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God’s Command to Rebuild the Temple
1 In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,
2 Thus says the Lord of Hosts: These people say, The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.
3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying: 4 Is it time for you yourselves to live in paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of Hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put them into a bag with holes.
7 Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain and bring wood and rebuild the house, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? says the Lord of Hosts. Because of My house that lies in ruins while each of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its crops. 11 I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on men, on livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.
The People Obey God’s Command
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all 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 the message of the Lord to the people, saying: I am with you, says the Lord. 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of Hosts their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
The Future Glory of the Temple
2 In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying: 2 Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, saying: 3 Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not, in your eyes, as nothing in comparison? 4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord, and be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong all you people of the land, says the Lord. Work, for I am with you, says the Lord of Hosts. 5 According to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.
6 For thus says the Lord of Hosts: Once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and earth, the sea and dry land. 7 And I will shake all the nations, and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of Hosts. 8 The silver is mine, and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of Hosts. 9 The glory of this latter house will be greater than the former, says the Lord of Hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of Hosts.
Blessings on a Defiled People
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying: 11 Thus says the Lord of Hosts: Now ask the priests concerning the law, saying, 12 If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his garment, and touches with his fold bread or stew, or wine or oil, or any food, will it become holy?
The priests answered, “No.”
13 Then Haggai said, “If one who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, will it become unclean?”
The priests answered, “It will become unclean.”
14 Then Haggai said, So it is with this people, and so it is with this nation before Me, says the Lord, and so with every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.
15 Now consider from this day onward: from before stone was laid upon stone in the temple of the Lord, 16 from those days when one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty. 17 I struck you and all the labor of your hands with blight and mildew and hail; yet you did not turn to Me. 18 Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day when the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid, consider: 19 Is the seed yet in the barn? As of yet, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing.
But from this day on I will bless you.
The Promise of God to Zerubbabel
20 The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overthrow the throne of the kingdoms. I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow the chariots and their riders. The horses and their riders will come down, every one by the sword of his brother.
23 On that day, says the Lord of Hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and I will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of Hosts.
The Two Witnesses
11 I was given a reed like a measuring rod. The angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 But exclude the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations. They will trample on the Holy City for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.[a] 5 If anyone desires to harm them, fire proceeds out of their mouth and devours their enemies. If anyone desires to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 They have power to shut heaven, that it may not rain during the days of their prophecy. They have power over waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague as often as they desire.
7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will wage war against them and overcome them and kill them. 8 Their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. 9 Those from every people and tribe and tongue and nation will see their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10 Those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.
11 After the three and a half days, the breath[b] of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.
13 At that same hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand men were killed in the earthquake, and the remnant were frightened and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe is past. Listen, the third woe is coming quickly.
The Seventh Trumpet
15 The seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying:
“The kingdoms of the world have become
the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ,
and He shall reign forever and ever.”
16 And the twenty-four elders, who sat before God on their thrones, fell on their faces and worshipped God, 17 saying:
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
who is and was and who is to come,
because You have taken Your great power
and begun to reign.
18 The nations were angry,
and Your wrath has come,
and the time has come for the dead to be judged,
and to reward Your servants the prophets
and the saints and those who fear Your name,
small and great,
and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there came lightning, noises, thundering, an earthquake, and great hail.
Psalm 139
For the Music Director. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, You have searched me
and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up;
You understand my thought from far off.
3 You search my path and my lying down
and are aware of all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
but behold, O Lord, You know it fully.
5 You put Yourself behind and before me,
and keep Your hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is lofty, and I cannot fathom it.
7 Where shall I go from Your spirit,
or where shall I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell at the end of the sea,
10 even there Your hand shall guide me,
and Your right hand shall take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light shall be as night about me,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to You,
but the night shines as the day,
for the darkness is like light to You.
13 You brought my inner parts into being;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise you, for You made me with fear and wonder;
marvelous are Your works,
and You know me completely.
15 My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in secret,
and intricately put together in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw me unformed,
yet in Your book
all my days were written,
before any of them came into being.
17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them,
they are more in number than the sand;
when I awake,
I am still with You.
19 If only You would slay the wicked, O God!
O violent men, depart from me.
20 For they speak against You with malice,
and Your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those, O Lord, who hate You?
And do I not abhor those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
try me, and know my concerns,
24 and see if there is any rebellious way in me,
and lead me in the ancient way.
15 The leech has two daughters,
crying, “Give, give.”
There are three things that are never satisfied,
indeed, four things never say, “It is enough”:
16 the grave, the barren womb,
the earth that is not filled with water,
and the fire that never says, “It is enough.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.