Haggai 2:10–23

¹⁰On the ^atwenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yahweh came to Haggai the prophet, saying,

¹¹“Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘^aAsk now the priests about the law:

¹²‘If a man carries ^aholy meat in the ¹fold of his garment and touches bread with ²this fold or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.”

¹³Then Haggai said, “^aIf one who is unclean from a ¹corpse touches any of these, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.”

¹⁴Then Haggai answered and said, “‘^aSo is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they bring near to Me there is unclean.

¹⁵‘But now, ^aoh set your heart to consider from this day ¹onward: from before one ^bstone was set on another in the temple of Yahweh,

¹⁶¹from when it was that one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, then there would be only ten; and from when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty troughs full, then there would be only twenty.

¹⁷‘I struck you and every work of your hands with ^ascorching wind, mildew, and hail; ¹yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares Yahweh.

¹⁸‘^aOh set your heart to consider from this day ¹onward, from the ^btwenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of Yahweh was ^cfounded, set your heart to consider:

¹⁹‘Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will ^abless you.’”

Yahweh Chooses Zerubbabel

²⁰Then the word of Yahweh came a second time to Haggai on the ^atwenty-fourth day of the month, saying,

²¹“Speak to ^aZerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to ^bshake the heavens and the earth.

²²‘I will ^aoverthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^bstrength of the kingdoms of the ¹nations; and I will ^coverthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ^dhorses and their riders will go down, ^eeveryone by the sword of another.’

²³‘On that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will make you like a ^1asignet ring, for ^bI have chosen you,’” declares Yahweh of hosts.