Haggai 2
New King James Version
The Coming Glory of God’s House
2 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came [a]by Haggai the prophet, saying: 2 “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: 3 (A)‘Who is left among you who saw this [b]temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, (B)is this not in your eyes as nothing? 4 Yet now (C)be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts. 5 (D)‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so (E)My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’
6 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: (F)‘Once more (it is a little while) (G)I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; 7 and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to (H)the [c]Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this [d]temple with (I)glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. 9 (J)‘The glory of this latter [e]temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give (K)peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
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, (L)ask 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 (M)unclean 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 (O)consider from this day forward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the Lord— 16 since those days, (P)when 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 (Q)I struck you with blight and mildew and hail (R)in all the labors of your hands; (S)yet 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 (T)the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid—consider it: 19 (U)Is 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 (V)bless you.’ ”
Zerubbabel Chosen as a Signet
20 And again the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to Zerubbabel, (W)governor of Judah, saying:
(X)‘I will shake heaven and earth.
22 (Y)I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms;
I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms.
(Z)I will overthrow the chariots
And those who ride in them;
The horses and their riders shall come down,
Every one by the sword of his brother.
23 ‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, (AA)‘and will make you like a signet ring; for (AB)I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
Footnotes
- Haggai 2:1 Lit. by the hand of
- Haggai 2:3 Lit. house
- Haggai 2:7 Or desire of all nations
- Haggai 2:7 Lit. house
- Haggai 2:9 Lit. house
Haggai 2
New American Standard Bible
The Builders Encouraged
2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by (A)Haggai the prophet, saying, 2 “Speak now to (B)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (C)governor of Judah, and to (D)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the (E)remnant of the people, saying, 3 ‘Who is (F)left among you who saw this [a]temple in its (G)former glory? And how do you see it now? [b]Does it not seem to you like nothing [c]in comparison? 4 But now [d](H)take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for (I)I am with you,’ declares the Lord of armies. 5 ‘As for the [e](J)promise which I [f]made you when you came out of Egypt, [g]My (K)Spirit remains in your midst; (L)do not fear!’ 6 For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘(M)Once more [h]in a (N)little while, I am going to (O)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 I will shake (P)all the nations; and [i]they will come with the (Q)wealth of all nations, and I will (R)fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of armies. 8 ‘The (S)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of armies. 9 ‘The latter (T)glory of this house will be greater than the (U)former,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and in this place I will give (V)peace,’ declares the Lord of armies.”
10 On the (W)twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “The Lord of armies says this: ‘(X)Now ask the priests for a [j]ruling: 12 If someone carries (Y)holy meat in the [k]fold of his garment, and touches bread with [l]this fold, or touches cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” 13 Then Haggai said, “(Z)If one who is unclean from a [m]corpse touches any of these things, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai responded and said, “‘(AA)So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. 15 But now, do [n](AB)consider from this day [o]onward: before one (AC)stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord, 16 [p]from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty [q]measures, there would be only twenty. 17 I struck you and every work of your hands with (AD)scorching wind, mildew, and hail; [r]yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the Lord. 18 ‘Do [s](AE)consider from this day [t]onward, from the (AF)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was (AG)founded, [u]consider: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will (AH)bless you.’”
20 Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the (AI)twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to (AJ)Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to (AK)shake the heavens and the earth. 22 And I will (AL)overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the (AM)power of the kingdoms of the [v]nations; and I will (AN)overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the (AO)horses and their riders will go down, (AP)every one by the sword of another.’ 23 ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a [w](AQ)signet ring, for (AR)I have chosen you,’” declares the Lord of armies.
Footnotes
- Haggai 2:3 Lit house
- Haggai 2:3 Lit Is it not in your eyes like
- Haggai 2:3 Lit like it
- Haggai 2:4 Lit be strong
- Haggai 2:5 Lit word
- Haggai 2:5 Lit cut with
- Haggai 2:5 Or while My Spirit was standing
- Haggai 2:6 Lit it is a little
- Haggai 2:7 Another reading is the wealth of all nations will come
- Haggai 2:11 Lit law; or saying
- Haggai 2:12 Lit wing
- Haggai 2:12 Lit his wing
- Haggai 2:13 Lit soul
- Haggai 2:15 Lit set your heart
- Haggai 2:15 Or backward
- Haggai 2:16 Lit since they were
- Haggai 2:16 Lit troughs
- Haggai 2:17 As in LXX; MT but you were not to Me
- Haggai 2:18 Lit set your heart
- Haggai 2:18 Or backward
- Haggai 2:18 Lit set your heart
- Haggai 2:22 Or Gentiles
- Haggai 2:23 Or seal
Haggai 2
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
2 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, in the second year of Darius king [of Persia], came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying,
2 Speak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remainder of the people, saying,
3 Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Is not this in your sight as nothing in comparison to that?
4 Yet now be strong, alert, and courageous, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; be strong, alert, and courageous, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, alert, and courageous, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and work! For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts.
5 According to the promise that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit stands and abides in the midst of you; fear not.
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake and make tremble the [starry] heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land;(A)
7 And I will shake all nations and the [a]desire and the precious things of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts.(B)
8 The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts.
9 The latter glory of this house [with its successor, to which Jesus came] shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place will I give peace and prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,
11 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Ask now the priests to decide this question of law:
12 If one carries in the skirt of his garment flesh that is holy [because it has been offered in sacrifice to God], and with his skirt or the flaps of his garment he touches bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, does what he touches become holy [dedicated to God’s service exclusively]? And the priests answered, No! [Holiness is not infectious.]
13 Then said Haggai, If one who is [ceremonially] unclean because he has come in contact with a dead body should touch any of these articles of food, shall it be [ceremonially] unclean? And the priests answered, It shall be unclean. [Unholiness is infectious.]
14 Then answered Haggai, 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 [on the altar] is unclean [because they who offer it are themselves unclean].
15 And now, I pray you, consider what will happen from this day onward. Since the time before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord, how have you fared?
16 Through all that time [the harvests have not fulfilled expectations, for] when one has gone expecting to find a heap [of sheaves] of twenty measures, there were but ten; when he has gone to the wine vat to draw out fifty bucketfuls from the press, there were only twenty.
17 I smote you with blight and with mildew and with hail in all [the products of] the labors of your hands; yet you returned not nor were converted to Me, says the Lord.
18 Consider, I pray you, from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was [re]laid, consider this:
19 Is the harvested grain any longer in the barn? As to the grapevine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree—they have not yet borne. From this day on I will bless you.
20 And again the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,
21 Speak to Zerubbabel [the representative of the Davidic monarchy and covenant and in direct line of the ancestry of Jesus Christ] governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;(C)
22 And I will [in the distant future] overthrow the throne of kingdoms and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the [ungodly] nations, and I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them, and the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.(D)
23 In that day, says the Lord of hosts, will I take you, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and will make you [through the Messiah, your descendant] My signet ring; for I have chosen you [as the one with whom to renew My covenant to David’s line], says the Lord of hosts.(E)
Footnotes
- Haggai 2:7 It is with great reluctance that we refrain from capitalizing the word “desire” here, thus making the phrase point directly to the Messiah, as has been the accepted interpretation through many centuries until modern times. But the verb “shall come” has a plural referent, and, as many commentators agree, refers to the most desired treasures that all nations will bring as gifts to adorn the temple where the Messiah will one day come. Thus the Messianic reference of the prophecy is neither questioned nor obscured, but the picture presented is like that of the coming of the Magi (Matt. 2:1-12) to find the Babe of Bethlehem, the Desire of all of them; and when they found Him they fell down and worshiped Him, bringing Him their most desirable treasures—gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
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