Haggai 1:9–11

1:9 ‘You expected a large harvest, but instead16 there was little, and when you brought it home it disappeared right away.17 Why?’ asks the Lord who rules over all. ‘Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house!18 1:10 This is why the sky19 has held back its dew and the earth its produce.20 1:11 Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce.’ ”21

16	tn Heb “look!” (הִנֵּה, hinneh). The term, an interjection, draws attention to the point being made.
17	tn Heb “I blew it away” (so NRSV, TEV, NLT). The imagery here suggests that human achievements are so fragile and temporal that a mere breath from God can destroy them (see Ezek 22:20, 21; and Isa 40:7 with נָשַׁב, nashav).
18	tn Heb “and each of you runs to his own house”; NIV “is busy with”; TEV “is busy working on”; NCV “work hard for.”
19	tn The Hebrew text has “over you” (so KJV), but this is redundant in contemporary English and has been left untranslated.
20	sn This linkage of human sin to natural disaster is reminiscent of the curse brought upon the earth by Adam’s disobedience (Gen 3:17–19; see Rom 8:20–22).
21	tn Heb “all the labor of hands” (similar KJV, NASB, NIV); cf. NAB “all that is produced by hand.”