Haggai 1–2

Command to Rebuild the Temple

1In the second year of King Darius, ^abon the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai ^cthe prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, ^dthe governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest: ^e

²“The Lord of Hosts says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.” ^f

³The word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: ⁴“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, ^gwhile this house ^hlies in ruins?” ⁵Now, the Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully ⁱabout ^jyour ways:

⁶You have planted much

but harvested little.

You eat

but never have enough to be satisfied.

You drink

but never have enough to become drunk.

You put on clothes

but never have enough to get warm.

The wage earner puts his wages

into a bag with a hole in it.” ^k

⁷The Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about ^lyour ways. ⁸Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house. Then I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. ⁹“You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined ^mit. Why?” This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. “Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.

¹⁰So on your account, ⁿ

the skies have withheld the dew

and the land its crops. ^o

¹¹I have summoned a drought

on the fields and the hills,

on the grain, new wine, olive oil,

and whatever the ground yields,

on man and beast,

and on all that your hands produce.”

The People’s Response

¹²Then Zerubbabel ^pson of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people ^qobeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord. ^r

¹³Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, delivered the Lord’s message to the people, “I am with you” ^s—this is the Lord’s declaration.

¹⁴The Lord stirred up the spirit ^tof Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. They began work on the house of Yahweh of Hosts, their God, ¹⁵on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.

Encouragement and Promise

2On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, ^uthe word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: 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: ³Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn’t it seem like nothing to you? ^vw4Even so, be strong, Zerubbabel”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ^x“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” ^y—the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. ⁵“This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt, ^zand My Spirit is present among you; don’t be afraid.”

⁶For the Lord of Hosts says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, ^athe sea and the dry land. ^b7I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” ^csays the Lord of Hosts. ⁸“The silver and gold belong to Me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. ⁹“The final glory of this house ^dwill be greater than the first,” ^esays the Lord of Hosts. “I will provide peace in this place” ^f—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

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 Haggai the prophet: ¹¹“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Ask the priests for a ruling. ^g12If 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?” ^h

The priests answered, “No.”

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

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, reflect back from this day: Before one stone was placed on another in the Lord’s temple, ¹⁶what state were you in? ^jWhen someone came to a grain heap of 20 measures, it only amounted to 10; when one came to the winepress to dip 50 measures from the vat, it only amounted to 20. ¹⁷I struck you—all the work of your hands—with blight, mildew, ^kand hail, ^lbut you didn’t turn to Me”—this is the Lord’s declaration. ¹⁸“Consider carefully ^mfrom this day forward; from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid; consider it 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.” ⁿ

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. ^o22I will overturn royal thrones and destroy the power of the Gentile kingdoms. ^pI 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 Hosts—“I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, My servant”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and make you like My signet ring, ^qfor I have chosen you.” ^rThis is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.