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Easy-to-Read Version

Ezra 3:8

So in the second month of the second year after they came to the Temple in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began the work. Their brothers, the priests, Levites, and everyone who came back to Jerusalem from captivity began working with them. They chose Levites who were 20 years old and older to be the leaders in the building of the Lord 's Temple.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Jehozadak;   Jeshua;   Levites;   Liberality;   Month;   Priest;   Shealtiel;   Temple;   Zerubbabel;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Temple, the Second;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Levites;   Temple;   Zerubbabel or Zorobabel;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ezra;   Joshua the son of jehozadak;   Levite;   Temple;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Nehemiah, Theology of;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Chronology;   Shealtiel;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Degrees, Songs of;   Ezra, the Book of;   Jozadak;   Shealtiel;   Zerubbabel;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Chronicles, Books of;   Ezra, Book of;   Pedaiah;   Zechariah, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Haggai;   Jehozadak;   Priests and Levites;   Sheshbazzar;   Temple;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Jeshua, Jeshuah ;   Josedech ;   Salathiel, Shealtiel ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Month;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Temple;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Joz'adak;   She-Al'ti-El;   Zerub'babel;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Levites;   Zerubbabel;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Babylonish Captivity, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Dispersion, the;   Forward;   Haggai;   Jehozadak;   Jeshua;   Joshua (3);   Remnant;   Shealtiel;   Zechariah, Book of;   Zerubbabel;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Jerusalem;   Joshua (Jehoshua);   Majority;   Zerubbabel;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build. They appointed the Levites who were twenty years old or more to supervise the work on the Lord’s house.
Hebrew Names Version
Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Yerushalayim, in the second month, began Zerubbavel the son of She'alti'el, and Yeshua the son of Yotzadak, and the rest of their brothers the Kohanim and the Levites, and all those who were come out of the captivity to Yerushalayim, and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of the LORD.
King James Version
Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the Lord .
English Standard Version
Now in the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their kinsmen, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to supervise the work of the house of the Lord .
New Century Version
In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the Temple of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, their fellow priests and Levites, and all who had returned from captivity to Jerusalem began to work. They chose Levites twenty years old and older to be in charge of the building of the Temple of the Lord .
New English Translation
In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work, along with the rest of their associates, the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed the Levites who were at least twenty years old to take charge of the work on the Lord 's temple.
Amplified Bible
In the second year of their coming to God's house at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak began [the work], with the rest of their brothers—the priests and Levites and all who came to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.
New American Standard Bible
Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites who were twenty years old and upward to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.
World English Bible
Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who were come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Yahweh.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And in the seconde yeere of their comming vnto the house of God in Ierusalem in the second moneth began Zerubbabel the sonne of Shealtiel, and Ieshua the sonne of Iozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the Priests and the Leuites, and all they that were come out of the captiuitie vnto Ierusalem, and appointed the Leuites from twentie yeere olde and aboue, to set forwarde the worke of the house of the Lorde.
Legacy Standard Bible
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 who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to direct the work of the house of Yahweh.
Berean Standard Bible
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.
Contemporary English Version
During the second month of the second year after the people had returned from Babylonia, they started rebuilding the Lord 's temple. Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the priests, the Levites, and everyone else who had returned started working. Every Levite over twenty years of age was put in charge of some part of the work.
Complete Jewish Bible
In the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Yerushalayim, in the second month, Z'rubavel the son of Sh'alti'el, Yeshua the son of Yotzadak, the rest of their kinsmen the cohanim and L'vi'im, and all who had come out of exile to Yerushalayim began the project. They appointed the L'vi'im aged twenty and up to direct work in the house of Adonai .
Darby Translation
And in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem; and they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to superintend the work of the house of Jehovah.
George Lamsa Translation
Now in the second year of their coming to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, in the second month, sent Zerubbabel the son of Shelathiel and Joshua the son of Jozadak and the remnant of their brethren and the priests and the Levites and all they that were come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and upward to look after the work of the house of the LORD in the day time.
Good News Translation
So in the second month of the year after they came back to the site of the Temple in Jerusalem, they began work. Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the rest of their people, the priests, and the Levites, in fact all the exiles who had come back to Jerusalem, joined in the work. All the Levites twenty years of age or older were put in charge of the work of rebuilding the Temple.
Lexham English Bible
