Temple Foundation Completed

¹⁰ When the builders had laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple, the priests, dressed in their robes and holding trumpets, and the Levites descended from Asaph,^(A) holding cymbals, took their positions to praise the Lord, as King David of Israel had instructed.^{(B) 11} They sang with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord: “For He is good; His faithful love to Israel endures forever.”^(C) Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid.^(D)

¹² But many of the older priests, Levites, and family leaders, who had seen the first temple, wept loudly when they saw the foundation of this house,^(E) but many others shouted joyfully. ¹³ The people could not distinguish the sound of the joyful shouting from that of the^[a] weeping,^(F) because the people were shouting so loudly. And the sound was heard far away.

Obedience and Feasting

8 The word of the Lord of Hosts came: ² “The Lord of Hosts says this: I am extremely jealous^(A) for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.” ³ The Lord says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City,^(B) the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, and the Holy Mountain.” ⁴ The Lord of Hosts says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age. ⁵ The streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls playing in them.” ⁶ The Lord of Hosts says this: “Though it may seem incredible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem incredible to Me?”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. ⁷ The Lord of Hosts says this: “I will save My people from the land of the east and the land of the west. ⁸ I will bring them back^(C) to live in Jerusalem. They will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”^(D)

A Final Warning

⁴ “Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb^(A) for all Israel. ⁵ Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet^(B) before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes.^{(C) 6 [a]}And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.^(D) Otherwise, I will come and strike the land^[b] with a curse.”