Haggai 1:1–9

A Call to Build the House of the Lord

1In 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^ae son of Jozadak,^bf the high priest:^g

²This is what the Lord Almighty^h says: “These peopleⁱ say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.^j’ ”

³Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^{k 4}“Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses,^l while this house remains a ruin?^m”

⁵Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thoughtⁿ to your ways. ⁶You have planted much, but 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.”

⁷This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought^s to your ways. ⁸Go up into the mountains and bring down timber^t and build my house, so that I may take pleasure^u in it and be honored,^v” says the Lord. ⁹“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 your own house.