An Exhortation to Rebuild the Temple

⁹ “This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Be strong so the Temple can be built, you who are now listening to this message spoken by the prophets when the foundation was laid to the Temple of the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. ¹⁰ Before then, everyone was unemployed—even the draft animals—and no one was safe coming or going because of the enemy, because I caused everyone to oppose each other.^[a]

¹¹ “‘But now I will not treat the survivors of this people as I did formerly,’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. ¹² ‘For there will be a sowing of peace: the vine will produce its fruit, the earth will produce its full^[b] yield, the sky will produce its dew, and I will make the survivors of this people inherit all these things. ¹³ Furthermore, house of Judah and house of Israel, even though you used to be a curse among the nations, now I will surely save you, and you will be a blessing. Stop being afraid. Instead, grow stronger.’”^[c]