1A message came to the prophet Haggai from the Lord. Haggai gave it to Zerubbabel and Jeshua. It came on the first day of the sixth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia. Zerubbabel was governor of Judah and the son of Shealtiel. Jeshua was high priest and the son of Jehozadak. Here is what Haggai said.

²The Lord who rules over all says, “The people of Judah are saying, ‘The time hasn’t come yet for the Lord’s temple to be rebuilt.’ ”

³So the message came to me from the Lord. He said, ⁴“My temple is still destroyed. In spite of that, you are living in your houses that have beautiful wooden walls.”

⁵The Lord who rules over all says, “Think carefully about how you are living. ⁶You have planted many seeds. But the crops you have gathered are small. So you eat. But you never have enough. You drink. But you are never full. You put your clothes on. But you are not warm. You earn your pay. But it will not buy everything you need.”

⁷He continues, “Think carefully about how you are living. ⁸Go up into the mountains. Bring logs down. Use them to rebuild my house. Then I will enjoy it. And you will honor me,” says the Lord.

⁹“You expected a lot. But you can see what a small amount it turned out to be,” announces the Lord who rules over all. “I blew away what you brought home. Why? Because my temple is still destroyed. In spite of that, each one of you is busy with your own house.

Read in Logos

Haggai 1:6: You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.