Old/New Testament
It Is Time to Build the Temple
1 The prophet Haggai spoke the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah [Ezra 2:2; 3:2; Zech. 6:9–14], and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest [C also known as Jeshua; Ezra 2:2; 3:2; 5:2; Zech. 3:1–10]. This message came in the second year that Darius was king [520 bc], on the first day of the sixth month [C August 29; Elul 1 on the Hebrew calendar]:
2 “This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: ‘The people say the right time has not come to rebuild the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.’”
3 Then Haggai the prophet spoke the word of the Lord: 4 “Is it right for you to be living in ·fancy [L paneled] houses while ·the Temple [L this house] is still in ruins?”
5 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: “·Think about what you have done [Consider your ways]. 6 You have planted much, but you harvest little. You eat, but you do not become full. You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes, but you are not warm enough. You earn ·money [wages], ·but then you lose it all as if you had [L to] put it into a purse full of holes.”
7 This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: “·Think about what you have done [Consider your ways]. 8 Go up to the mountains, bring back wood, and build the ·Temple [L house]. Then I will be pleased with it and be honored,” says the Lord. 9 “You look for much, but ·you find little [it came to little]. When you bring it home, I ·destroy it [L blew it away]. Why?” asks the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. “Because you all ·work hard for [are busy with; L run to] your own houses while my house is still in ruins! 10 Because of what you have done, the sky holds back its ·rain [dew] and the ground holds back its crops. 11 I have called for a ·time without rain [drought] on the land, and on the ·mountains [hill country], and on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, the plants which the earth produces, the people, the ·farm animals [livestock], and all the work of your hands.”
12 Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest [1:1], and all the ·rest of the people who were left alive [remnant of the people; C those who returned from exile in Babylon] obeyed the [L voice of the] Lord their God and the message from Haggai the prophet, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people ·feared [were in awe of] the Lord.
13 Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave the Lord’s message to the people, saying, “The Lord says, ‘I am with you.’” 14 The Lord stirred up [L the spirit of] Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the ·rest of the people who were left alive [remnant of the people; v. 12]. So they came and worked on the ·Temple [L house] of their God, the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 15 They began on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year Darius was king [v. 1].
The Beauty of the Temple
2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month [C Oct. 17, 520 bc; Tishri 21 on the Hebrew calendar; the same date Solomon finished the temple 440 years earlier (960 bc); 1 Kin. 6:38; 8:2], the Lord spoke his word through Haggai the prophet, saying, 2 “Speak to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest [1:1], and to the ·rest of the people who are left alive [remnant of the people; 1:12]. Say, 3 ‘Do any of you remember ·how great the Temple was [the former glory of this house] before it was destroyed? What does it look like now? Doesn’t it seem like nothing to you?’ 4 But the Lord says, ‘Zerubbabel, be ·brave [strong]. Also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, be ·brave [strong]. And all you people who live in the land, be ·brave [strong],’ says the Lord. ‘Work, because I am with you,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 5 ‘I made a promise to you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit ·is still with [remains among] you. So don’t be afraid.’
6 “This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: ‘In a short time I will once again shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all the nations, and ·they will bring their wealth [L the treasures of the nations shall come]. Then I will fill this ·Temple [L house] with glory [C God’s manifest presence],’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 8 ‘The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. 9 ‘The ·new Temple [L glory of this second/latter house] will be greater than the one before,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts]. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].”
10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month [C December 18, 520 bc; Kislev 24 on the Hebrew calendar] in the second year Darius was king, the Lord spoke his word to Haggai the prophet, saying, 11 “This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says: ‘Ask the priests ·for a teaching [about the law; for guidance/instruction]. 12 Suppose a person carries in the fold of his clothes some meat made holy for the Lord. If that fold touches bread, ·cooked food [stew], wine, olive oil, or some other food, will that be made holy?’”
The priests answered, “No.”
13 Then Haggai said, “If a person who is ·unclean [C ceremonially] from touching a dead body touches any of these foods, will the food become unclean, too?”
The priests answered, “Yes, it would become unclean.”
14 Then Haggai answered, “The Lord says, ‘This is also true for the people of this nation. They are ·unclean [defiled], and everything they do with their hands is unclean to me. Whatever they offer at the altar is also ·unclean [defiled].
15 “‘·Think about [Consider; L Set your heart on] this from now on! Think about how it was before you started laying stones on top of stones to build the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. 16 A person used to come to a ·pile of grain expecting to find twenty basketfuls [L heap of twenty measures/ephahs], but there were only ten. And a person used to come to the wine vat to take out fifty ·jarfuls [measures; L baths], but only twenty were there. 17 I ·destroyed your work [struck all the work of your hands] with ·diseases [blight], mildew, and hail, but you still did not come back to me,’ says the Lord. 18 ‘It is the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month [December 18, 520 bc; Kislev 24 on the Hebrew calendar], the day in which the people finished working on the foundation of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. From ·now [L this day] on, think about these things: 19 Do you have seeds for crops still in the barn? Your vines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olive trees have not given fruit yet. But from ·now [L this day] on I will bless you!’”
