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.
56. So they celebrated the rededication of the altar for eight days and joyfully made entirely burned offerings. They offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise.
57. They decorated the front of the temple with gold crowns and small shields. They restored the gates and the priests’ chambers, furnishing them with doors.
58. The people were extremely glad, and the disgrace the Gentiles brought was lifted.