Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, April 15th, 2026
the Second Week after Easter
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Read the Bible

Good News Translation

Ezra 6:16

Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and all the others who had returned from exile—joyfully dedicated the Temple.

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;
Easy-to-Read Version
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.
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.
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 Then Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their fellow officials did exactly as the emperor had commanded. 14 The Jewish leaders made good progress with the building of the Temple, encouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. They completed the Temple as they had been commanded by the God of Israel and by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, emperors of Persia. 15 They finished the Temple on the third day of the month Adar in the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Darius. 16 Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and all the others who had returned from exile—joyfully dedicated the Temple. 17 For the dedication they offered 100 bulls, 200 sheep, and 400 lambs as sacrifices, and 12 goats as offerings for sin, one for each tribe of Israel. 18 They also organized the priests and the Levites for the Temple services in Jerusalem, according to the instructions contained in the book of Moses. 19 The people who had returned from exile celebrated Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month of the following year. 20 All the priests and the Levites had purified themselves and were ritually clean. The Levites killed the animals for the Passover sacrifices for all the people who had returned, for the priests, and for themselves. 21 The sacrifices were eaten by all the Israelites who had returned from exile and by all those who had given up the pagan ways of the other people who were living in the land and who had come to worship the Lord God of Israel. 22 For seven days they joyfully celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread. They were full of joy because the Lord had made the emperor of Assyria favorable to them, so that he supported them in their work of rebuilding the Temple of the God of Israel.

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
as God had commanded. Then the Lord shut the door behind Noah.
Genesis 8:6
After forty days Noah opened a window
2 Samuel 6:16
As the Box was being brought into the city, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked out of the window and saw King David dancing and jumping around in the sacred dance, and she was disgusted with him.
2 Kings 9:30
Jehu arrived in Jezreel. Jezebel, having heard what had happened, put on eye shadow, arranged her hair, and stood looking down at the street from a window in the palace.
Ezekiel 41:16
were all paneled with wood from the floor to the windows. These windows could be covered.
Ezekiel 42:3
On one side it faced the space 34 feet wide which was alongside the Temple, and on the other side it faced the pavement of the outer courtyard. It was built on three levels, each one set further back than the one below it.
Luke 13:25
The master of the house will get up and close the door; then when you stand outside and begin to knock on the door and say, ‘Open the door for us, sir!' he will answer you, ‘I don't know where 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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