^2:2“Ask the following questions to³ Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak,⁴ and the remnant of the people: ^2:3‘Who among you survivors saw the former splendor of this temple?⁵ How does it look to you now? Isn’t it nothing by comparison? ^2:4Even so, take heart, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Take heart, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and⁶ all you citizens of the land,’⁷ says the Lord, ‘and begin to work. For I am with you,’ says the Lord who rules over all. ^2:5‘Do not fear, because I made a promise to your ancestors when they left Egypt, and my spirit⁸ even now testifies to you.’⁹

Read in Logos

Footnotes

3 Heb “say to”; “Tell this to.”
4 Many English versions have “Joshua (the) son of Jehozadak the high priest,” but this is subject to misunderstanding. See the note on the name “Jehozadak” at the end of v. 1.
5 Heb “this house in its earlier splendor”; , , “in its former glory.” Solomon’s temple was demolished in 586 b.c., 66 years prior to Haggai’s time. There surely would have been some older people who remembered the former splendor of that magnificent structure and who lamented the contrast to the small, unimpressive temple they were building (see Ezra 3:8–13).
6 Heb “and take heart.” Although emphatic, the repetition of the verb is redundant in contemporary English style and has been left untranslated.
7 Heb “the people of the land” (עַם הָאָרֶץ, ’am ha’arets); this is a technical term referring to free citizens as opposed to slaves.
8 My spirit. It is theologically anachronistic to understand “spirit” here in the NT sense as a reference to the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity; nevertheless during this postexilic period the conceptual groundwork was being laid for the doctrine of the Holy Spirit later revealed in the NT.
9 The of v. 5 reads “with the word which I cut with you when you went out from Egypt and my spirit [which] stands in your midst, do not fear.” proposes emending “with the word” to זֹאת הַבְּרִית (zo’t habbérit, “this is the covenant”) at the beginning of the verse. The proposed emendation makes excellent sense and is expected with the verb כָּרַת (karat, “cut” or “make” a covenant), but it has no textual support. Most English versions (including the present translation) therefore follow the here.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and to the remnant of the people: ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Doesn’t it seem to you like nothing by comparison? Even so, be strong, Zerubbabel—this is the Lord’s declaration. 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—the declaration of the Lord of Armies. This is the promise I made to you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit is present among you; don’t be afraid.’ ”

NLTNew Living Translation

“Say this to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of God’s people there in the land: ‘Does anyone remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all! But now the Lord says: Be strong, Zerubbabel. Be strong, Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people still left in the land. And now get to work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. My Spirit remains among you, just as I promised when you came out of Egypt. So do not be afraid.’

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying, ‘Who among you is left that saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it seem like nothing to you? ‘But now take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Take courage, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and take courage, all the people of the land,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Do the work, because I am with you,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘according to the promise that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. My spirit is with you; do not be afraid.’

KJV 1900King James Version

Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?

And how do ye see it now?

Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?

Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord;

And be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest;

And be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work:

For I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts:

According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt,

So my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not.

Public Domain