Ezra 3:1-6

They build the altar

1 When all the people were now living in their towns, they went to meet together in Jerusalem. It was the seventh month of the year. 2 Jozadak's son, Jeshua, and some of the other priests in his family began to build the altar of Israel's God. Shealtiel's son, Zerubbabel, and some of his family also began to build it. They wanted to make burnt offerings on it. God's servant, Moses, had written about this in the law. 3 The people who already lived near there made them afraid. But they built the altar on its foundation. Then they made burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar. They offered sacrifices on it every day, in the morning and in the evening. 4 Then they had the Feast of Huts, as the law said they should do. On each day of the feast they made the right number of burnt offerings. 5 After that, they made burnt offerings every day, and also at the time of each new moon. They made the right sacrifices for the special festivals, when people met together to worship the Lord. They also offered special gifts that people had chosen to give to the Lord. 6 They began to offer those burnt offerings on the first day of the seventh month. That was before they had started to build the temple.