Haggai Begins Temple Building

1 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, ² “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.”’” ³ Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, ⁴ “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house remains ^(F)desolate?” ⁵ Now then, the Lord of armies says this: “^[b]Consider your ways! ⁶ 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.”

⁷ The Lord of armies says this: “^[e]Consider your ways! ⁸ 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. ⁹ “^(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.

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.

A Call to Repentance

1 In the eighth month of the second year of ^(A)Darius, the word of the Lord came to ^(B)Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of ^(C)Iddo saying, ² “The Lord was very ^(D)angry with your fathers. ³ Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “^(E)Return to Me,” declares the Lord of armies, “^[a]that I may return to you,” says the Lord of armies. ⁴ “Do not be ^(F)like your fathers, to whom the ^(G)former prophets proclaimed, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “^(H)Return now from your evil ways and from your evil deeds.”’ But they did ^(I)not listen or pay attention to Me,” declares the Lord. ⁵ “Your ^(J)fathers, where are they? And the ^(K)prophets, do they live forever? ⁶ But did My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, not ^[b](L)overtake your fathers? Then they repented and said, ‘^(M)Just as the Lord of armies planned to do to us in accordance with our ways and our deeds, so He has dealt with us.’”’”

Patrol of the Earth

⁷ On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, that is, the month Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, ^[c]as follows: ⁸ I saw at night, and behold, a man was riding on a ^(N)red horse, and he was standing among the ^(O)myrtle trees which were in the ravine, with red, ^[d]sorrel, and ^(P)white horses behind him. ⁹ Then I said, “What are these, my ^(Q)lord?” And the ^(R)angel who was speaking with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.” ¹⁰ And the man who was standing among the myrtle trees responded and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to ^[e](S)patrol the earth.” ¹¹ So they responded to the angel of the Lord who was ^(T)standing among the myrtle trees and said, “We have ^[f]patrolled the earth, and behold, ^(U)all the earth is ^[g]still and quiet.”

¹² Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord of armies, ^(V)how long will You ^(W)take no pity on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been ^(X)indignant for these ^(Y)seventy years?” ¹³ And the Lord responded to the ^(Z)angel who was speaking with me with ^[h]gracious words, ^(AA)comforting words. ¹⁴ So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “^(AB)Proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “I am ^(AC)exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. ¹⁵ But I am very ^(AD)angry with the nations who are ^(AE)carefree; for while I was only a little angry, they ^[i](AF)furthered the disaster.” ¹⁶ Therefore the Lord says this: “I will ^(AG)return to Jerusalem with compassion; My ^(AH)house will be built in it,” declares the Lord of armies, “and a measuring ^(AI)line will be stretched over Jerusalem.”’ ¹⁷ Again, proclaim, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “My ^(AJ)cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again ^(AK)comfort Zion and again ^(AL)choose Jerusalem.”’”

^18 [j]Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. ¹⁹ So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these?” And he said to me, “These are the ^(AM)horns that have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.” ²⁰ Then the Lord showed me four ^(AN)craftsmen. ²¹ And I said, “What are these coming to do?” And he said, “These are the ^(AO)horns that have scattered Judah so that no one lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to frighten them, to ^(AP)throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it.”

Christ Is Our Advocate

2 ^(A)My little children, I am ^(B)writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, ^(C)we have an ^[a](D)Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; ² and He Himself is ^(E)the ^[b]propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also ^(F)for the sins of the whole world.

^3 (G)By this we know that we have come to ^(H)know Him, if we ^(I)keep His commandments. ⁴ The one who says, “^(J)I have come to ^(K)know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a ^(L)liar, and ^(M)the truth is not in him; ⁵ but whoever ^(N)follows His word, in him the ^(O)love of God has truly been perfected. ^(P)By this we know that we are in Him: ⁶ the one who says that he ^(Q)remains in Him ^(R)ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.

^7 (S)Beloved, I am ^(T)not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had ^(U)from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard. ^8 [c]On the other hand, I am writing ^(V)a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you, because ^(W)the darkness is passing away and ^(X)the true Light is already shining. ⁹ The one who says that he is in the Light and yet ^(Y)hates his ^(Z)brother or sister is in the darkness until now. ^10 (AA)The one who loves his brother and sister remains in the Light, and there is nothing in him to cause stumbling. ¹¹ But the one who ^(AB)hates his brother or sister is in the darkness and ^(AC)walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has ^(AD)blinded his eyes.

¹² I am writing to you, ^(AE)little children, because ^(AF)your sins have been forgiven you on account of His name. ¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(AG)who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because ^(AH)you have overcome ^(AI)the evil one. I have written to you, children, because ^(AJ)you know the Father. ¹⁴ I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him ^(AK)who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are ^(AL)strong, and the ^(AM)word of God remains in you, and ^(AN)you have overcome the evil one.

Do Not Love the World

¹⁵ Do not love ^(AO)the world nor the things in the world. ^(AP)If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, ^(AQ)the lust of the flesh and ^(AR)the lust of the eyes and ^(AS)the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. ^17 (AT)The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who ^(AU)does the will of God continues to live forever.

¹⁸ Children, ^(AV)it is the last hour; and just as you heard that ^(AW)antichrist is coming, ^(AX)even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. ^19 (AY)They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, ^(AZ)so that ^[d]it would be evident that they all are not of us. ^20 [e]But you have an ^(BA)anointing from ^(BB)the Holy One, and ^(BC)you all know. ²¹ I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but ^(BD)because you do know it, and ^[f]because no lie is ^(BE)of the truth. ²² Who is the liar except ^(BF)the one who denies that Jesus is the ^[g]Christ? This is ^(BG)the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ^23 (BH)Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. ²⁴ As for you, see that what you heard ^(BI)from the beginning remains in you. If what you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also ^(BJ)will remain in the Son and in the Father.

The Promise Is Eternal Life

^25 (BK)This is the promise which He Himself ^[h]made to us: eternal life.

²⁶ These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to ^(BL)deceive you. ²⁷ And as for you, the ^(BM)anointing which you received from Him remains in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing ^(BN)teaches you about all things, and is ^(BO)true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, ^[i]you remain in Him.

²⁸ Now, ^(BP)little children, remain in Him, so that when He ^(BQ)appears, we may have ^(BR)confidence and ^(BS)not ^[j]draw back from Him in shame ^[k]at His ^(BT)coming. ²⁹ If you know that ^(BU)He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness also ^(BV)has been born of Him.

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.