3:7 So they provided money 11 for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon 12 and Tyre, 13 so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport 14 at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia. 3:8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, 15 in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, 16 along with the rest of their associates, 17 the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed 18 the Levites who were at least twenty years old 19 to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple. 3:9 So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives, 20 Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah 21 ), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives 22 the Levites. 3:10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions, 23 and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by 24 King David of Israel. 25 3:11 With antiphonal response they sang, 26 praising and glorifying the Lord:
“For he is good;
his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”
All the people gave a loud 27 shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established. 3:12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders 28 – older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established 29 – were weeping loudly, 30 and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. 3:13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly 31 that the sound was heard a long way off.
1 sn Jozadak (also in 3:8) is a variant spelling of Jehozadak.
2 tn Heb “his brothers the priests.”
3 tn Heb “his brothers.”
4 tn Heb “arose and built.”
5 tn Heb “written in.” Cf. v. 4.
6 tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.”
7 tn The Hebrew phrase אֶת חַג־הַסֻּכּוֹת (’et khag-hassukot, “festival of huts” [or “shelters”]) is traditionally known as the Feast of Tabernacles. The rendering “booths” (cf. NAB, NASB, NRSV) is probably better than the traditional “tabernacles” in light of the meaning of the term סֻכָּה (sukkah, “hut; booth”), but “booths” are frequently associated with trade shows and craft fairs in contemporary American English. The nature of the celebration during this feast as a commemoration of the wanderings of the Israelites after they left Egypt suggests that a translation like “temporary shelters” is more appropriate.
8 tn Heb “according to what is written.”
9 tn Heb “by number.”
10 tn Or “the foundation of the
11 tn Heb “silver.”
12 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
13 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
14 tn Heb “to the sea”
15 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
16 tn Heb “began”; the phrase “the work” is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
17 tn Heb “their brothers.”
18 tn Heb “stood.”
19 tn Heb “from twenty years and upward.”
20 tn Heb “brothers.”
21 sn The name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah; cf. KJV, ASV, NASB “Judah”) is probably a variant of Hodaviah (see Ezra 2:40; cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
22 tn Heb “brothers.”
23 sn This was a long, straight, metallic instrument used for signal calls, rather than the traditional ram’s horn (both instruments are typically translated “trumpet” by English versions).
24 tn Heb “according to the hands of.”
25 sn See Ps 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1. Cf. 2 Chr 5:13; 7:3; 20:21.
26 tn Heb “they answered.”
27 tn Heb “great.”
28 tn Heb “the heads of the fathers.”
29 sn The temple had been destroyed some fifty years earlier by the Babylonians in 586
30 tn Heb “with a great voice.”
31 tn Heb “a great shout.”