Ezra 3:12 - Exposition

Many … who were ancient men, that had seen the first house. The old temple had not been destroyed so much as fifty years. Consequently, there would be many who could remember its grandeur and glory. These persons, when the foundation of the (new) house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice. It was "the day of small things" ( Zechariah 4:10 ). The new house, in comparison with the old one, was "as nothing" ( Haggai 2:3 ). The difference was perhaps not so much in the dimensions (see note on Ezra 6:3 ) as in the size and quality of the foundation-stones ( 1 Kings 5:17 ), the excellence of the masonry, and the like. Solomon had employed the best workmen of one of the greatest of the Tyrian kings; Zerubbabel had only the arms of his own subjects to depend upon.