Ezra 3:3 (DBY)

Passage

And they set the altar on its base; for fear was upon them because of the people of the countries; and they offered up burnt-offerings on it to Jehovah, the morning and evening burnt-offerings.

Nearby Context

Ezra 3:1 And when the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

Ezra 3:2 Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer up burnt-offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.

Ezra 3:3 And they set the altar on its base; for fear was upon them because of the people of the countries; and they offered up burnt-offerings on it to Jehovah, the morning and evening burnt-offerings.

Ezra 3:4 And they held the feast of tabernacles as it is written, and [offered] daily burnt-offerings by number, according to the ordinance, as the duty of every day required;

Ezra 3:5 and afterwards the continual burnt-offering, and those of the new moons, and of all the set feasts of Jehovah that were consecrated, and of every one that willingly offered a voluntary offering to Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "altar", "base", "fear", "upon", "people", "countries", "offered", and "burnt-offerings". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "altar" and "base", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Then stood up Jeshua the son of..." into verse 4's "And they held the feast of tabernacles...", so "altar" and "base" belong inside that flow. In Ezra context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "altar" and "base" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.