¹⁸ ‘It is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month [December 18, 520 bc; Kislev 24 on the Hebrew calendar], the day in which the people finished working on the foundation of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] of the Lord. From ·now [^Lthis day] on, think about these things:

¹⁹ Do you have seeds for crops still in the barn? Your vines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not given fruit yet. But from ·now [^Lthis day] on I will bless you!’”