1^*During the second year that Darius was emperor of Persia, on the first day of the sixth month, the Lord spoke through the prophet Haggai. The message was for the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and for the High Priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.

²The Lord Almighty said to Haggai, “These people say that this is not the right time to rebuild the Temple.” ³The Lord then gave this message to the people through the prophet Haggai: ⁴“My people, why should you be living in well-built houses while my Temple lies in ruins? ⁵Don’t you see what is happening to you? ⁶You have sown much corn, but have harvested very little. You have food to eat, but not enough to make you full. You have wine to drink, but not enough to get drunk on! You have clothing, but not enough to keep you warm. And a worker cannot earn enough to live on. ⁷Can’t you see why this has happened? ⁸Now go up into the hills, get timber, and rebuild the Temple; then I will be pleased and will be worshipped as I should be.

⁹“You hoped for large harvests, but they turned out to be small. And when you brought the harvest home, I blew it away.^a Why did I do that? Because my Temple lies in ruins while every one of you is busy working on his own house.

Read in Logos

Haggai 1:6: You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

Footnotes

aI blew it away; or I spoilt it.

Cross references

*1.1: Ezra 4:24–5:2; 6:14