² Then Joshua^(A) son of Jozadak^(B) and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel^(C) and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses^(D) the man of God.

²⁴ These were the descendants of Levi by their families—the heads of families as they were registered under their names and counted individually, that is, the workers twenty years old or more^(A) who served in the temple of the Lord.

²⁷ According to the last instructions of David, the Levites were counted from those twenty years old or more.

³ But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”^(A)