Haggai 2

ENCOURAGEMENT AND PROMISE

2On the twenty-first day of the seventh month,^o the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: ²“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people: ³‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn’t it seem to you like nothing by comparison?^{p 4}Even so, be strong, Zerubbabel—this is the Lord’s declaration.^q Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land—this is the Lord’s declaration. Work! For I am with you^r—the declaration of the Lord of Armies. ⁵This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt,^s and my Spirit is present among you; don’t be afraid.’ ”

⁶For the Lord of Armies says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth,^t the sea and the dry land.^{u 7}I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,”^v says the Lord of Armies. ⁸“The silver and gold belong to me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. ⁹“The final glory of this house^A will be greater than the first,”^a says the Lord of Armies. “I will provide peace in this place”^b—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.

FROM DEPRIVATION TO BLESSING

¹⁰On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai: ¹¹“This is what the Lord of Armies says: Ask the priests for a ruling.^{c 12}If a man is carrying consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does it become holy?”^d

The priests answered, “No.”

¹³Then Haggai asked, “If someone defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?”^e

The priests answered, “It becomes defiled.”

¹⁴Then Haggai replied, “So is this people, and so is this nation before me—this is the Lord’s declaration. And so is every work of their hands; even what they offer there is defiled.

¹⁵“Now from this day on, think carefully: Before one stone was placed on another in the Lord’s temple, ¹⁶what state were you in?^B When someone came to a grain heap of twenty measures, it only amounted to ten; when one came to the winepress to dip fifty measures from the vat, it only amounted to twenty. ¹⁷I struck you—all the work of your hands—with blight, mildew,^f and hail,^g but you didn’t turn to me—this is the Lord’s declaration. ¹⁸From this day on, think carefully;^h from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid; think carefully. ¹⁹Is there still seed left in the granary? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet produced. But from this day on I will bless you.”ⁱ

PROMISE TO ZERUBBABEL

²⁰The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: ²¹“Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah: I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.^{j 22}I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the Gentile kingdoms.^k I will overturn chariots and their riders. Horses and their riders will fall, each by his brother’s sword. ²³On that day”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies—“I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and make you like my signet ring,^l for I have chosen you.”^m This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies.