Haggai Begins Temple Building

In the (A)second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet (B)Haggai to (C)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (D)governor of Judah, and to (E)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, “This is what the Lord of armies [a]says: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”’” Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house remains (F)desolate?” Now then, the Lord of armies says this: “[b]Consider your ways! You have (G)sown much, only to [c]harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but there is not enough for [d]anyone to get warm; and the one who earns, earns wages to put into a money bag full of holes.”

The Lord of armies says this: “[e]Consider your ways! Go up to the [f]mountains, bring wood, and (H)rebuild the [g]temple, that I may be (I)pleased with it and be (J)honored,” says the Lord. (K)You [h]start an ambitious project, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I (L)blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of armies. “It is because of My house which (M)remains desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the (N)sky has withheld [i]its dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I called for a (O)drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on (P)mankind, on cattle, and on (Q)all the products of the labor of [j]your hands.”

12 Then (R)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (S)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, (T)obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, just as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people [k](U)showed reverence for the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the (V)messenger of the Lord, spoke [l]by the commission of the Lord to the people, saying, “‘(W)I am with you,’ declares the Lord.” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of (X)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (Y)governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the (Z)remnant of the people; and they came and (AA)worked on the house of the Lord of armies, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.

Footnotes

  1. Haggai 1:2 Lit says, saying
  2. Haggai 1:5 Lit Set your heart on
  3. Haggai 1:6 Lit bring in
  4. Haggai 1:6 Lit him
  5. Haggai 1:7 Lit Set your heart on
  6. Haggai 1:8 Lit mountain
  7. Haggai 1:8 Lit house
  8. Haggai 1:9 Lit turn to much
  9. Haggai 1:10 Lit from dew
  10. Haggai 1:11 Lit palms
  11. Haggai 1:12 Lit feared before
  12. Haggai 1:13 Or with the commissioned message

Command to Rebuild the Temple

In the second year of King Darius,[a](A) on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet(B) Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,(C) the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:(D)

“The Lord of Armies says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”(E)

The word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses,(F) while this house[b] lies in ruins?” Now, the Lord of Armies says this: “Think carefully(G) about[c] your ways:

You have planted much
but harvested little.
You eat
but never have enough to be satisfied.
You drink
but never have enough to be happy.
You put on clothes
but never have enough to get warm.
The wage earner puts his wages
into a bag with a hole in it.”(H)

The Lord of Armies says this: “Think carefully about your ways. Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house; and I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. “You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined[d] it. Why?” This is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. “Because my house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.

10 So on your account,[e]
the skies have withheld the dew
and the land its crops.(I)
11 I have summoned a drought
on the fields and the hills,
on the grain, new wine, fresh oil,
and whatever the ground yields,
on people and animals,
and on all that your hands produce.”

The People’s Response

12 Then Zerubbabel(J) son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people(K) obeyed the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord.(L)

13 Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, delivered the Lord’s message to the people: “I am with you(M)—this is the Lord’s declaration.”

14 The Lord roused the spirit(N) of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. They began work on the house of the Lord of Armies, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 King of Persia reigned 522–486 BC
  2. 1:4 = the temple
  3. 1:5 Lit Place your heart on, also in v. 7
  4. 1:9 Lit blew on
  5. 1:10 Or So above you