Then the Lord God of Israel told the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to speak in his name to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. And they did.

With great success the Jewish leaders continued working on the temple, while Haggai and Zechariah encouraged them by their preaching. And so, the temple was completed at the command of the God of Israel and by the orders of kings Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes of Persia.

Rebuild the Temple

On the first day of the sixth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia, the Lord told Haggai the prophet to speak his message to the governor of Judah and to the high priest. So Haggai told Governor Zerubbabel and High Priest Joshua

Zerubbabel and Joshua, together with the others who had returned from exile in Babylonia, obeyed the Lord's message spoken by his prophet Haggai, and they started showing proper respect for the Lord.

Haggai then told them that the Lord had promised to be with them.

The Glorious New Temple

On the twenty-first day of the next month, the Lord told Haggai the prophet to speak this message to Governor Zerubbabel, High Priest Joshua, and everyone else:

The Past and the Future

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the Lord God All-Powerful told the prophet Haggai

Then Haggai said, “Suppose someone has touched a dead body and is considered unacceptable to worship God. If that person touches these foods, would they become unclean?” “Of course they would,” the priests answered.

So the Lord told Haggai to say: That's how it is with this entire nation. Everything you do and every sacrifice you offer is unacceptable to me.

God's Promise to Zerubbabel

That same day the Lord spoke to Haggai again and said: