Ezra 3
Introduction
Ezra 3 records two landmark events in the restoration of Israel's worship: the rebuilding of the altar and the resumption of sacrifices (vv. 1-6), and the laying of the temple foundation (vv. 7-13). These events take place in the seventh month (Tishri) of the first year and the second month (Iyar) of the second year after the return -- a period of roughly seven months in which the community moved from resettlement to worship to construction. The chapter reveals the community's deepest priorities: before walls, before houses, before any other construction, they rebuilt the altar. Worship came first, because the relationship with God was the foundation on which everything else would stand.
The chapter also introduces a striking scene: the mingled sounds of joy and weeping when the temple foundation was laid (vv. 12-13). The younger generation shouted for joy at the new beginning; the older generation, who remembered the glory of Solomon's temple, wept at how diminished the new beginning seemed. This tension between gratitude and grief, between hope for the future and mourning for the past, runs throughout the post-exilic literature and reflects the spiritual condition of any community that has survived catastrophe and begun, however tentatively, to rebuild.
Rebuilding the Altar and Resuming Sacrifices (vv. 1-6)
1 By the seventh month, the Israelites had settled in their towns, and the people assembled as one man in Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates, began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. 3 They set up the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the LORD -- both the morning and evening burnt offerings -- even though they feared the people of the land.
4 They also celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in accordance with what is written, and they offered burnt offerings daily based on the number prescribed for each day. 5 After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings and those for New Moons and for all the appointed sacred feasts of the LORD, as well as all the freewill offerings brought to the LORD.
6 On the first day of the seventh month, the Israelites began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, although the foundation of the temple of the LORD had not been laid.
1 When the seventh month arrived and the people of Israel were in their towns, the people gathered as one to Jerusalem.
2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his kinsmen, arose 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. 3 They set the altar on its base, for dread of the surrounding peoples was upon them, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening.
4 They kept the Feast of Booths as prescribed, and offered the daily burnt offerings in the number required for each day. 5 And after that they offered the regular burnt offering, the offerings for the new moons, and the offerings for all the appointed feasts of the LORD, as well as the offerings of everyone who brought a freewill offering to the LORD.
6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid.
Notes
The seventh month (Tishri, corresponding to September-October) was the most sacred month in the Israelite calendar, containing the Feast of Trumpets (the first day, Leviticus 23:23-25), the Day of Atonement (the tenth day, Leviticus 16), and the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles (beginning the fifteenth day, Leviticus 23:33-43). The timing was not accidental: the community chose to reconstitute its worship life during the month when the most important festivals converged. The phrase כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד ("as one man") emphasizes the unity of the people in this act -- a significant detail for a community that had been scattered.
The altar was the first thing rebuilt -- not the temple walls, not the city, but the place of sacrifice. This reflects the theological priority: the burnt offering (עֹלָה, literally "that which goes up") was the foundational sacrifice of Israelite worship, representing total consecration to God. The phrase כַּכָּתוּב בְּתוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה ("as prescribed in the law of Moses") appears here for the first time in Ezra and will recur as a refrain throughout the book. The returned community was self-consciously ordering its life by the Torah.
That they erected the altar while כִּי בְאֵימָה עֲלֵיהֶם מֵעַמֵּי הָאֲרָצוֹת ("dread of the peoples of the lands") was upon them reveals a community acting in faith despite fear. The "peoples of the lands" were the mixed populations that had settled in the territory during the exile -- the very groups that will become the adversaries of Ezra 4. The community's response to fear was not to hide but to worship. Building the altar was both an act of devotion and a declaration of identity: we are the people of the LORD, and we will serve him on this land.
The Feast of Booths (v. 4), called חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת, commemorated Israel's wilderness wandering and God's provision during the journey from Egypt. Its observance by these recently arrived exiles was deeply fitting -- they too had just completed a journey through the wilderness, from Babylon back to the promised land. The festival required specific numbers of offerings for each of its seven days (Numbers 29:12-38), and the text emphasizes that they followed the prescription exactly.
Verse 6 makes a quiet but weighty observation: the burnt offerings began on the first day of the seventh month — the Feast of Trumpets — even though the temple foundation had not yet been laid. Worship did not wait for the building. The altar alone was sufficient to restore the sacrificial relationship between God and his people.
Laying the Foundation of the Temple (vv. 7-13)
7 They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.
8 In the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their associates including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years of age or older to supervise the construction of the house of the LORD. 9 So Jeshua and his sons and brothers, Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Yehudah), and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers -- all Levites -- joined together to supervise those working on the house of God.
