45. They decided it was best to tear it down so that it wouldn’t be a lasting shameful reminder to them that the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar.
46. They stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple mount until a prophet should arise who could say what to do with them.
47. They then took unfinished stones, in keeping with the Law, and built a new altar like the former one.
48. They also restored the sanctuary and the temple interior, and dedicated the courtyards.
49. They fashioned new holy equipment and brought the lampstand, the incense altar, and the table into the temple.
50. Then they offered incense on the altar and lit the lamps on the lampstand, which illuminated the temple.
51. They placed bread on the table and hung curtains. Finally, they completed all the work that they had started.
52. They rose early in the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. It was the year 148.
53. They offered sacrifice, following the Law, on the new altar for entirely burned offerings that they had made.
54. In the very season, on the exact day that the Gentiles had polluted it, it was dedicated with songs, harps, lutes, and cymbals.
55. All the people bowed to the ground and worshipped and blessed heaven, which had given them success.