Worship Begins Again
1 By the seventh month the people of Israel were all settled in their towns. Then they all assembled in Jerusalem, 2 and Joshua son of Jehozadak, his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, together with his relatives, rebuilt the altar of the God of Israel, so that they could burn sacrifices on it according to the instructions written in the Law of Moses, the man of God. 3 Even though the returning exiles were afraid of the people who were living in the land, they rebuilt the altar where it had stood before. Then they began once again to burn on it the regular morning and evening sacrifices. 4 They celebrated the Festival of Shelters according to the regulations; each day they offered the sacrifices required for that day; 5 and in addition they offered the regular sacrifices to be burned whole and those to be offered at the New Moon Festival and at all the other regular assemblies at which the Lord is worshiped, as well as all the offerings that were given to the Lord voluntarily. 6 Although the people had not yet started to rebuild the Temple, they began on the first day of the seventh month to burn sacrifices to the Lord.
The Rebuilding of the Temple Begins
7 The people gave money to pay the stonemasons and the carpenters and gave food, drink, and olive oil to be sent to the cities of Tyre and Sidon in exchange for cedar trees from Lebanon, which were to be brought by sea to Joppa. All this was done with the permission of Emperor Cyrus of Persia. 8 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. 9 The Levite Jeshua and his sons and relatives, and Kadmiel and his sons (the clan of Hodaviah ) joined together in taking charge of the rebuilding of the Temple. (They were helped by the Levites of the clan of Henadad.)
10 When the builders started to lay the foundation of the Temple, the priests in their robes took their places with trumpets in their hands, and the Levites of the clan of Asaph stood there with cymbals. They praised the Lord according to the instructions handed down from the time of King David. 11 They sang the Lord's praises, repeating the refrain:
“The Lord is good, and his love for Israel is eternal.”
Everyone shouted with all their might, praising the Lord, because the work on the foundation of the Temple had been started. 12 Many of the older priests, Levites, and heads of clans had seen the first Temple, and as they watched the foundation of this Temple being laid, they cried and wailed. But the others who were there shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish between the joyful shouts and the crying, because the noise they made was so loud that it could be heard for miles.
Etungo loaltari yexwikiloyambo noshivilo shomatwali
1 Nohani onhiheyali eshi ye uya ko novana vaIsrael eshi va li moilando yavo, ovanhu va ongala ngaashi omunhu umwe muJerusalem. 2 Ndele Josua yaJosadak novamwaina ovapristeli naSerubbabel yaSalatiel pamwe novamwaina va fikama, ndele va tunga oaltari yaKalunga kaIsrael, va yambele ko omaxwikiloyambo ngaashi pa shangwa momhango yaMoses, omulumenhu waKalunga. 3 Ndele va tunga oaltari ponhele yayo, osheshi va hangika kehaluko omolwoiwana yedu. Ndele va yambela ko Omwene omaxwikiloyambo, omaxwikiloyambo ongula nonguloshi. 4 Ndele va dana oshivilo shomatwali ngaashi pa shangwa, ndele va yamba omaxwikiloyambo efiku nefiku pamuvalo wa ufwa, efiku keshe omaxwikiloyambo alo. 5 Ndele konima va yamba exwikiloyambo lefiku keshe naalo lohani ipe naaeshe aa omoivilo iyapuki yOmwene naa omunhu keshe ou a etela Omwene eeshali dehalo liwa. 6 Okudja kefiku lotete mohani onhiheyali va hovela okweetela Omwene omaxwikiloyambo, nande ekanghameno lotembeli inali tungwa natango. 7 Ndelenee va yandja oimaliwa kovahongi vomamanya novoipilangi. Ndele kOvasidoni nokOvatirus va yandja ko eendja noikunwa nomaadi, va kufe omiti domisederi muLibanon, ndele ve di ete kefuta kuJoppa pashipango shaKores, ohamba yaPersia, ye shi va pa.
Ekanghameno lotembeli tali tungwa
8 Ndele momudo omutivali eshi va fika kongulu yaKalunga muJerusalem, mohani onhivali, Serubbabel yaSalatiel naJosua yaJosadak novamwaina vamwe ovapristeli nOvalevi naaveshe va dja moukwatwa ndele ve uya kuJerusalem, ova hovela okutunga, ndele va tula Ovalevi ava ve nomido omilongo mbali ile ve di koya, va pashukile oshilonga shongulu yOmwene. 9 Ndele Josua novana vaye novamwaina ovalumenhu naKadmiel novanhu vaye, oludalo laJuda, va fikama ngaashi omunhu umwe okupashukila ava hava longo oshilonga shongulu yaKalunga, pamwe novana vaHenadad, novana vavo novamwaina, Ovalevi.
10 Ovatungi eshi va hovela okutunga ekanghameno lotembeli yOmwene, ovapristeli va tulwa po va djala oikutu yavo youpristeli ve nomanghuma oshikushu, nOvalevi, ovana vaAsaf, ve nomanghuma eembinga, va hambelele Omwene pashipango shaDavid, ohamba yaIsrael. 11 Ndele va hovela okuhambelela nokupandula Omwene:
“Shaashi Ye omuwa,
nouwanghenda waye tau kalelele kOvaisraeli fiyo alushe.”
Novanhu va hafa nokunyakukwa unene, vo eshi va hambelela Omwene, shaashi ekanghameno longulu yOmwene la tungwa. 12 Ndelenee ovapristeli vahapu nOvalevi novakulunhu vomapata, novaxungu, ovo va mona ongulu yotete, ova lila pombada, eshi ve wete ekanghameno longulu ei ya tungwa moipafi yavo, fimbo vakwao va yelula ondaka yavo nokuhafa nokunyakukwa. 13 Novanhu va nyengwa okutongola ondaka yehafo mondaka yelilaano lovanhu, osheshi ovanhu va kuwilila pombada nondaka ya udika kokule.
