The First Offering on the New Altar
1 During the seventh month of the year, the Israelites who had settled in their towns went to Jerusalem. 2 The priest Joshua son of Jozadak, together with the other priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his relatives rebuilt the altar of Israel's God. Then they were able to offer sacrifices there by following the instructions God had given to Moses, the man of God. 3 And they built the altar where it had stood before, even though they were afraid of the people who were already living around there. Then every morning and evening they burned sacrifices and offerings to the Lord.
4 The people followed the rules for celebrating the Festival of Shelters and offered the proper sacrifices each day. 5 They offered sacrifices to please the Lord, sacrifices at each New Moon Festival, and sacrifices at the rest of the Lord's festivals. Every offering the people had brought voluntarily was also presented to the Lord.
6 Although work on the temple itself had not yet begun, the people started offering sacrifices on the Lord's altar on the first day of the seventh month of that year.
The Rebuilding of the Temple Begins
7 King Cyrus of Persia had said the Israelites could have cedar trees brought from Lebanon to Joppa by sea. So they sent grain, wine, and olive oil to the cities of Tyre and Sidon as payment for these trees, and they gave money to the stoneworkers and carpenters.
8 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 20 years of age was put in charge of some part of the work. 9 The Levites in charge of the whole project were Joshua and his sons and relatives and Kadmiel and his sons from the family of Hodaviah. The family of Henadad worked along with them.
10 When the builders had finished laying the foundation of the temple, the priests put on their robes and blew trumpets in honor of the Lord, while the Levites from the family of Asaph praised God with cymbals. All of them followed the instructions given years before by King David. 11 They praised the Lord and gave thanks as they took turns singing:
“The Lord is good!
His faithful love for Israel
will last forever.”
Everyone started shouting and praising the Lord because work on the foundation of the temple had begun. 12 Many of the older priests and Levites and the heads of families wept bitterly because they remembered seeing the first temple years before. But others were so happy that they celebrated with joyful shouts. 13 Their shouting and crying were so noisy that it all sounded alike and could be heard a long way off.
Eloǃoabas ge ǁkhawa ra tsoatsoa
1 Hûǁî ǁkhâb ge hā, ǁaeb ain ge Israelǁîn hoana ǀnai ǁîn di ǃādi ǃnâ ge ǁan hâ i. Tsîn ge ǁîn hoana ǀguiǂâixase Jerusalems ǃnâ ge ǀhao. 2 Ob ge Josadaki ôab Jesuab, ǁîb ǃgâsapristergu tsî Sealtieli ôab Serubabeli tsî ǁîgu di ǀaokhoen tsîna Israeli di Elob di altarsa ge ǂnubikhâi, ǁîs ain khauǁguibade nî ǁguibase, Elob aob Moseb di ǂhanub ǃnâ i a xoamâisa khami. 3 ǃHūb ǃnâ ge ǁan hâ i khoen xan gere ǃao, xawen ge oaǀkhī ge ǃhūsabena altarsa ǀnais ge mâ i ǃkhais ai ǁkhawa ge ǂnubikhâi. Tsîn ge ǁnās khaoǃgâ ǁîs ai ǁgoakhauǁguibadi tsî ǃuikhauǁguibadi tsîna ǃKhūba ge ǁguibatsoatsoa. 4 ǁÎn ge ǁHaodi ǁÂudība xoaǁguigu ǃoa tsēdī tsî mâ tsēs hoasa, tsēs ai nî dīhese xoaǁguisa ǁguibade gere ǁguiba. 5 ǁNās xōǀkhān ge ǁnaetisa khauǁguibadi tsî ǀAsa ǁKhâb Kaitsēs tsî mîǁguisa ǀgoreǀîtsēdi ai ǃKhūba ra hā-ūbahe ǁguibadi tsî māsenxase ra hā-ūhe ǁguibadi tsîna gere ǁguiba. 6 Noxopan ge Tempela ǂnubitsoatsoa tama hâ i, xawen ge ǁîna ǂguro tsēs hûǁî ǁkhâb dis ai khauǁguibade ǃKhūba ge ǁguibatsoatsoa.
Tempeli ge ra ǂnubitsoatsoahe
7 Khoen ge ǀuiǁhā-aogu tsî ǃnaokuru-aogu tsîgu nî matarehega mari-e ge mā, tsî ǂûn tsî āxūn tsî ǀkhera-oli-i tsîna Tirus tsî Sidons ǁga ge sî, Libanonni sederhain, hurib ai Jopasa ǃoa nî hā-ūhen ǃaroma. Nē xūn hoan ge Persiab gao-aob Koresi mā-ams ǀkha ge ī. 8 Tsîn ge ǀgamǁî kurib di ǀgamǁî ǁkhâb, ǁîn ge Tempeli tawa Jerusalems ǃnâ oaǀkhīs dib ǃnâ sîsenni ǀkha ge tsoatsoa. Serubabeli, Jesuab tsî nau aogu ǁaes digu, pristergu, Leviǁîgu tsî ǃhūsisa xu ge Jerusalems ǁga oaǀkhī khoen tsîn hoan ge sîsenna gere dīǀhao. Hoaraga Leviǁîgu ǀgamdisis xa ǃnāsa kuriga ūhâgu ge Tempela ǂnubikhâis di sîsenna gere mûǂam. 9 Leviǁîb Jesuab tsî ǁîb ôagu tsî ǀaokhoegu, Kadmieli tsî ǁîb ôagu (Hodaviab ǃhaoǃnās digu) tsîgu ge Tempela ǂnubikhâis di sîsenna mûǂams ǃnâ gere huiǀhao. (ǁÎgu ge Henadadi ǃhaoǃnās di Leviǁîgu xa gere huihe.)
10 Omaogu ge Tempeli di ǃgaoǃgaoba a ǁgui, o gu ge pristerga ǁîgu saraga ana tsî xâiǁnâde ǃomǁae ūhâse ǁîgu ǃkhaidi ai ge mâ i, tsî Asafi ǃhaoǃnās di Leviǁîgu ge simbaldi ǀkha ge mâ i. Tsî gu ge hoaga gao-aob Davidi ǁaeba xu hâ ǂnûiǂgāde ǃoa ǃKhūba gere koa. 11 ǁÎgu ge ǃKhūba sao rase gere koaǁnaeba:
“ǃKhūb ge a ǃgâi tsî Israela ǀamos kōse a ǀnam.” Tempeli tawa hâ hoaraga khoen ge ǃKhūb di koasa dâxase ge ǂgaiǂui, Tempeli ǃgaoǃgaob di sîsenni ge tsoatsoa ǃkhais ǃaroma. 12 ǂGui kaira pristergu, Leviǁîgu tsî ǃhaoǃnādi di danakhoegu ǂguro Tempela ge mû hâ igu ge nē Tempeli di ǃgaoǃgaob ra ǁguihe ǀgausa gu mâ ra mû hîa gere ā. Xawe nau khoen ge dâxase gere ǃau. 13 Khoe-i xare-i ge dâb di ǃaub tsî āb tsîn ǁaegu ge ǀgora ǁoa i, ǁîn di ǂkhupib ge ǃnūseb kōse gere ǁnâusen xui-ao.
