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The Command to Rebuild the Temple
1 (A)In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to (B)Zerubbabel the son of (C)Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to (D)Joshua the son of (E)Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came (F)by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 (G)“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while (H)this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: (I)Consider your ways. 6 (J)You have sown much, and harvested little. (K)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 (L)earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (M)Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that (N)I may take pleasure in it and that (O)I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 (P)You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, (Q)I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house (R)that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore (S)the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And (T)I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on (U)the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and (V)on all their labors.”
The People Obey the Lord
12 (W)Then (X)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (Y)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all (Z)the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, (AA)“I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And (AB)the Lord stirred up the spirit of (AC)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of (AD)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all (AE)the remnant of the people. And they came and (AF)worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 (AG)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
The Coming Glory of the Temple
2 (AH)In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to (AI)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to (AJ)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 3 (AK)‘Who is left among you who saw this house (AL)in its former glory? How do you see it now? (AM)Is it not as nothing in your eyes? 4 Yet now (AN)be strong, O (AO)Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. (AP)Be strong, O (AQ)Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. (AR)Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. (AS)Work, for (AT)I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, 5 (AU)according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. (AV)My Spirit remains in your midst. (AW)Fear not. 6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: (AX)Yet once more, in a little while, (AY)I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. 7 And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and (AZ)I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. 8 (BA)The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. 9 (BB)The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And (BC)in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”
Blessings for a Defiled People
10 (BD)On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, (BE)in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, 11 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: (BF)Ask the priests about the law: 12 ‘If someone carries (BG)holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, (BH)“No.” 13 Then Haggai said, (BI)“If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body (BJ)touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai answered and said, (BK)“So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the Lord, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. 15 Now then, (BL)consider from this day onward.[a] Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the Lord, 16 how did you fare? (BM)When[b] one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17 (BN)I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, (BO)yet you did not turn to me, declares the Lord. 18 (BP)Consider from this day onward, (BQ)from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since (BR)the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, (BS)consider: 19 (BT)Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on (BU)I will bless you.”
Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet
20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai (BV)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, 21 “Speak to (BW)Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, (BX)I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 and (BY)to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and (BZ)overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, (CA)every one by the sword of his brother. 23 On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O (CB)Zerubbabel (CC)my servant, the son of (CD)Shealtiel, declares the Lord, and make you (CE)like a[c] signet ring, (CF)for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts.”
The Two Witnesses
11 Then I was given (A)a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure (B)the court outside the temple; leave that out, for (C)it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for (D)forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for (E)1,260 days, (F)clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are (G)the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, (H)fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, (I)this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power (J)to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and (K)to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, (L)the beast that rises from (M)the bottomless pit[a] (N)will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically[b] is called (O)Sodom and (P)Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and (Q)refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and (R)those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and (S)exchange presents, because these two prophets (T)had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days (U)a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, (V)“Come up here!” And (W)they went up to heaven (X)in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was (Y)a great earthquake, and (Z)a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and (AA)gave glory to (AB)the God of heaven.
14 (AC)The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 Then (AD)the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and (AE)there were loud voices in heaven, saying, (AF)“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of (AG)his Christ, and (AH)he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders (AI)who sit on their thrones before God (AJ)fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
(AK)who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and (AL)begun to reign.
18 The nations raged,
but (AM)your wrath came,
and (AN)the time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and (AO)those who fear your name,
both small and great,
and (AP)for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
19 Then (AQ)God's temple in heaven was opened, and (AR)the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings,[c] peals of thunder, an earthquake, and (AS)heavy hail.
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, you have (A)searched me and known me!
2 You (B)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you (C)discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, (D)you know it altogether.
5 You (E)hem me in, behind and before,
and (F)lay your hand upon me.
6 (G)Such knowledge is (H)too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.
7 (I)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where (J)shall I flee from your presence?
8 (K)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
(L)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall (M)lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, (N)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 (O)even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
13 For you (P)formed my inward parts;
you (Q)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
(R)Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 (S)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in (T)the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your (U)book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
17 How precious to me are your (V)thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 (W)If I would count them, they are more than (X)the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.
19 Oh that you would (Y)slay the wicked, O God!
O (Z)men of blood, (AA)depart from me!
20 They (AB)speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies (AC)take your name in vain.[b]
21 (AD)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not (AE)loathe those who (AF)rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.