In the second year after their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jehozadak began their work, and the remainder of their brothers the priests and the Levites and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem. They appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to direct the work of the house of Yahweh.
Literal Translation
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.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
In the seconde yeare of their commynge vnto the house of God at Ierusalem in the seconde moneth, beganne Zorobabel the sonne of Salathiel, and Iesua the sonne of Iosedec, and the remnaunt of their brethren the prestes and Leuites, and all they that were come out of the captiuyte vnto Ierusalem, and appoynted the Leuites fro twentye yeare olde and aboue, to se that the worke of the house of the LORDE wete forwarde.
American Standard Version
Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem, and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Jehovah.
Bible in Basic English
Now in the second year of their coming into the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, the work was taken in hand by Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come from the land where they were prisoners to Jerusalem: and they made the Levites, of twenty years old and over, responsible for overseeing the work of the house of the Lord.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
In the second yere of their comming vnto the house of God at Hierusalem in the second moneth, began Zorobabel the sonne of Salathiel, and Iesua the sonne of Iosedec, and the remnaunt of their brethren, the priestes and Leuites, and all they that were come out of the captiuitie vnto Hierusalem: and appoynted the Leuites from twentie yeres olde and aboue, to see that the worke of the house of the Lorde went forwarde.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of the LORD.
King James Version (1611)
Now in the second yere of their coming vnto the house of God at Ierusalem, in the second moneth, began Zerubbabel the sonne of Shealtiel, and Ieshua the sonne of Iozadak, and the remnant of their brethren, the Priests and the Leuites, and all they that were come out of the captiuitie vnto Ierusalem: and appointed the Leuites, from twentie yeeres olde and vpward, to set forward the worke of the house of the Lord.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And in the second year of their coming to the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and Jesus the son of Josedec, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, and they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, over the workmen in the house of the Lord.
English Revised Version
Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of the LORD.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe in the secounde yeer of her comyng to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the secounde monethe, Zorobabel, the sone of Salatiel, and Josue,
Update Bible Version
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 those that had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began. And they appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Yahweh.
Webster's Bible Translation
Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD.
New King James Version
Now in the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, 1 Chronicles 6:14">[fn] and the rest of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the Lord.
New Living Translation
The construction of the Temple of God began in midspring, during the second year after they arrived in Jerusalem. The work force was made up of everyone who had returned from exile, including Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jehozadak and his fellow priests, and all the Levites. The Levites who were twenty years old or older were put in charge of rebuilding the Lord 's Temple.
New Life Bible
In the second month of the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the religious leaders and Levites, and all who returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, began the work. And they chose the Levites from twenty years old and older to watch over the work of the Lord's house.
New Revised Standard
In the second year after their arrival at the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their people, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work on the house of the Lord .
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, in the second year of their coming in unto the house of God, to Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak and the rest of their brethren - the priests and the Levites, and all that were come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, and stationed the Levites, of twenty years old and upwards, to preside over the work of the house of Yahweh.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And in the second year of their coming to the temple of God in Jerusalem, the second month, Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, and Josue the son of Josedec, and the rest of their brethren the priests, and the Levites, and all that were come from the captivity to Jerusalem began, and they appointed Levites from twenty years old and upward, to hasten forward the work of the Lord.par
Revised Standard Version
Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerub'babel the son of She-al'ti-el and Jeshua the son of Jo'zadak made a beginning, together with the rest of their brethren, the priests and the Levites and all who had come to Jerusalem from the captivity. They appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of the LORD.
Young's Literal Translation
And in the second year of their coming in unto the house of God, to Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all those coming from the captivity to Jerusalem, and they appoint the Levites from a son of twenty years and upward, to overlook the work of the house of Jehovah.
THE MESSAGE
In the second month of the second year after their arrival at The Temple of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jozadak, in company with their brother priests and Levites and everyone else who had come back to Jerusalem from captivity, got started. They appointed the Levites twenty years of age and older to direct the rebuilding of The Temple of God . Jeshua and his family joined Kadmiel, Binnui, and Hodaviah, along with the extended family of Henadad—all Levites—to direct the work crew on The Temple of God.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
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 who came from the captivity to Jerusalem, began the work and appointed the Levites from twenty years and older to oversee the work of the house of the LORD.

