The Command to Rebuild the Temple

(A)In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to (B)Zerubbabel the son of (C)Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to (D)Joshua the son of (E)Jehozadak, the high priest: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” Then the word of the Lord came (F)by the hand of Haggai the prophet, (G)“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while (H)this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: (I)Consider your ways. (J)You have sown much, and harvested little. (K)You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who (L)earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: (M)Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that (N)I may take pleasure in it and that (O)I may be glorified, says the Lord. (P)You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, (Q)I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house (R)that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore (S)the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And (T)I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on (U)the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and (V)on all their labors.”

The People Obey the Lord

12 (W)Then (X)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (Y)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all (Z)the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord's message, (AA)“I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And (AB)the Lord stirred up the spirit of (AC)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of (AD)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all (AE)the remnant of the people. And they came and (AF)worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 (AG)on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.

Call to Rebuild the Temple

On the first day of the sixth month of the second year of the reign of[a] King Darius, this message from the Lord came by[b] Haggai[c] the prophet to Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, and to Jehozadak’s son Joshua, the high priest:

“This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘These people keep saying, “No, the right[d] time for rebuilding the Lord’s Temple has not yet come.”’”

Then this message from the Lord came by[e] Haggai the prophet: “Is it the right[f] time for all of you to live in your own paneled houses while this house remains in ruins?”

Consequences of Not Rebuilding

“Now this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, says: ‘Carefully consider your ways:

You have sowed much
    but have reaped little.
You have eaten
    but don’t have enough to become satisfied.
You have drunk
    but don’t have enough to become intoxicated.
You have clothed yourself
    but don’t have enough to keep warm.
And the hired laborer deposits his salary
    in a bag full of holes!’”

Command to Rebuild the Temple

“This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: ‘Carefully consider your ways: Go up into the mountains, bring timber, and reconstruct my house. Then I will be pleased with it and I will be honored,’ says the Lord. ‘You turned away in pursuit of abundance, but look at how little you found![g] What you did manage to bring home, I blew away! And why?’ declares the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. ‘It’s because of my house! It lies in ruins while each of you runs off to his own house! 10 That is why the heavens keep withholding dew from you, and the earth withholds her fruit. 11 I sent a drought on the land, on the mountains, on your grain, on your new wines, on your oil—on everything the ground produces—on men, on livestock, and on everything you do![h]’”

The People Obey

12 Then Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel, Jehozadak’s son Joshua the high priest, and all the rest[i] of the people obeyed the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with a special commission[j] from the Lord: “‘I am with you,’ declares the Lord.”

14 Then the Lord revitalized the spirit of Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, the spirit of Jehozadak’s son Joshua the high priest, and the spirit of all the rest[k] of the people, so they came and began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies. 15 This took place on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of the second year of the reign of[l] King Darius.

Footnotes

  1. Haggai 1:1 The Heb. lacks the reign of
  2. Haggai 1:1 Lit. by the hand of
  3. Haggai 1:1 The Heb. name Haggai means festive
  4. Haggai 1:2 The Heb. lacks right
  5. Haggai 1:3 Lit. by the hand of
  6. Haggai 1:4 The Heb. lacks right
  7. Haggai 1:9 The Heb. lacks you found
  8. Haggai 1:11 Lit. every product of your labor
  9. Haggai 1:12 Or the whole remnant
  10. Haggai 1:13 Or message
  11. Haggai 1:14 Or the whole remnant
  12. Haggai 1:15 The Heb. lacks the reign of