatically intertwined — bokhim be-qol gadol ('weeping with a loud voice') and bi-teru'ah be-simchah le-harim qol ('in joyful shouting lifting the voice'). The sounds are simultaneous and inseparable.
Ezra 3:13

וְאֵ֣ין הָעָ֗ם מַכִּירִים֙ ק֚וֹל תְּרוּעַ֣ת הַשִּׂמְחָ֔ה לְק֖וֹל בְּכִ֣י הָעָ֑ם כִּ֣י הָעָ֗ם מְרִיעִים֙ תְּרוּעָ֣ה גְדוֹלָ֔ה וְהַקּ֥וֹל נִשְׁמָ֖ע עַד־לְמֵרָחֽוֹק׃

No one could distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the weeping, because the people were shouting so loudly that the sound carried far away.

KJV 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 afar off.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The narrator's observation is devastating in its simplicity: ein ha-am makkirim ('the people could not distinguish'). Joy and grief produced the same volume, the same intensity, the same overwhelming sound. From a distance, restoration and loss were acoustically identical. This is not a failure of perception but a statement about the nature of return — it is never pure joy, and the grief is never despair. The verb nishma ('was heard') in its passive form means the sound reached far without the hearers being able to parse it. The ambiguity is the point.
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