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HAGGAI 2
remnant of God’s people began to obey the
message from the Lord their God. When they
heard the words of the prophet Haggai, whom
the Lord their God had sent, the people feared
the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger,
gave the people this message from the Lord:
“I am with you, says the Lord!”
14 So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah,
and the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the
whole remnant of God’s people. They began
to work on the house of their God, the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies, 15 on September 21* of the second year of King Darius’s reign.
The New Temple’s Diminished Splendor
Then on October 17 of that same year,* the
Lord sent another message through the
prophet Haggai. 2 “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: 3 ‘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! 4 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. 5 My Spirit remains among you, just as I
promised when you came out of Egypt. So do
not be afraid.’
6 “For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: In just a little while I will again shake
the heavens and the earth, the oceans and the
dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations, and the
treasures of all the nations will be brought to
this Temple. I will fill this place with glory,
says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 The silver
is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord
of Heaven’s Armies. 9 The future glory of this
Temple will be greater than its past glory, says
the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place
I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
2
Blessings Promised for Obedience
10 On December 18* of the second year of King
Darius’s reign, the Lord sent this message to
the prophet Haggai: 11 “This is what the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies says. Ask the priests this question about the law: 12 ‘If one of you is carrying
some meat from a holy sacrifice in his robes and
his robe happens to brush against some bread
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or stew, wine or olive oil, or any other kind of
food, will it also become holy?’”
The priests replied, “No.”
13 Then Haggai asked, “If someone becomes
ceremonially unclean by touching a dead person and then touches any of these foods, will
the food be defiled?”
And the priests answered, “Yes.”
14 Then Haggai responded, “That is how it
is with this people and this nation, says the
Lord. Everything they do and everything they
offer is defiled by their sin. 15 Look at what was
happening to you before you began to lay the
foundation of the Lord’s Temple. 16 When you
hoped for a twenty-bushel crop, you harvested
only ten. When you expected to draw fifty
gallons from the winepress, you found only
twenty. 17 I sent blight and mildew and hail
to destroy everything you worked so hard to
produce. Even so, you refused to return to me,
says the Lord.
18 “Think about this eighteenth day of December, the day* when the foundation of the
Lord’s Temple was laid. Think carefully. 19 I am
giving you a promise now while the seed is still
in the barn.* You have not yet harvested your
grain, and your grapevines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not yet produced
their crops. But from this day onward I will
bless you.”
Promises for Zerubbabel
20 On that same day, December 18,* the Lord
sent this second message to Haggai: 21 “Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, that I am about
to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overthrow royal thrones and destroy the power of
foreign kingdoms. I will overturn their chariots
and riders. The horses will fall, and their riders
will kill each other.
23 “But when this happens, says the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies, I will honor you, Zerubbabel
son of Shealtiel, my servant. I will make you like
a signet ring on my finger, says the Lord, for I
have chosen you. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
1:15 Hebrew on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month,
of the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. This event occurred on
September 21, 520 b.c.; also see note on 1:1a. 2:1 Hebrew on
the twenty-first day of the seventh month, of the ancient Hebrew
lunar calendar. This event (in the second year of Darius’s reign)
occurred on October 17, 520 b.c.; also see note on 1:1a.
2:2 Hebrew Joshua, a variant spelling of Jeshua; also in 2:4.
2:10 Hebrew On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, of the
ancient Hebrew lunar calendar (similarly in 2:18). This event
occurred on December 18, 520 b.c.; also see note on 1:1a.
2:18 Or On this eighteenth day of December, think about the day.
2:19 Hebrew Is the seed yet in the barn? 2:20 Hebrew On the
twenty-fourth day of the [ninth] month; see note on 2:10.