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Haggai Begins Temple Building
1 In the (A)second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet (B)Haggai to (C)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (D)governor of Judah, and to (E)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2 “This is what the Lord of armies [a]says: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”’” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 “Is it time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses while this house remains (F)desolate?” 5 Now then, the Lord of armies says this: “[b]Consider your ways! 6 You have (G)sown much, only to [c]harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but there is not enough for [d]anyone to get warm; and the one who earns, earns wages to put into a money bag full of holes.”
7 The Lord of armies says this: “[e]Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the [f]mountains, bring wood, and (H)rebuild the [g]temple, that I may be (I)pleased with it and be (J)honored,” says the Lord. 9 “(K)You [h]start an ambitious project, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I (L)blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of armies. “It is because of My house which (M)remains desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. 10 Therefore, because of you the (N)sky has withheld [i]its dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I called for a (O)drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on (P)mankind, on cattle, and on (Q)all the products of the labor of [j]your hands.”
12 Then (R)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and (S)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, (T)obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, just as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people [k](U)showed reverence for the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the (V)messenger of the Lord, spoke [l]by the commission of the Lord to the people, saying, “‘(W)I am with you,’ declares the Lord.” 14 So the Lord stirred up the spirit of (X)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (Y)governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the (Z)remnant of the people; and they came and (AA)worked on the house of the Lord of armies, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.
The Builders Encouraged
2 On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by (AB)Haggai the prophet, saying, 2 “Speak now to (AC)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, (AD)governor of Judah, and to (AE)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the (AF)remnant of the people, saying, 3 ‘Who is (AG)left among you who saw this [m]temple in its (AH)former glory? And how do you see it now? [n]Does it not seem to you like nothing [o]in comparison? 4 But now [p](AI)take courage, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord, ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work; for (AJ)I am with you,’ declares the Lord of armies. 5 ‘As for the [q](AK)promise which I [r]made you when you came out of Egypt, [s]My (AL)Spirit remains in your midst; (AM)do not fear!’ 6 For this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘(AN)Once more [t]in a (AO)little while, I am going to (AP)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. 7 I will shake (AQ)all the nations; and [u]they will come with the (AR)wealth of all nations, and I will (AS)fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord of armies. 8 ‘The (AT)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,’ declares the Lord of armies. 9 ‘The latter (AU)glory of this house will be greater than the (AV)former,’ says the Lord of armies, ‘and in this place I will give (AW)peace,’ declares the Lord of armies.”
10 On the (AX)twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “The Lord of armies says this: ‘(AY)Now ask the priests for a [v]ruling: 12 If someone carries (AZ)holy meat in the [w]fold of his garment, and touches bread with [x]this fold, or touches cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” And the priests answered, “No.” 13 Then Haggai said, “(BA)If one who is unclean from a [y]corpse touches any of these things, will the latter become unclean?” And the priests answered, “It will become unclean.” 14 Then Haggai responded and said, “‘(BB)So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean. 15 But now, do [z](BC)consider from this day [aa]onward: before one (BD)stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord, 16 [ab]from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty [ac]measures, there would be only twenty. 17 I struck you and every work of your hands with (BE)scorching wind, mildew, and hail; [ad]yet you did not come back to Me,’ declares the Lord. 18 ‘Do [ae](BF)consider from this day [af]onward, from the (BG)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was (BH)founded, [ag]consider: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will (BI)bless you.’”
20 Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the (BJ)twenty-fourth day of the month, saying, 21 “Speak to (BK)Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to (BL)shake the heavens and the earth. 22 And I will (BM)overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the (BN)power of the kingdoms of the [ah]nations; and I will (BO)overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the (BP)horses and their riders will go down, (BQ)every one by the sword of another.’ 23 ‘On that day,’ declares the Lord of armies, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like a [ai](BR)signet ring, for (BS)I have chosen you,’” declares the Lord of armies.
The Two Witnesses
11 Then there was given to me a [a](A)measuring rod like a staff; [b]and (B)someone said, “Get up and measure the [c]temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. 2 [d]Leave out the (C)courtyard which is outside the [e]temple and do not measure it, because (D)it has been given to the nations; and they will (E)trample (F)the holy city for (G)forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two (H)witnesses, and they will prophesy for (I)1,260 days, clothed in (J)sackcloth.” 4 These are the (K)two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, (L)fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; and so if anyone wants to harm them, (M)he must be killed in this way. 6 These have the power to (N)shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during (O)the days of their prophesying; and they have power over the waters to (P)turn them into blood, and (Q)to strike the earth with every plague, as often as they desire.
7 When they have finished their testimony, (R)the beast that comes up out of the (S)abyss will (T)make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies will lie on the street of the (U)great city which [f]spiritually is called (V)Sodom and (W)Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 9 Those from (X)the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will look at their dead [g]bodies for three and a half days, and [h](Y)will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 10 And (Z)those who live on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate; and they will (AA)send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented (AB)those who live on the earth.
11 And after the three and a half days, (AC)the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them. 12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “(AD)Come up here.” And they (AE)went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And [i]at that time there was a great (AF)earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; [j]seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and (AG)gave glory to the (AH)God of heaven.
14 The second (AI)woe has passed; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.
The Seventh Trumpet: Christ’s Reign Foreseen
15 Then the (AJ)seventh angel sounded; and there were (AK)loud voices in heaven, saying,
“(AL)The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of (AM)His [k]Christ; and (AN)He will reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders, who (AO)sit on their thrones before God, (AP)fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
“We give You thanks, (AQ)Lord God, the Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to (AR)reign. 18 And (AS)the nations were enraged, and (AT)Your wrath came, and (AU)the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to [l]reward Your (AV)bond-servants the prophets and the [m]saints and those who fear Your name, (AW)the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
19 And (AX)the [n]temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and (AY)the ark of His covenant appeared in His [o]temple, and there were flashes of (AZ)lightning and sounds and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a (BA)great [p]hailstorm.
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
139 Lord, You have (A)searched me and known me.
2 You (B)know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I get up;
You (C)understand my thought from far away.
3 You [c](D)scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You (E)know it all.
5 You have (F)encircled me behind and in front,
And (G)placed Your hand upon me.
6 Such (H)knowledge is (I)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.
7 (J)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 (K)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in [f]Sheol, behold, (L)You are there.
9 If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will (M)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
11 If I say, “Surely the (N)darkness will [g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
12 Even (O)darkness is not dark [h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
(P)Darkness and light are alike to You.
13 For You (Q)created my innermost parts;
You (R)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, because [i]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
(S)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [j](T)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the (U)depths of the earth;
16 Your (V)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in (W)Your book were written
All the (X)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
17 How precious also are Your (Y)thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would (Z)outnumber the sand.
When (AA)I awake, I am still with You.
19 If only You would (AB)put the wicked to death, God;
(AC)Leave me, (AD)you men of bloodshed.
20 For they (AE)speak [k]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies [l](AF)take Your name in vain.
21 Do I not (AG)hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not (AH)loathe those who rise up against You?
22 I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.