Haggai 1:7-11
World English Bible
7 This is what Yahweh of Armies says: “Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain, bring wood, and build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,” says Yahweh. 9 “You looked for much, and, behold,[a] it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says Yahweh of Armies, “Because of my house that lies waste, while each of you is busy with his own house. 10 Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on that which the ground produces, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of the hands.”
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- 1:9 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.
Haggai 1:7-11
New English Translation
Consequences of the Failure to Rebuild the Temple
7 Moreover, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: “Pay close attention to these things also.[a] 8 Go up to the hill country and bring back timber to build[b] the temple.[c] Then I will be pleased and honored,”[d] says the Lord. 9 “You expected a large harvest, but instead there was little.[e] And when you would bring it home, I would blow it right away.[f] Why?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Because my temple remains in ruins, thanks to each of you favoring his own house![g] 10 This is why the sky[h] has held back its dew and the earth its produce.[i] 11 Moreover, I have called for a drought that will affect the fields, the hill country, the grain, new wine, fresh olive oil, and everything that grows from the ground; it also will harm people, animals, and everything they produce.”[j]
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- Haggai 1:7 tn Heb “Set your heart upon your ways”; see v. 5.
- Haggai 1:8 tn Heb “and build the house” (so NIV, NRSV), with “house” referring specifically to the temple here.
- Haggai 1:8 sn The temple was built primarily of stone, so the timber here refers to interior paneling (see v. 4) and perhaps to scaffolding (see Ezra 5:8; 6:4).
- Haggai 1:8 tn The Hebrew verb אֶכָּבְדָ (ʾekkavda) appears to be a defectively written cohortative (“that I may be glorified”). The cohortatives (note that the preceding אֶרְצֶה, ʾertseh, “I will be pleased,” may also be taken as cohortative) indicate purpose or result (cf. NIV, NRSV “so that”; CEV “so”) following the imperatives of v. 8a (“go up,” “bring back,” “build”).
- Haggai 1:9 tn Heb “Turning for much—look! It is [become] little!” The term פָּנֹה (panoh) means “turning [the head],” and here it is in order to look around. The term הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) is an interjection drawing attention to the point being made.
- Haggai 1:9 tn Heb “I would blow at/against it.” The imagery here suggests that human achievements are so fragile and temporal that a mere breath from God can destroy them.
- Haggai 1:9 tn Heb “and each of you runs to his own house”; NIV “is busy with”; TEV “is busy working on”; NCV “work hard for.”
- Haggai 1:10 tn The Hebrew text has “over you” (so KJV), but this is redundant in contemporary English and has been left untranslated.
- Haggai 1:10 sn This linkage of human sin to natural disaster is reminiscent of the curse brought upon the earth by Adam’s disobedience (Gen 3:17-19; see Rom 8:20-22).
- Haggai 1:11 tn Heb “all the labor of hands” (similar KJV, NASB, NIV); cf. NAB “all that is produced by hand.”
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