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A Call to Build the House of the Lord
In the second year of King Darius, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest:
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“You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?” declares the Lord Almighty. “Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with your own house.
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on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month.
The Promised Glory of the New House
In the second year of King Darius,
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on the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai:
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‘Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?
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Blessings for a Defiled People
On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Haggai:
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“‘Now give careful thought to this from this day on—consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the Lord’s temple.
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‘From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Give careful thought:
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Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. “‘From this day on I will bless you.’”
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Zerubbabel the Lord’s Signet Ring
The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month:
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“‘On that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
