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11 (A)They alternated in songs of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, “for he is good, for his love for Israel endures forever”;[a] and all the people raised a great shout of joy, praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid. 12 (B)Many of the priests, Levites, and heads of ancestral houses, who were old enough to have seen the former house, cried out in sorrow as they watched the foundation of the present house being laid. Many others, however, lifted up their voices in shouts of joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from the sound of those who were weeping; for the people raised a mighty clamor which was heard far away.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:11 “For he is good…forever”: a refrain occurring frequently in liturgies of ancient Israel (cf. Ps 136).

11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

“He is good;
    his love toward Israel endures forever.”(A)

And all the people gave a great shout(B) of praise to the Lord, because the foundation(C) of the house of the Lord was laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple,(D) wept(E) aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy(F) from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

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