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22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms.[a] I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another.[b] 23 On that day,’[c] says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,’[d] says the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a signet ring,[e] for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”[f]

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Footnotes

  1. Haggai 2:22 tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”
  2. Haggai 2:22 tn Heb “and horses and their riders will go down, a man with a sword his brother”; KJV “every one by the sword of his brother.”
  3. Haggai 2:23 sn The expression on that day appears as a technical eschatological term in a number of other OT passages (cf., e.g., Isa 2:11, 17, 20; 3:7, 18; Amos 8:3, 9; Hos 2:18, 21).
  4. Haggai 2:23 sn My servant. The collocation of “servant” and “chosen” bears strong messianic overtones. See the so-called “Servant Songs” and other messianic texts in Isaiah (Isa 41:8; 42:1; 44:4; 49:7).
  5. Haggai 2:23 sn The noun signet ring, used also to describe Jehoiachin (Jer 22:24-30), refers to a ring seal worn by a king or other important person and used as his signature. Zerubbabel was a grandson of King Jehoiachin (1 Chr 3:17-19; Matt 1:12); God once pronounced that none of Jehoiachin’s immediate descendants would rule (Jer 22:24-30), but here he reverses that judgment. Zerubbabel never ascended to such a lofty position of rulership; he is rather a prototype of the Messiah who would sit on David’s throne.
  6. Haggai 2:23 tn The repetition of the formula “says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” in v. 23 emphasizes the solemn and divine nature of the promise.

22 I will overturn(A) royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms.(B) I will overthrow chariots(C) and their drivers; horses and their riders(D) will fall, each by the sword of his brother.(E)

23 “‘On that day,(F)’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant(G) Zerubbabel(H) son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring,(I) for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

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