A Call to Build the House of the Lord

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

² This is what the Lord Almighty^(H) says: “These people^(I) say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.^(J)’”

³ Then the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^{(K) 4} “Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses,^(L) while this house remains a ruin?^(M)”

⁵ Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought^(N) to your ways. ⁶ You have planted much, but harvested little.^(O) You eat, but never have enough.^(P) You drink, but never have your fill.^(Q) You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages,^(R) only to put them in a purse with holes in it.”

⁷ This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought^(S) to your ways. ⁸ Go up into the mountains and bring down timber^(T) and build my house, so that I may take pleasure^(U) in it and be honored,^(V)” says the Lord. ⁹ “You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.^(W) What you brought home, I blew^(X) away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin,^(Y) while each of you is busy with your own house. ¹⁰ Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld^(Z) their dew^(AA) and the earth its crops.^{(AB) 11} I called for a drought^(AC) on the fields and the mountains,^(AD) on the grain, the new wine,^(AE) the olive oil^(AF) and everything else the ground produces, on people and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.^(AG)”

¹² Then Zerubbabel^(AH) son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant^(AI) of the people obeyed^(AJ) the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared^(AK) the Lord.

¹³ Then Haggai,^(AL) the Lord’s messenger,^(AM) gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with^(AN) you,” declares the Lord. ¹⁴ So the Lord stirred up^(AO) the spirit of Zerubbabel^(AP) son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak,^(AQ) the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant^(AR) of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God, ¹⁵ on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.^(AS)

The Promised Glory of the New House

In the second year of King Darius,^(AT) 2 ¹ on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,^(AU) the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:^{(AV) 2} “Speak to Zerubbabel^(AW) son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jozadak,^[b](AX) the high priest, and to the remnant^(AY) of the people. Ask them, ³ ‘Who of you is left who saw this house^(AZ) in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?^{(BA) 4} But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong,^(BB) Joshua son of Jozadak,^(BC) the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with^(BD) you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ⁵ ‘This is what I covenanted^(BE) with you when you came out of Egypt.^(BF) And my Spirit^(BG) remains among you. Do not fear.’^(BH)

⁶ “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while^(BI) I will once more shake the heavens and the earth,^(BJ) the sea and the dry land. ⁷ I will shake all nations, and what is desired^(BK) by all nations will come, and I will fill this house^(BL) with glory,^(BM)’ says the Lord Almighty. ⁸ ‘The silver is mine and the gold^(BN) is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ⁹ ‘The glory^(BO) of this present house^(BP) will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,^(BQ)’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

Blessings for a Defiled People

¹⁰ On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,^(BR) in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai: ¹¹ “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Ask the priests^(BS) what the law says: ¹² If someone carries consecrated meat^(BT) in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?^(BU)’”

The priests answered, “No.”

¹³ Then Haggai said, “If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?”

“Yes,” the priests replied, “it becomes defiled.^(BV)”

¹⁴ Then Haggai said, “‘So it is with this people^(BW) and this nation in my sight,’ declares the Lord. ‘Whatever they do and whatever they offer^(BX) there is defiled.

¹⁵ “‘Now give careful thought^(BY) to this from this day on^[c]—consider how things were before one stone was laid^(BZ) on another in the Lord’s temple.^{(CA) 16} When anyone came to a heap^(CB) of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat^(CC) to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty.^{(CD) 17} I struck all the work of your hands^(CE) with blight,^(CF) mildew and hail,^(CG) yet you did not return^(CH) to me,’ declares the Lord.^{(CI) 18} ‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought^(CJ) to the day when the foundation^(CK) of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought: ¹⁹ Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate^(CL) and the olive tree have not borne fruit.^(CM)

“‘From this day on I will bless^(CN) you.’”

Zerubbabel the Lord’s Signet Ring

²⁰ The word of the Lord came to Haggai^(CO) a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month:^{(CP) 21} “Tell Zerubbabel^(CQ) governor of Judah that I am going to shake^(CR) the heavens and the earth. ²² I will overturn^(CS) royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms.^(CT) I will overthrow chariots^(CU) and their drivers; horses and their riders^(CV) will fall, each by the sword of his brother.^(CW)

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

Jonah Flees From the Lord

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah^(A) son of Amittai:^{(B) 2} “Go to the great city of Nineveh^(C) and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

³ But Jonah ran^(D) away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish^(E). He went down to Joppa,^(F) where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.^(G)

⁴ Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up.^{(H) 5} All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.^(I)

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. ⁶ The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call^(J) on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”^(K)

⁷ Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.”^(L) They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.^{(M) 8} So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

⁹ He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord,^(N) the God of heaven,^(O) who made the sea^(P) and the dry land.^(Q)”

¹⁰ This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

¹¹ The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

¹² “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”^(R)

¹³ Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before.^{(S) 14} Then they cried out to the Lord, “Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man,^(T) for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.”^{(U) 15} Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm.^{(V) 16} At this the men greatly feared^(W) the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows^(X) to him.

Jonah’s Prayer

¹⁷ Now the Lord provided^(Y) a huge fish to swallow Jonah,^(Z) and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 2 ^1 [a]From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God. ² He said:

¹⁰ And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Jonah Goes to Nineveh

3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah^(AT) a second time: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

³ Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. ⁴ Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming,^(AU) “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” ⁵ The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.^(AV)

⁶ When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.^{(AW) 7} This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

¹⁰ When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented^(BG) and did not bring on them the destruction^(BH) he had threatened.^(BI)

The Woman and the Dragon

12 A great sign^(A) appeared in heaven:^(B) a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars^(C) on her head. ² She was pregnant and cried out in pain^(D) as she was about to give birth. ³ Then another sign appeared in heaven:^(E) an enormous red dragon^(F) with seven heads^(G) and ten horns^(H) and seven crowns^(I) on its heads. ⁴ Its tail swept a third^(J) of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth.^(K) The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child^(L) the moment he was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.”^[a](M) And her child was snatched up^(N) to God and to his throne. ⁶ The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.^(O)

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael^(P) and his angels fought against the dragon,^(Q) and the dragon and his angels^(R) fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent^(S) called the devil,^(T) or Satan,^(U) who leads the whole world astray.^(V) He was hurled to the earth,^(W) and his angels with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven^(X) say:

¹³ When the dragon^(AH) saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.^{(AI) 14} The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle,^(AJ) so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time,^(AK) out of the serpent’s reach. ¹⁵ Then from his mouth the serpent^(AL) spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷ Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war^(AM) against the rest of her offspring^(AN)—those who keep God’s commands^(AO) and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.^(AP)