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Ezra 6:16

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Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.

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Commentaries

Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.

Matthew Henry Bible Commentaryv. 16

How solemnly the foundation of the temple was laid we read in Ezr 3:1-13. How slowly the building went on, and with how much difficulty, we found in ch. 4 and 5. But how gloriously the topstone was at length brought forth with shoutings we find in this chapter; and even we, at this distance of time, when we read of it, may cry, "Grace, grace to it." As for God, his work is perfect; it may be slow work, but it will be sure work. We have here, I. A recital of the decree of Cyrus for the building of the temple (Ezr 6:1-5). II. The enforcing of that decree by a new order from Darius for the perfecting of that work (Ezr 6:6-12). III. The finishing of it thereupon (Ezr 6:13-15). IV. The solemn dedication of it when it was built (Ezr 6:16-18), and the handselling of it (as I may say) with the celebration of the passover (Ezr 6:19-22). And now we may say that in Judah and Jerusalem things went well, very well.

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Original language

The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).

Strong's Concordancev. 16

בֵּן (bên, H1123) — {a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense} יִשְׂרָאֵל (Yisrâʼêl, H3479) — {Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity} כָּהֵן (kâhên, H3549) — {one officiating, a priest; also (by courtesy) an acting priest (although a layman)} לֵוִי (Lêvîy, H3879) — {something attached, i.e. a wreath} שְׁאָר (shᵉʼâr, H7606) — {a remainder} גָּלוּת (gâlûwth, H1547) — {captivity; concretely, exiles (collectively)} עֲבַד (ʻăbad, H5648) — to do, make, prepare, keep, etc. חֲנֻכָּא (chănukkâʼ, H2597) — consecration דֵּן (dên, H1836) — this בַּיִת (bayith, H1005) — {a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etc.)} אֱלָהּ (ʼĕlâhh, H426) — God חֶדְוָה (chedvâh, H2305) — {rejoicing}

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Cross-references

Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.

II Chronicles 7:5rank 7

And King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the people dedicated the house of God.

I Kings 8:63rank 5

And Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the LORD.

Philippians 4:4rank 4

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Psalms 122:1rank 3

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”

John 10:22rank 3

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter,

Ezra 6:22rank 3

For seven days they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy, because the LORD had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work on the house of the God of Israel.

Ezra 4:1rank 2

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the LORD, the God of Israel,

I Chronicles 15:28rank 2

So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouting, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and with cymbals and the music of harps and lyres.

II Chronicles 30:26rank 2

So there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for nothing like this had happened there since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel.

II Chronicles 30:23rank 2

The whole assembly agreed to observe seven more days, so they observed seven days with joy.

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