9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for beast, neither was there any safety from the foe for him who went out or came in, for I set every man against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, declares the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace. The vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And as you have been a byword of cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”

9 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, which were in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before these days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in because of the affliction: for I set all men every one against his neighbour. 11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts. 12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

9 “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Be strong and finish the task! Ever since the laying of the foundation of the Temple of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you have heard what the prophets have been saying about completing the building. 10 Before the work on the Temple began, there were no jobs and no money to hire people or animals. No traveler was safe from the enemy, for there were enemies on all sides. I had turned everyone against each other.

11 “But now I will not treat the remnant of my people as I treated them before, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 For I am planting seeds of peace and prosperity among you. The grapevines will be heavy with fruit. The earth will produce its crops, and the heavens will release the dew. Once more I will cause the remnant in Judah and Israel to inherit these blessings. 13 Among the other nations, Judah and Israel became symbols of a cursed nation. But no longer! Now I will rescue you and make you both a symbol and a source of blessing. So don’t be afraid. Be strong, and get on with rebuilding the Temple!

9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:

‘Let your hands be strong,

You who have been hearing in these days

These words by the mouth of the prophets,

Who spoke in the day the foundation was laid

For the house of the Lord of hosts,

That the temple might be built.

10 For before these days

There were no wages for man nor any hire for beast;

There was no peace from the enemy for whoever went out or came in;

For I set all men, everyone, against his neighbor.

11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord of hosts.

12 ‘For the seed shall be prosperous,

The vine shall give its fruit,

The ground shall give her increase,

And the heavens shall give their dew—

I will cause the remnant of this people

To possess all these.

13 And it shall come to pass

That just as you were a curse among the nations,

O house of Judah and house of Israel,

So I will save you, and you shall be a blessing.

Do not fear,

Let your hands be strong.’

9 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Work hard, you who are hearing these words today. The prophets spoke these words when the foundation was laid for the house of the Lord All-Powerful, for the building of the Temple. 10 Before that time there was no money to hire people or animals. People could not safely come and go because of the enemies; I had turned everyone against his neighbor. 11 But I will not do to these people who are left what I did in the past,” says the Lord All-Powerful.

12 “They will plant their seeds in peace, their grapevines will have fruit, the ground will give good crops, and the sky will send rain. I will give all this to the people who are left alive. 13 Judah and Israel, your names have been used as curses in other nations. But I will save you, and you will become a blessing. So don’t be afraid; work hard.”

9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets that were in the day that the foundation of the house of Jehovah of hosts was laid, even the temple, that it might be built. 10 For before those days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; neither was there any peace to him that went out or came in, because of the adversary: for I set all men every one against his neighbor. 11 But now I will not be unto the remnant of this people as in the former days, saith Jehovah of hosts. 12 For there shall be the seed of peace; the vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. 13 And it shall come to pass that, as ye were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.

9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets, that were in the day that the foundation of the house of Jehovah of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built. 10 For before those days there was no hire for man, nor any hire for beast; and there was no peace for him that went out or that came in, because of the distress: for I let loose all men, every one against his neighbour. 11 But now I will not be unto the remnant of this people as in the former days, saith Jehovah of hosts; 12 for the seed shall be prosperous, the vine shall give its fruit, and the ground shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 And it shall come to pass, like as ye were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear ye not, let your hands be strong.

9 This is what the Lord of Armies says: 

Be strong so that the temple might be rebuilt, 

you people who are presently listening 

to the words from the mouths of the prophets 

who spoke when the foundation 

for the house of the Lord of Armies was laid. 

10 Before that time there was no money to hire any person or animal. 

No one who traveled was safe from the enemy. 

I turned every person against his neighbor. 

11 But now I won’t deal with the few remaining people 

as I did in earlier times, declares the Lord of Armies. 

12 Seeds will thrive in peacetime. 

Vines will produce their grapes. 

The land will yield its crops. 

The sky will produce its dew. 

I will give the few remaining people 

all these things as an inheritance. 

13 Just as you, people of Judah and people of Israel, 

have been a curse among the nations, 

so I will now save you, 

and you will become a blessing. 

Don’t be afraid. Let your hands work hard. 

9 The Lord of Hosts says this: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words that the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of Hosts. 10 For prior to those days neither man nor beast had wages. There was no safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I turned everyone against his neighbor. 11 But now, I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. 12 “For they will sow in peace: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce, and the skies will yield their dew. I will give the remnant of this people all these things as an inheritance. 13 As you have been a curse among the nations, house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Don’t be afraid; let your hands be strong.”

9 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Let your hands be strong—you that have recently been hearing these words from the mouths of the prophets who were present when the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of hosts. 10 For before those days there were no wages for people or for animals, nor was there any safety from the foe for those who went out or came in, and I set them all against one other. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days, says the Lord of hosts. 12 For there shall be a sowing of peace; the vine shall yield its fruit, the ground shall give its produce, and the skies shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 Just as you have been a cursing among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you and you shall be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong.

9 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts: ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are hearing in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day the foundation was laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of Yahweh of hosts. 10 For before those days there was no wage for people or for animals, and there was no safety from the enemy for those who went out or those who came in, and I sent each person against one another. 11 But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares Yahweh of hosts. 12 ‘For there will be a sowing of peace; the vine will give its fruit, and the soil will give its produce, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things. 13 And then, just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. You must not be afraid; let your hands be strong!’ ”

9 The Lord who rules over all says to his people, “Listen to the words that were spoken by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. They spoke to you when the work on my temple started up again. Let your hands be strong so that you can rebuild the temple.

10 “Before the work was started again, there was no pay for the people or food for the animals. People could not go about their business safely because of their enemies. I had turned all of them against one another. 11 But now I will not punish you who are living at this time. I will not treat you as I treated your people before you,” announces the Lord who rules over all.

12 “Your seeds will grow well. Your vines will bear fruit. The ground will produce crops for you. And the heavens will drop their dew on your land. I will give all of those things to those who are still left alive here.

13 “Judah and Israel, in the past the nations called down curses on you. But now I will save you. You will be a blessing to others. Do not be afraid. Let your hands be strong so that you can do my work.”

9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who are listening in these days to these words from the mouth of the prophets, those who spoke in the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, to the end that the temple might be built.

10 ‘For before those days there was no wage for man or any wage for animal; and for him who went out or came in there was no peace because of his enemies, and I set all men one against another.

11 ‘But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ declares the Lord of hosts.

12 ‘For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things.

13 ‘It will come about that just as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you that you may become a blessing. Do not fear; let your hands be strong.’