Haggai 2:10–19

The People are Defiled

10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Now, lask the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 “If one carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and with the edge he touches bread or stew, wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?” ’ ”

Then the priests answered and said, “No.”

13 And Haggai said, “If one who is munclean because of a dead body touches any of these, will it be unclean?”

So the priests answered and said, “It shall be unclean.”

14 Then Haggai answered and said, n“ ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before Me,’ says the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

Promised Blessing

15 ‘And now, carefully oconsider from this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the Lord—16 since those days, pwhen one came to a heap of twenty ephahs, there were but ten; when one came to the wine vat to draw out fifty baths from the press, there were but twenty. 17 qI struck you with blight and mildew and hail rin all the labors of your hands; syet you did not turn to Me,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from tthe day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid—consider it: 19 uIs the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will vbless you.’ ”