Ezra 3:3 (LSB)

Passage

So they set up the altar on its foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to Yahweh, burnt offerings morning and evening.

Nearby Context

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

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

Ezra 3:3 So they set up the altar on its foundation, for they were terrified because of the peoples of the lands; and they offered burnt offerings on it to Yahweh, burnt offerings morning and evening.

Ezra 3:4 They celebrated the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the fixed number of burnt offerings daily, according to the legal judgment, as each day required;

Ezra 3:5 and afterward there was a continual burnt offering, also for the new moons and for all the appointed times of Yahweh that were set apart as holy, and from everyone who offered a freewill offering to Yahweh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "altar", "foundation", "terrified", "peoples", "lands", "offered", "burnt", and "offerings". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "altar" and "foundation", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and..." into verse 4's "They celebrated the Feast of Booths as...", so "altar" and "foundation" 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 "foundation" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.