“Consider from this day on,
From the twenty-fourth day
Of the ninth month!
Consider since the day
That the foundation
Of Yahweh’s temple
Was laid!
Is there any seed
Left in the barn?
Does the vine
Still yield nothing?
Does the fig tree
Still yield nothing?
Does the pomegranate tree
Still yield nothing?
Does the olive tree
Still yield nothing?
From this day on,
I will bless you.”
As opposed to the bad harvests of the past, the harvests of the future would be good from this day forward, because this 24th day of the 9th month was the day of the foundation laying for the Second Temple of Yahweh. Then in a series of questions, Yahweh indicated that there would be no seeds left in the barn. The vines, the fig trees, the pomegranate trees, and the olive trees would yield great harvests rather than nothing. From this day on, they were going to be blessed.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 