The Father's Altar Rises Again
Before any temple stands, the returned people rebuild our Father's altar on its old foundations — afraid of the peoples around them — and restart the daily offerings. When the foundation is laid, old men who remember the first house weep as loudly as the others shout.
3 1In the seventh month, with Israel settled in their towns, the people gathered as one in Jerusalem. 2Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates, set to work and built the altar of our Father, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses, the man of our Father. 3They set the altar on its foundations, fearing the peoples around them, and offered burnt offerings on it to our Father morning and evening. 4They kept the Feast of Booths as written, the daily burnt offerings in the number each day required. 5After that, they offered the regular burnt offerings, the new moon offerings, all our Father's sacred feasts, and gifts from anyone who brought a voluntary offering to our Father. 6From the first day of the seventh month, they began offering burnt offerings to our Father, though our Father's temple foundation was not yet laid. 7They paid masons and carpenters, and gave the Sidonians and Tyrians food, drink, and oil, to bring cedar logs from Lebanon by sea to Joppa, as Cyrus king of Persia had authorized them.
The Father's House Begins to Rise
8In the second month of year two after they reached our Father's house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began the work, with the rest of their people—the priests, the Levites, and all who'd returned to Jerusalem from captivity. They set Levites twenty and older over the work on our Father's house. 9Then Jeshua, his sons and brothers, and Kadmiel with his sons, sons of Judah, joined together to oversee those working on our Father's house—along with Henadad's sons, their sons and brothers, the Levites.
10When the builders laid the foundation of our Father's temple, priests in robes stood with trumpets, and Levites, sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise our Father as David king of Israel had ordered. 11They sang responsively, praising and thanking our Father: "He is good; his faithful love for Israel lasts forever." All the people gave a great shout of praise, because the foundation of our Father's house was laid.
12Many older priests, Levites, and clan heads who had seen the first house wept loudly as this house's foundation was laid before their eyes, while many others shouted for joy. 13No one could distinguish the joyful shout from the weeping, since the people shouted so loudly it was heard far off.
