Ezra 3:12

Ezra 3:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that 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:
• New International Version (NIV)But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy,
• New King James Version (NKJV)But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy,

Context of Ezra 3:12

10The men who were building the Lord's temple finished the foundations. Then the priests put on their special clothes. They made a noise with their trumpets. The Levites (sons of Asaph) made a noise with their cymbals. They all stood to praise the Lord, in the way that Israel's King David had told them many years before. 11They sang together to praise the Lord. Group by group, they sang these words: ‘He is good. His love for Israel will continue for ever.’ Then all the people shouted loudly to praise the Lord. They praised him because they had finished work on the temple's foundation. But many of the older priests, Levites and leaders wept aloud. They were sad because they had seen the temple as it had been before. They remembered how beautiful it had been. At the same time, many other people shouted because they were happy. 13The happy shouts and the noise of people who were weeping were both very loud. People far away could hear the noise. The different sounds mixed together, so nobody could say which was which.

Ezra 3:12 word by word

וְרַבִּ֡ים מֵהַכֹּהֲנִ֣ים וְהַלְוִיִּם֩ וְרָאשֵׁ֨י הָאָב֜וֹת הַזְּקֵנִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר רָא֜וּ אֶת־הַבַּ֤יִת הָֽרִאשׁוֹן֙ בְּיָסְד֔וֹ זֶ֤ה הַבַּ֙יִת֙ בְּעֵ֣ינֵיהֶ֔ם בֹּכִ֖ים בְּק֣וֹל גָּד֑וֹל וְרַבִּ֛ים בִּתְרוּעָ֥ה בְשִׂמְחָ֖ה לְהָרִ֥ים קֽוֹל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• of the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• and Levitesלֵוִיlêvîyîy lêvîy · LeviH3881
• and chiefרֹאשׁrô'sh · head: leaderH7218
• of the fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• ancient menזָקֵןzâqên · oldH2205
• that had seenרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• the firstרִאשׁוֹןri'shôn ri'shôn · firstH7223
• houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: templeH1004
• when the foundationיָסַדyâsad · to foundH3245
• before their eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• weptבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• with a loudגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
• shoutedתְּרוּעָהterû‛âh · shoutH8643
• aloudרוּםrûm · to exaltH7311
• for joyשִׂמְחָהώimchâh · joyH8057

Cross-references for Ezra 3:12

• Haggai 2:3The Lord says, ‘Some of you will remember how beautiful my temple was in past times. Look at it now! It seems nothing like it was before.
• Job 8:7You will be successful in the future, with more riches than you had before.
• Isaiah 41:14Do not be afraid, you Israelites, descendants of Jacob. You may seem unimportant, like a worm, but I myself will help you.’ That is what the Lord says. He is your Redeemer, the Holy God of Israel.
• Isaiah 60:22The least important person among you will become a great family. The smallest person will become a large nation. I am the Lord. When the right time comes, I will cause it to happen quickly!
• Daniel 2:34While you looked, someone cut out a large stone from a mountain. But no human hand did this. The stone hit the statue on its iron and clay feet. The stone broke them into pieces.
• Zechariah 4:10Everyone should know that the day of small things is important. Men will see Zerubbabel. Then they will sing and they will be happy. They will see him with a line in his hand to measure the walls. The Lord sees everything in the whole earth. (The seven lights are the seven eyes of the Lord.)
• Matthew 13:31Jesus told the people another story. He said, ‘I will tell you again what the kingdom of heaven is like. It is like a very small seed of the plant called mustard. A man took this seed and he planted it in his field.
• Psalms 126:6People were weeping when they took their bags of seeds to plant. But when they carry their crops back home, they will shout because they are so happy!
• Jeremiah 31:8See what I will do! I will bring them back from the land in the north. Wherever they are, I will bring them back. A great crowd of my people will return. Blind people will be among them, and people who cannot walk well. There will be pregnant women and some who will very soon give birth.

Commentaries on Ezra 3:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12Wept with a loud voice - They saw that the glory had departed from Israel; in their circumstances it was impossible to build such a house as the first temple was; and had this been even possible, still it would have been greatly inferior, because it wanted the ark of the covenant, the heavenly fire, the mercy-seat, the heavenly manna, Aaron's rod that budded, the Divine shechinah, the spirit of prophecy, and most probably the Urim and Thummim. Many…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12Wept … shouted … for joy - Compare the marginal reference and Zechariah 4:10. It is implied that the dimensions of the second temple were smaller than those of the first. Hence, the feeling of sorrow which came upon some. They, however, who had not seen the former temple, and so could not contrast the two, naturally rejoiced to see the sanctuary of their religion begin to rise from its ruins.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-13Verses 8-13 There was a remarkable mixture of affections upon laying the foundation of the temple. Those that only knew the misery of having no temple at all, praised the Lord with shouts of joy. To them, even this foundation seemed great. We ought to be thankful for the beginnings of mercy, though it be not yet perfect. But those who remembered the glory of the first temple, and considered how far inferior this was likely to be, wept with a loud voice…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12Some people cried loudly because they were disappointed that the new temple's foundation was not as impressive as the old one (see Haggai 2:3). Others cried because they were very happy to see the Lord's temple restored.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers ... wept with a loud voice--Those painful emotions were excited by the sad contrast between the prosperous circumstances in which the foundations of the first temple had been laid and the desolate, reduced state of the country and city when the second was begun; between the inferior size and less costliness of the stones used in the foundations of the second (1Ki 7:9, 10), and the much…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezra 3:12

• Jeshua
• Joy
• Priest
• Shouting
• Temple
• Worship

In the dictionaries

• Priests and Levites
• Ordinance
• Apocalyptic Literature
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• Senaah
• Temple
• Psalms, Book of
• patriarch

Commentaries on Ezra 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings