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 to live in Jerusalem. They will be My people, and I will be their faithful and righteous God.”
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.