1 Da den sjuende måneden kom, og Israels barn var i byene, samlet folket seg som én mann i Jerusalem.

And when the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people came together like one man to Jerusalem.

2 Da sto Jesjua, sønn av Josadak, og hans brødre prestene, og Serubabel, sønn av Sealtiel, med sine brødre, opp og bygde alteret for Israels Gud for brennoffer, som det står skrevet i loven til Moses, Guds mann.

Then Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, with his brothers, got up and made the altar of the God of Israel for burned offerings as is recorded in the law of Moses, the man of God.

3 De satte opp alteret på sin grunn, for de var redde for folket i landene rundt dem, og de ofret brennoffer der til Herren, både morgen og kveld.

They put the altar on its base; for fear was on them because of the people of the countries: and they made burned offerings on it to the Lord, even burned offerings morning and evening.

4 De holdt løvhyttefesten, som det står skrevet, og frembar det faste daglige brennoffer etter tallet, slik det er forskrevet, hver dag det som var nødvendig.

And they kept the feast of tents, as it is recorded, making the regular burned offerings every day by number, as it is ordered; for every day what was needed.

5 Deretter kom det faste brennoffer og ofrene for nymånedagene og alle Herrens hellige fester, og de frivillige ofrene som hver enkelt gav til Herren.

And after that, the regular burned offering and the offerings for the new moons and all the fixed feasts of the Lord which had been made holy, and the offering of everyone who freely gave his offering to the Lord.

6 Fra den første dagen i den sjuende måneden begynte de å ofre brennoffer til Herren, men grunnmuren til Herrens tempel var ennå ikke lagt.

From the first day of the seventh month they made a start with the burned offerings, but the base of the Temple of the Lord had still not been put in its place.

7 De ga penger til steinhoggerne og tømmermennene og mat, drikk og olje til folket i Sidon og Tyrus, for å frakte sedertre fra Libanon til sjøen, til Jafo, som Kyros, kongen av Persia, hadde gitt dem tillatelse til.

And they gave money to the stoneworkers and woodworkers; and meat and drink and oil to the people of Zidon and of Tyre, for the transport of cedar-trees from Lebanon to the sea, to Joppa, as Cyrus, king of Persia, had given them authority to do.

8 I det andre året etter at de var kommet til Guds hus i Jerusalem, i den andre måneden, påbegynte Serubabel, sønn av Sealtiel, og Jesjua, sønn av Josadak, og deres brødre prestene og levittene og alle de som var kommet fra fangenskapet til Jerusalem, arbeidet. De satte levittene, dem som var tjue år gamle og eldre, til å lede arbeidet på Herrens hus.

Now in the second year of their coming into the house of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, the work was taken in hand by Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who had come from the land where they were prisoners to Jerusalem: and they made the Levites, of twenty years old and over, responsible for overseeing the work of the house of the Lord.

9 Jesjua og hans sønner og hans brødre, Kadmiel med sine sønner, sønnene av Hodavja, ledet arbeidet sammen med sønnene og brødrene til Henadad, levittene.

Then Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel with his sons, the sons of Hodaviah, together took up the work of overseeing the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad with their sons and their brothers, the Levites.

10 Da bygningsmennene la grunnsteinen til Herrens tempel, tok prestene sine plasser i sine kjortler med trompeter, og levittene, sønnene av Asaf, med cymbaler for å prise Herren etter anvisningen fra David, Israels konge.

And when the builders put in position the base of the Temple of the Lord, the priests, dressed in their robes, took their places with horns, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with brass instruments, to give praise to the Lord in the way ordered by David, king of Israel.

11 De priste Herren og sang i kor: For han er god, for hans miskunn mot Israel varer evig. Og hele folket ropte av glede da de priste Herren, fordi grunnmuren til Herrens hus var lagt.

And they gave praise to the Lord, answering one another in their songs and saying, For he is good, for his mercy to Israel is eternal. And all the people gave a great cry of joy, when they gave praise to the Lord, because the base of the Lord's house was put in place.

12 Men mange av prestene og levittene og familieoverhodene, gamle menn som hadde sett det første huset, gråt høyt da de så grunnmuren til dette huset bli lagt. Mange ropte høyt av glede.

But a number of the priests and Levites and the heads of families, old men who had seen the first house, when the base of this house was put down before their eyes, were overcome with weeping; and a number were crying out with joy:

13 Så lyden av glede ble blandet med lyden av gråt i folket; for ropene var så kraftige at de kunne høres på lang avstand.

So that in the ears of the people the cry of joy was mixed with the sound of weeping; for the cries of the people were loud and came to the ears of those who were a long way off.