48. Joshua son of Jehozadak, his fellow-priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, together with his relatives, prepared the altar of the God of Israel,
49. so that they could burn sacrifices on it according to the instructions written in the Law of Moses, the man of God.
50. Some of the local people, even though they were stronger than the Jews and opposed to them, joined them in rebuilding the altar where it had stood before. Then the Jews began once again to burn the regular morning and evening sacrifices on the altar.
51. They celebrated the Festival of Shelters, according to the regulations, each day offering the sacrifices required for that day.
52. They also offered the normal daily sacrifices, as well as those required for the Sabbath, the New Moon Festival, and the other regular assemblies for worship.
53. Although the people had not yet rebuilt God's Temple, everyone who had made a vow to God began to offer sacrifices on the first day of the seventh month.
54. The people gave money to pay the stonemasons and the carpenters; they gave food, drink,
55. and carts to be sent to the cities of Tyre and Sidon in exchange for cedar logs from Lebanon, which were to be floated to the harbour at Joppa. All this was done according to the orders given by Cyrus, emperor of Persia.
56-57. So in the second month of the year after they came back to the site of the Temple in Jerusalem, they started the work and began laying the foundation. Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the rest of their fellow-Israelites, the priests, and the Levites — in fact, all the exiles who had come back to Jerusalem, joined in the work.
58. The Levites twenty years of age or older were put in charge of rebuilding the Temple for the Lord. The Levite Jeshua and his sons and relatives, his brother Kadmiel, the sons of Jeshua Emadabun, the sons of Joda son of Iliadun, and all their sons and relatives — in fact, all the Levites joined together to take charge of the rebuilding of the Temple.While the workers were building the Temple of the Lord,
59. the priests in their robes took their places with trumpets and other musical instruments in their hands, and the Levites of the clan of Asaph stood there with cymbals.
60. They praised the Lord and gave thanks to him according to the instructions handed down from the time of King David.
61. They sang psalms praising the Lord, repeating the refrain: “The goodness of the Lord and his glorious presence are with all Israel for ever.”
62. All the people blew trumpets and shouted with all their might, praising the Lord because the Temple was being rebuilt.