^2:15Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past,²³ before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple.²⁴^2:16From that time²⁵ when one came expecting a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures from it, there were only twenty. ^2:17I struck all the products of your labor²⁶ with blight, disease, and hail, and yet you brought nothing to me,’²⁷ says the Lord. ^2:18‘Think carefully about the past:²⁸ from today, the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,²⁹ to the day work on the temple of the Lord was resumed,³⁰ think about it.³¹^2:19The seed is still in the storehouse, isn’t it? And the vine, fig tree, pomegranate, and olive tree have not produced. Nevertheless, from today on I will bless you.’ ”

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Footnotes

23 Heb “and now set your heart from this day and upward.” The juxtaposition of מָעְלָה (ma’lah, “upward”) with the following מִטֶּרֶם (mitterem, “before”) demands a look to the past. Cf. “consider from this day and backward.”
24 Before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple is best taken as referring to the laying of the present temple’s foundation, sixteen years earlier (536 b.c.; see Ezra 3:8). Cf. “before you started laying stones”; “before you started to rebuild”; “before you began to lay (started laying ) the foundation.”
25 Heb “from their being,” idiomatic for “from the time they were then,” or “since the time.” Cf. “Since those days were.”
26 Heb “you, all the work of your hands”; “you and all the products of your toil”; “all the work of your hands.”
27 Heb “and there was not with you.” The context favors the idea that the harvests were so poor that the people took care of only themselves, leaving no offering for the Lord. Cf. and many English versions “yet ye turned not to me,” understanding the phrase to refer to the people’s repentance rather than their failure to bring offerings.
28 Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15.
29 The twenty-fourth day of the ninth month was Kislev 24 or December 18, 520. See v. 10. Here the reference is to “today,” the day the oracle is being delivered.
30 The day work … was resumed. This does not refer to the initial founding of the Jerusalem temple in 536 b.c. but to the renewal of construction three months earlier (see 1:15). This is clear from the situation described in v. 19 which accords with the food scarcities of that time already detailed in Hag 1:10–11.
31 Heb “set your heart.” A similar expression occurs in v. 15 and at the beginning of this verse.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider: Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“ ‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on—consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple. When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord. ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit.

“ ‘From this day on I will bless you.’ ”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Now from this day on, think carefully: Before one stone was placed on another in the Lord’s temple, what state were you in? 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. I struck you—all the work of your hands—with blight, mildew, and hail, but you didn’t turn to me—this is the Lord’s declaration. From this day on, think carefully; from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid; think carefully. Is 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.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Look at what was happening to you before you began to lay the foundation of the Lord’s Temple. When you hoped for a twenty-bushel crop, you harvested only ten. When you expected to draw fifty gallons from the winepress, you found only twenty. I sent blight and mildew and hail to destroy everything you worked so hard to produce. Even so, you refused to return to me, says the Lord.

“Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day when the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid. Think carefully. I am giving you a promise now while the seed is still in the barn. You have not yet harvested your grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced their crops. But from this day onward I will bless you.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

But now, please consider from this day forward, before one stone was placed on another in the temple of Yahweh, from that time when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten, and when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty measures, there were only twenty. I struck you with blight, and with plant mildew, and hail, all the work of your hands. But you did not come back to me,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Please consider from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of Yahweh’s temple was laid, consider: Is there still seed in the store chamber? Do the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree still produce nothing? From this day forward I will bless you.’ ”

KJV 1900King James Version

And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward,

From before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord:

Since those days were, when one came to an heap of twenty measures, there were but ten:

When one came to the pressfat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.

I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail

In all the labours of your hands;

Yet ye turned not to me, saith the Lord.

Consider now from this day and upward,

From the four and twentieth day of the ninth month,

Even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it.

Is the seed yet in the barn?

Yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth:

From this day will I bless you.

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