Ezra 3:11-13

Easy-to-Read Version

¹¹ They sang songs of praise and thanksgiving, taking turns in singing each part.^[a] They sang,

Then all the people cheered—they gave a loud shout and praised the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid.

¹² But many of the older priests, Levites, and family leaders, who could remember seeing the first Temple, began to cry aloud. They cried while the others there shouted for joy. ¹³ The sound could be heard far away. All of them made so much noise that no one could tell the difference between the shouts of joy and the crying.