Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, July 17th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Ezra 6:16

Then the Israelites celebrated the dedication of God's Temple with much happiness. The priests, the Levites, and all the other people who came back from captivity joined in the celebration.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Backsliders;   Dedication;   Joy;   Liberality;   Temple;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Dedication;   Temple, the Second;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Captivity;   Haggai;   Temple;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Aram;   Dedication;   Ezra;   Levite;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Zechariah, Theology of;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Dedication, Feast of the;   Temple, the Second;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Dedication, Feast of;   Dispersion;   Ezra, the Book of;   Jeshua;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Dedicate, Dedication;   Ezra, Book of;   Temple of Jerusalem;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Darius;   Ezra, Book of;   House;   Nehemiah, Book of;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Dedication, Feast of;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Israel;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Is'rael;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Captivities of Israel;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Babylonish Captivity, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Captivity;   Dedicate;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Consecration;   Sabbatical Year and Jubilee;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then the Israelites, including the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.
Hebrew Names Version
The children of Yisra'el, the Kohanim, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
King James Version
And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
English Standard Version
And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
New Century Version
Then the people of Israel celebrated and gave the Temple to God to honor him. Everybody was happy: the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the Jewish people who had returned from captivity.
New English Translation
The people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—observed the dedication of this temple of God with joy.
Amplified Bible
And all Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the [former] exiles—celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
New American Standard Bible
And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
World English Bible
The children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And the children of Israel, the Priestes, and the Leuites, and the residue of the children of the captiuitie kept the dedication of this house of God with ioy,
Legacy Standard Bible
And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Berean Standard Bible
Then the people of Israel-the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles-celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.
Contemporary English Version
The people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and everyone else who had returned from exile were happy and celebrated as they dedicated God's temple.
Complete Jewish Bible
The people of Isra'el, the cohanim, the L'vi'im and the other people from the exile joyfully dedicated this house of God.
Darby Translation
And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy;
George Lamsa Translation
And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the children of Judah celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Good News Translation
Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and all the others who had returned from exile—joyfully dedicated the Temple.
Lexham English Bible
And the Israelites, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Literal Translation
And the sons of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the children of Israel, the prestes, the Leuites, and the other children of ye captyuite helde the dedicacion of the house of God with ioye,
American Standard Version
And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Bible in Basic English
And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of those who had come back, kept the feast of the opening of this house of God with joy.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And the childre of Israel, the priestes, the Leuites, and the other children of the captiuitie, helde the dedication of this house of God with ioy:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
King James Version (1611)
And the children of Israel, the Priests and the Leuites, and the rest of the children of the captiuitie, kept the dedicatio of this house of God, with ioy,
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of the house of God with gladness.
English Revised Version
And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Forsothe the sones of Israel, the preestis and dekenes, and the othere of the sones of transmygracioun, `that is, that camen fro transmigracioun, `ether caitifte, maden the halewyng of Goddis hows in ioie;
Update Bible Version
And the sons of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Webster's Bible Translation
And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,
New King James Version
Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
New Living Translation
The Temple of God was then dedicated with great joy by the people of Israel, the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the people who had returned from exile.
New Life Bible
The people of Israel, the religious leaders, the Levites, and the rest of the people who returned from Babylon, set apart this house of God with joy.
New Revised Standard
The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then did the sons of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the Sons of the Exile, keep the dedication of this house of God, with joy;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity kept the dedication of the house of God with joy.
Revised Standard Version
And the people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
Young's Literal Translation
And the sons of Israel have made, [and] the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the sons of the captivity, a dedication of this house of God with joy,
THE MESSAGE
And then the Israelites celebrated—priests, Levites, every last exile, exuberantly celebrated the dedication of The Temple of God. At the dedication of this Temple of God they sacrificed a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs—and, as an Absolution-Offering for all Israel, twelve he-goats, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. They placed the priests in their divisions and the Levites in their places for the service of God at Jerusalem—all as written out in the Book of Moses.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