10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their positions to praise the LORD, as David king of Israel had prescribed. 11 And they sang responsively with praise and thanksgiving to the LORD: "For He is good; for His loving devotion to Israel endures forever." Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD had been laid.
12 But many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first temple wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this temple. Still, many others shouted joyfully. 13 The people could not distinguish the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people were making so much noise. And the sound was heard from afar.
7 They gave silver to the stonecutters and craftsmen, and food, drink, and oil to the Sidonians and the Tyrians, to bring cedar wood from Lebanon to the sea at Joppa, according to the authorization they had from Cyrus king of Persia.
8 In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began the work, together with the rest of their kinsmen -- the priests and the Levites and all who had come from the captivity to Jerusalem. They appointed the Levites from twenty years old and upward to oversee the work of the house of the LORD. 9 And Jeshua with his sons and brothers, and Kadmiel with his sons, the descendants of Hodaviah, together with the sons of Henadad, their sons and their brothers the Levites -- all stood together to supervise the workers in the house of God.
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, 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. 11 They sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the LORD: "For he is good, for his steadfast 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.
12 But many of the priests, Levites, and heads of fathers' houses -- the old men who had seen the first house -- wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, even as many shouted aloud for joy. 13 The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from the sound of weeping, for the people shouted with a great shout, and the sound was heard far away.
Notes
Verse 7 deliberately echoes Solomon's preparations for the first temple. Solomon also hired Sidonians and Tyrians to bring cedar from Lebanon by sea to Joppa (1 Kings 5:6-9; 2 Chronicles 2:16). The author wants the reader to see that this new temple stands in direct continuity with the Solomonic original -- it is not a new project but a restoration of what was lost. The authorization of Cyrus replaces the treaty with Hiram, but the pattern is the same.
The work began in the second month (Iyar, roughly April-May) of the second year, which would be approximately 536 BC. The appointment of Levites from age twenty to supervise the work is notable; in Numbers 4:3, Levitical service began at age thirty (though 1 Chronicles 23:24-27 records David lowering it to twenty). The post-exilic community evidently followed the Davidic precedent, perhaps because the small number of available Levites (only 74, per Ezra 2:40) demanded a lower age threshold.
The foundation-laying ceremony in verses 10-11 follows the liturgical pattern established by David, not Moses -- specifically, the use of trumpets by priests and cymbals by the sons of Asaph (1 Chronicles 16:4-6). The responsive song, כִּי טוֹב כִּי לְעוֹלָם חַסְדּוֹ ("for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever"), is among the most frequently recurring liturgical refrains in the Old Testament. It appears in Psalm 136 (in every verse), at Solomon's temple dedication (2 Chronicles 5:13), and at numerous other moments of worship. The word חֶסֶד ("steadfast love, loving devotion, loyal love") is a theologically dense word in biblical Hebrew, encompassing God's faithful, covenant-keeping love that endures through all circumstances -- including exile and return. The translation "steadfast love" captures both its enduring quality and its grounding in God's commitment.
The scene in verses 12-13 is emotionally complex. The הַזְּקֵנִים ("the elders, the old men") who had seen Solomon's temple were weeping. If the temple was destroyed in 586 BC and the foundation laid around 536 BC, these were people at least in their seventies or eighties who remembered the magnificent building that Nebuchadnezzar had reduced to rubble. Their weeping was not a rejection of the new work but an expression of grief at how much had been lost. The Hebrew verb בָּכָה ("to weep") and the noun תְּרוּעָה ("joyful shouting, battle cry") are set in deliberate contrast. The author does not resolve the tension; he simply reports that the two sounds merged into one great noise heard far away. This is honest spiritual autobiography -- the post-exilic community held both grief and hope simultaneously, and the author saw no need to suppress either.
The prophet Haggai, writing about sixteen years later when the work had stalled, acknowledged this emotional complexity directly: "Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes?" (Haggai 2:3). But he immediately added God's promise: "The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former" (Haggai 2:9).
Interpretations
The mingled joy and weeping at the temple foundation has prompted reflection on the nature of God's work in restoration. Some interpreters emphasize that the weeping of the elders reflects a lack of faith -- they should have rejoiced at God's new work rather than mourning what was lost. Zechariah's prophecy supports this reading, as God tells the people not to despise the "day of small things" (Zechariah 4:10). Others see the weeping as entirely legitimate grief that God does not rebuke -- the elders had lived through genuine catastrophe, and their tears honored the weight of what had been destroyed. Most commentators recognize both elements: the grief was real and understandable, but it needed to be held alongside faith in God's ongoing purposes. The passage speaks to any community rebuilding after loss: what God is doing may not resemble what God once did, but his steadfast love endures through both.