Wɔsane Si Afɔrebukyia No
1Bosome a ɛtɔ so nson ahyɛaseɛ a Israelfoɔ abɔ atenaseɛ wɔ wɔn nkuro mu no, nnipa no nyinaa hyiaa sɛ nnipa korɔ wɔ Yerusalem. 2Na Yosadak babarima Yesua ne nʼafɛfoɔ asɔfoɔ ne Sealtiel babarima Serubabel ne nʼabusuafoɔ hyɛɛ aseɛ siesiee Israel Onyankopɔn afɔrebukyia no, sɛdeɛ wɔbɛtumi abɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ wɔ so, sɛdeɛ wɔahyɛ wɔ Mose a ɔyɛ Onyankopɔn onipa no mmara mu no. 3Ɛwom sɛ na nkurɔfoɔ no suro amannifoɔ a wɔtete hɔ no deɛ, nanso wɔsane sii afɔrebukyia no wɔ ne dada mu hɔ. Ɛhɔ ara na wɔhyɛɛ aseɛ bɔɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ maa Awurade. Wɔyɛɛ saa anɔpa ne anwummerɛ biara. 4Wɔdii Asese Afahyɛ no sɛdeɛ wɔakyerɛ wɔ Mose mmara nwoma no mu no, na wɔbɔɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ, sɛdeɛ afahyɛ da biara deɛ teɛ no. 5Afei, wɔbɔɔ daa ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ no ne afɔdeɛ a ɛsɛ sɛ wɔbɔ ma Ɔbosome Foforɔ Afahyɛ no ne mfeɛ ahodoɔ afahyɛ de maa Awurade. Na nnipa no bɔɔ ɔpɛ pa mu afɔdeɛ nso de maa Awurade. 6Aka dadu nnanum na Dwanekɔbea Afahyɛ no aduru so no, asɔfoɔ no hyɛɛ aseɛ bɔɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ maa Awurade. Wɔhyɛɛ yei nso ase ansa na wɔreto Awurade asɔredan no fapem.
7Na wɔbɔɔ adansifoɔ ne nnua adwumfoɔ paa na wɔtɔɔ ntweneduro nnua firi Tirofoɔ ne Sidonfoɔ nkyɛn, na wɔde nnuane, nsã ne ngo tuaa wɔn ka. Wɔde nnua no firi Lebanon mmepɔ so guu Ɛpo Kɛseɛ ani baa Yopa, a na ɔhene Kores ama ho ɛkwan.
8Wɔhyɛɛ Onyankopɔn asɔredan no sie ase wɔ bosome a ɛtɔ so mmienu mu wɔ afeɛ a ɛtɔ so mmienu firi ɛberɛ a wɔkɔduruu Yerusalem no. Wɔn a wɔfiri asutwa mu baeɛ no nyinaa yɛɛ ho adwumayɛfoɔ a Sealtiel babarima Serubabel, Yosadak babarima Yesua ne ne mfɛfoɔ asɔfoɔ ne Lewifoɔ nyinaa nso ka ho. Lewifoɔ a na wɔadi mfeɛ aduonu ne wɔn a wɔboro saa no na wɔde Awurade asɔredan no nsiesie hyɛɛ wɔn nsa. 9Yesua ne ne mmammarima ne nʼabusuafoɔ ne Kadmiel ne ne mmammarima ne Hodawia asefoɔ nyinaa na wɔde Onyankopɔn asɔredan ho adwumayɛfoɔ hyɛɛ wɔn nsa sɛ, wɔnhwɛ wɔn so. Henadad abusuafoɔ Lewifoɔ na wɔboaa wɔn saa dwumadie yi mu.
10Ɛberɛ a adansifoɔ no wiee Awurade asɔredan no fapem no, asɔfoɔ no hyɛɛ wɔn asɔfotadeɛ, kɔtenaa wɔn tenaberɛ, hyɛnee wɔn totorobɛnto. Na Asaf asefoɔ Lewifoɔ no bɔɔ wɔn kyankyan de kamfoo Awurade sɛdeɛ na ɔhene Dawid ahyɛ no pɛpɛɛpɛ. 11Wɔde nkamfoɔ ne aseda too saa dwom yi maa Awurade sɛ:
“Ɔyɛ,
Na nʼadɔeɛ wɔ hɔ daa ma Israel afebɔɔ!”
Na ɔmanfoɔ no nyinaa teaam ahoɔden so, de kamfoo Awurade, ɛfiri sɛ, Awurade asɔredan fapem no, wɔato. 12Asɔfoɔ mpanimfoɔ no bebree ne Lewifoɔ ne ntuanofoɔ no kaee asɔredan a ɛdi ɛkan no, wɔsuiɛ ɛberɛ a wɔhunuu asɔredan foforɔ no fapem a wɔato no. Na afoforɔ nso teateaam anigyeɛ so. 13Anigyeɛ nteateamu ne osu a ɛne no adi afra no, ano yɛɛ den, na nnipa tee no akyirikyiri.
The People Rebuild the Altar
1The Israelites had made their homes in their towns. In the seventh month all of them gathered together in Jerusalem. 2Then Joshua began to build the altar for burnt offerings to honor the God of Israel. Joshua was the son of Jozadak. The other priests helped Joshua. So did Zerubbabel and his men. They built the altar according to what is written in the Law of Moses. Moses was a man of God. Zerubbabel was the son of Shealtiel. 3The people who built the altar were afraid of the nations around them. But they built it anyway. They set it up where it had stood before. They sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord. They offered the morning and evening sacrifices on it. 4Then they celebrated the Feast of Booths. They did it according to what is written in the Law. They sacrificed the number of burnt offerings required for each day. 5After they celebrated the Feast of Booths, they sacrificed the regular burnt offerings. They offered the New Moon sacrifices. They also offered the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred feasts of the Lord. And they sacrificed the offerings the people chose to give him. 6On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. They did it even though the foundation of the Lord’s temple hadn’t been laid yet.
The People Begin to Rebuild the Temple
7The people gave money to those who worked with stone and those who worked with wood. They gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre. Then those people brought cedar logs down from Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. They floated them down to Joppa. Cyrus, the king of Persia, authorized them to do it.
8It was the second month of the second year after they had arrived at the house of God in Jerusalem. Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, began the work. Joshua, the son of Jozadak, helped him. So did everyone else. That included the priests and Levites. It also included the rest of those who had returned to Jerusalem. They had been prisoners in the land of Babylon. Levites who were 20 years old or more were appointed to be in charge of building the Lord’s house. 9Those who joined together to direct the work included Joshua and his sons and brothers. They also included Kadmiel and his sons. And they included the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers. All those men were Levites. Kadmiel and his sons were members of the family line of Hodaviah.
10The builders laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple. Then the priests came. They were wearing their special clothes. They brought their trumpets with them. The Levites who belonged to the family line of Asaph also came. They brought their cymbals with them. The priests and Levites took their places to praise the Lord. They did everything just as King David had required them to. 11They sang to the Lord. They praised him. They gave thanks to him. They said,
“The Lord is good.
His faithful love to Israel continues forever.”
All the people gave a loud shout. They praised the Lord. They were glad because the foundation of the Lord’s temple had been laid. 12But many of the older priests and Levites and family leaders wept out loud. They had seen the first temple. So when they saw the foundation of the second temple being laid, they wept. Others shouted with joy. 13No one could tell the difference between the shouts of joy and the sounds of weeping. That’s because the people made so much noise. The sound was heard far away.
