Haggai 1–2

A Call to Build the House of the Lord

In the second year of King Darius,^a on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai^b to Zerubbabel^c son of Shealtiel, governor^d of Judah, and to Joshua^e son of Jozadak,^f the high priest:^g

This is what the Lord Almighty^h says: “These peopleⁱ say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.^j’ ”

Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^k “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses,^l while this house remains a ruin?^m”

Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thoughtⁿ to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little.^o You eat, but never have enough.^p You drink, but never have your fill.^q You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages,^r only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought^s to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber^t and build the house, so that I may take pleasure^u in it and be honored,^v” says the Lord. “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.^w What you brought home, I blew^x away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin,^y while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld^z their dew^a and the earth its crops.^b I called for a drought^c on the fields and the mountains,^d on the grain, the new wine,^e the olive oil^f and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.^g”

Then Zerubbabel^h son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnantⁱ of the people obeyed^j the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared^k the Lord.

Then Haggai,^l the Lord’s messenger,^m gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am withⁿ you,” declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred up^o the spirit of Zerubbabel^p son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak,^q the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant^r of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.^s

The Promised Glory of the New House

In the second year of King Darius,^a on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,^b the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^c “Speak to Zerubbabel^d son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak,^e the high priest, and to the remnant^f of the people. Ask them, ‘Who of you is left who saw this house^g in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?^h But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong,ⁱ Joshua son of Jozadak,^j the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with^k you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘This is what I covenanted^l with you when you came out of Egypt.^m And my Spiritⁿ remains among you. Do not fear.’^o

“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while^p I will once more shake the heavens and the earth,^q the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired^r by all nations will come, and I will fill this house^s with glory,^t’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘The silver is mine and the gold^u is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘The glory^v of this present house^w will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,^x’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

Blessings for a Defiled People

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,^a in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests^b what the law says: If a person carries consecrated meat^c in the fold of his garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?^d’ ”

The priests answered, “No.”

Then Haggai said, “If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?”

“Yes,” the priests replied, “it becomes defiled.^e”

Then Haggai said, “ ‘So it is with this people^f and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer^g there is defiled.

“ ‘Now give careful thought^h to this from this day on—consider how things were before one stone was laidⁱ on another in the Lord’s temple.^j When anyone came to a heap^k of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat^l to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty.^m I struck all the work of your handsⁿ with blight,^o mildew and hail,^p yet you did not return^q to me,’ declares the Lord.^r ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought^s to the day when the foundation^t 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^u and the olive tree have not borne fruit.^v

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

Zerubbabel the Lord’s Signet Ring

The word of the Lord came to Haggai^a a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month:^b “Tell Zerubbabel^c governor of Judah that I am going to shake^d the heavens and the earth. I will overturn^e royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms.^f I will overthrow chariots^g and their drivers; horses and their riders^h will fall, each by the sword of his comrade.ⁱ

“ ‘On that day,^j’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant^k Zerubbabel^l son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring,^m for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”