1When the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their cities. Then the people gathered together as one man at Jerusalem.
2Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up with his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his brothers. They 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.
3They set the altar on its bases, for they were afraid of the people of those countries. And they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening.
4They also kept the feast of tabernacles, as it is written. They offered the daily burnt offerings by number, following the custom, as each day's duty required.
5After that they offered the continual burnt offering, and the offerings for the new moons and for all the appointed feasts of the LORD that were set apart, and the offerings of everyone who willingly brought a freewill offering to the LORD.
6From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD. But the foundation of the temple of the LORD was not yet laid.
7They also gave money to the masons and the carpenters. They gave food and drink and oil to the people of Zidon and of Tyre, so that they would bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa. This was allowed by the grant they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
8In the second year after they came to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, the work was begun by Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who had come out of captivity to Jerusalem. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to take charge of the work of the house of the LORD.
9Then Jeshua stood with his sons and his brothers, and Kadmiel with his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to direct the workmen in the house of God. With them were the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.
10When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they placed the priests in their robes with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the LORD, as David king of Israel had commanded.
11They sang together, taking their turns, praising the LORD and giving thanks to him, "For he is good, for his mercy lasts 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 heads of families, 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 others shouted aloud for joy.
13So the people could not tell 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.