Contextual Overview

8 So in the second month of the second year after they came to the Temple in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began the work. Their brothers, the priests, Levites, and everyone who came back to Jerusalem from captivity began working with them. They chose Levites who were 20 years old and older to be the leaders in the building of the Lord 's Temple. 9 These were the men who supervised the work of building the Lord 's Temple: Jeshua and his sons, Kadmiel and his sons (the descendants of Judah), the sons of Henadad and their brothers, the Levites. 10 The builders finished laying the foundation for the Lord 's Temple. When the foundation was finished, the priests put on their special clothing. Then they got their trumpets, and the sons of Asaph got their cymbals. They all took their places to praise the Lord . This was done the way King David of Israel had ordered in the past. 11 They sang songs of praise and thanksgiving, taking turns in singing each part. They sang, "The Lord is good. His faithful love will last forever." Then all the people cheered—they gave a loud shout and praised the Lord because the foundation of the Lord 's Temple had been laid. 12 But many of the older priests, Levites, and family leaders, who could remember seeing the first Temple, began to cry aloud. They cried while the others there shouted for joy. 13 The sound could be heard far away. All of them made so much noise that no one could tell the difference between the shouts of joy and the crying.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Zerubbabel: Ezra 3:2

twenty years old: Numbers 4:3, 1 Chronicles 23:24-32

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 6:38 - seven years 1 Chronicles 3:17 - Salathiel Ezra 2:2 - Jeshua Ezra 5:16 - laid Ezra 6:14 - And the elders Nehemiah 7:1 - the porters Nehemiah 7:7 - Jeshua Nehemiah 12:1 - Zerubbabel Jeremiah 30:3 - and I Haggai 1:1 - unto Zechariah 4:9 - have

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
The snake was the most clever of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. The snake spoke to the woman and said, "Woman, did God really tell you that you must not eat from any tree in the garden?"
Genesis 3:2
The woman answered the snake, "No, we can eat fruit from the trees in the garden.
Genesis 3:3
But there is one tree we must not eat from. God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch that tree, or you will die.'"
Genesis 3:9
The Lord God called to the man and said, "Where are you?"
Genesis 3:10
The man said, "I heard you walking in the garden, and I was afraid. I was naked, so I hid."
Genesis 3:12
The man said, "The woman you put here with me gave me fruit from that tree. So I ate it."
Genesis 3:21
The Lord God used animal skins and made some clothes for the man and his wife. Then he put the clothes on them.
Genesis 3:22
The Lord God said, "Look, the man has become like us—he knows about good and evil. And now the man might take the fruit from the tree of life. If the man eats that fruit, he will live forever."
Deuteronomy 4:33
You people heard God speaking to you from a fire, and you are still alive. Has that ever happened to anyone else? No!
Deuteronomy 5:25
But if we hear the Lord our God speak to us again, surely we will die! That terrible fire will destroy us. We don't want to die.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem,.... The place where it formerly stood; the Jews seem to have set out from Babylon, in the spring of the preceding year, as it was now of this; which to Jerusalem was a journey of about four months, as Ezra performed it, Ezra 7:9, but might take up longer time for such a body of people to do it in, being larger than that with him; wherefore, after they had visited their respective cities, and settled their affairs there, they came to Jerusalem on the seventh month, or September, and kept the feast of tabernacles, and then they returned to their cities again, the winter season being an improper time to begin the building of the temple; having given money to workmen to purchase materials with, and no doubt left a sufficient number to clear away the rubbish, and get things ready by the returning spring to set about the work:

in the second month; the mouth Ijar, as Jarchi observes, answering to part of April and May, having, as may be supposed, kept the passover the month before:

began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak: the prince, and the high priest:

and the remnant of their brethren, the priests and Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; whose names and numbers are given in the preceding chapter:

and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and upwards to set forward the work of the house of the Lord; to put men to work upon it, and direct them what to do, and urge them to attend closely to it; ever since David's time the Levites were employed at twenty years of age, when before not till thirty, or twenty five; see 1 Chronicles 23:24.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Unto the house of God - i. e., to the place where the house of God had been, and where God was believed still to have His special dwelling.

And appointed the Levites - This is the emphatic clause of the present verse. Though so small a number of Levites had returned from Babylon Ezra 2:40, yet they were especially singled out to be entrusted with the task of superintending and advancing the building of the temple.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Ezra 3:8. In the second year — The previous time had been employed in clearing the ground, felling timber, hewing stones, and transporting them to the place, and making other necessary preparations for the commencement of the building.


 
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