Read the Bible

¹ And when the seventh month had come, and the sons of Israel were in the cities, the people assembled as one man to Jerusalem.² Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak stood up, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, and built the altar of the God of Israel in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.³ And they set the altar on its bases, for fear was on them because of the people of those lands. And he offered burnt offerings on it to Jehovah, burnt offerings morning and evening.⁴ They also performed the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and the burnt offerings by number, days by days, according to the ordinance, the thing of days in its day.⁵ And afterward the continual burnt offering, both of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of Jehovah that were set apart, and of everyone who willingly offered a freewill offering to Jehovah.⁶ From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to Jehovah. But the foundation of the temple of Jehovah was not laid.⁷ They also gave silver to the hewers and to the craftsmen; and food and drink and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians, to bring cedar trees from Lebanon to the sea of Joppa, according to the grant which they had from Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸ Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests, and the Levites, and all they who hadcome out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began. And they made to stand the Levites from a son of twenty years and over, to oversee the work of the house of Jehovah.⁹ Then Jeshua stood up together with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, to oversee the workmen in the house of God, the sons of Henadad with their sons, and their brothers the Levites.¹⁰ And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Jehovah, they made stand the priests in their robes with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals to praise Jehovah, according of Israel.¹¹ And they sang, praising and giving thanks to Jehovah, because He is good, for His mercy endures forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praisedJehovah because the foundation of the houseof Jehovah was laid.¹² But many of the priests and Levites, and heads of the fathers, the aged men who 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,¹³ So that the people could not tell the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of weeping of the people. For the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.