Contextual Overview

13 So Tattenai the governor of the area west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and the men with them obeyed King Darius' order. They obeyed the order quickly and completely. 14 So the Jewish leaders continued to build. Encouraged by the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah son of Iddo, they had great success. They finished building the Temple as the God of Israel had commanded and as Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, the kings of Persia, had ordered. 15 The Temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar. That was in the sixth year of the rule of King Darius. 16 Then the Israelites celebrated the dedication of God's Temple with much happiness. The priests, the Levites, and all the other people who came back from captivity joined in the celebration. 17 This is the way they dedicated God's Temple: They offered 100 bulls, 200 rams, and 400 male lambs. And they offered twelve male goats for all Israel for a sin offering. That is one goat for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. 18 Then they chose the priests in their groups and the Levites in their groups to serve in God's Temple in Jerusalem. They did these things as it is written in the Book of Moses. 19 On the fourteenth day of the first month, the Jews who came back from captivity celebrated the Passover. 20 The priests and Levites made themselves pure. They all made themselves clean and ready to celebrate the Passover. The Levites killed the Passover lamb for all the Jews who came back from captivity. They did that for their brothers the priests, and for themselves. 21 So all the Israelites who came back from captivity ate the Passover meal. Other people washed themselves and made themselves pure from the unclean things of the people living in that country. These pure people also shared in the Passover meal. They did this so that they could go to the Lord , the God of Israel, for help. 22 They celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread with much joy for seven days. The Lord made them very happy because he had changed the attitude of the king of Assyria. So the king of Assyria had helped them do the work on God's Temple.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the children: 1 Chronicles 9:2, Nehemiah 7:73

children of the captivity: Chal, sons of the transportation, Ezra 4:1

the dedication: 1 Kings 8:63, 2 Chronicles 7:5, 2 Chronicles 7:9, John 10:22

with joy: Ezra 6:22, Ezra 3:11, Ezra 3:12, Deuteronomy 12:7, 1 Chronicles 15:28, 2 Chronicles 7:10, 2 Chronicles 30:23, 2 Chronicles 30:26, Nehemiah 8:10, Nehemiah 12:43, Psalms 122:1, Philippians 4:4, Having set up the worship of God in this dedication, they took care to keep it up, and made the book of Moses their rule, to which they had an eye in this establishment. Though the temple service could not now be performed with so much pomp and plenty as formerly, because of their poverty, yet no doubt it was performed with as much purity and close adherence to the Divine institutions as ever. No beauty is like the beauty of holiness.

Reciprocal: Numbers 7:10 - dedicating 2 Samuel 6:17 - offered 1 Chronicles 15:25 - with joy 1 Chronicles 16:1 - they offered Ezra 2:70 - General Ezra 6:19 - the children Nehemiah 12:27 - gladness Daniel 5:13 - the children

Cross-References

Genesis 7:16
All these animals went into the boat in groups of two, just as God had commanded Noah. Then the Lord closed the door behind Noah.
Genesis 8:6
Forty days later Noah opened the window he had made in the boat.
2 Samuel 6:16
Saul's daughter Michal was looking out the window. While the Lord 's Holy Box was being carried into the city, David was jumping and dancing before the Lord . Michal saw this, and she was upset at David.
2 Kings 9:30
When Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel heard the news. She put her makeup on and fixed her hair. Then she stood by the window and looked out.
Ezekiel 41:16
had wood paneling on all the walls. All the windows and doors had wood trim around them. By the doorway, the Temple had wood paneling from the floor up to the windows and up to the part of the wall
Ezekiel 42:3
The building was three stories tall and had balconies. The 20-cubit inner courtyard was between the building and the Temple. On the other side, the rooms faced the pavement of the outer courtyard.
Luke 13:25
If a man locks the door of his house, you can stand outside and knock on the door, but he won't open it. You can say, ‘Sir, open the door for us.' But he will answer, ‘I don't know you. Where did you come from?'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the children of Israel,.... Those of the ten tribes that remained after the body of the people were carried captive, or came with the Jews at their return:

the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity; those of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin:

kept the dedication of this house of God with joy; they set it apart for sacred use and service, with feasting and other expressions of joy and gladness, as follows.


 
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