The Lord Makes a Promise to Zerubbabel
20 Then the Lord spoke his word a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month [December 18, 520 bc; Kislev 24 on the Hebrew calendar]. He said, 21 “Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will ·destroy [overthrow] the ·foreign [L thrones of] kingdoms and ·take away [shatter] the power of the kingdoms of the nations. I will destroy the chariots and their riders. The horses will fall with their riders, ·as people kill each other with swords [L each one by the sword of his brother].’ 23 The Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts] says, ‘On that day I will take you, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, my servant,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will make you ·important like [L like] my signet ring, because I have chosen you!’ says the Lord All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].”
The Woman on the Animal
17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. He said, “Come, and I will show you the ·punishment [judgment] that will be given to the great ·prostitute [whore], the one sitting [or ruling] over many waters [C referring to the Euphrates River and its many waterways (Jer. 51:13), or symbolically to the cosmic forces of evil]. 2 The kings of the earth ·sinned sexually [prostituted themselves; committed fornication] with her, and the people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her ·sexual sin [prostitution; fornication; 14:8].”
3 Then the angel carried me away ·by the Spirit [or in the spirit] to the ·desert [wilderness]. There I saw a woman sitting on a ·red [scarlet] beast. It was covered with ·names against God written on it [blasphemous names], and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and ·red [scarlet] and was ·shining [glittering; adorned] with the gold, precious jewels, and pearls she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand, a cup filled with ·evil [abominable; detestable] things and the uncleanness of her ·sexual sin [prostitution; fornication]. 5 On her forehead a ·title [name] was written that was ·secret [a mystery]. This is what was written:
the great babylon
mother of ·prostitutes [whores]
and of the ·evil [abominable; detestable] things of the earth
6 Then I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of ·God’s holy people [T the saints] and with the blood of ·those who were killed because of their faith in [witnesses to; or martyrs for] Jesus.
When I saw the woman, I was ·very amazed [greatly astonished; L amazed with great amazement]. 7 Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed [astonished]? I will tell you the ·secret [mystery] of this woman and the beast ·she rides [that carries her]—the one with seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast you saw ·was once alive but is not alive now [L was, and is not; 13:3, 12, 14]. But soon it will come up out of the ·bottomless pit [Abyss; 9:1] and go away to ·be destroyed [its destruction]. There are people who live on earth whose names have not been written in the ·book [scroll] of life [3:5] since the ·beginning [foundation; creation] of the world. They will be amazed when they see the beast, because he was ·once alive, is not alive now, but will come again [L was, is not, but is to come; C imitating the divine title of the Lamb (1:18; 2:8) and God (1:4, 8; 4:8)].
9 “You need a wise mind to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are seven ·mountains [or hills; C Rome was built on seven hills] where the woman sits. 10 ·And they are seven kings. Five of the kings have ·already been destroyed [L fallen], one of the kings ·lives now [L is], and another has not yet come. When he comes, he must stay a short time. 11 The beast that ·was once alive [L was], but ·is not alive now [L is not], is also an eighth king. He belongs to the first seven kings, and he ·will go away to be destroyed [is heading to destruction].
12 “The ten horns [Dan. 7:7–8, 20–25] you saw are ten kings who have not yet ·begun to rule [received a kingdom], but they will receive ·power [authority] to rule with the beast for one hour [C a short time]. 13 All ten of these kings have ·the same [L one] ·purpose [intention], and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war against the Lamb [C Jesus], but the Lamb will ·defeat [conquer; be victorious over] them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. ·He will defeat them with his called, chosen, and faithful followers [or Those with him are called, chosen and faithful].”
15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the ·prostitute [whore] sits, are peoples, ·races [multitudes; crowds], nations, and languages. 16 The ten horns and the beast you saw will hate the ·prostitute [whore]. They will ·take everything she has [make her desolate] and leave her naked. They will eat her body and burn her with fire [Ezek. 23:25–29]. 17 [L For] God ·made the ten horns want [L put it into their hearts] to carry out his ·purpose [intention] by agreeing to give the beast their ·power to rule [kingdom], until ·what God has said comes about [L the word of God has been fulfilled/completed]. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” [C Whether symbolized by Rome, Babylon, Sodom or apostate Jerusalem, this city is ultimately the human world system ruled by Satan standing in opposition to the city of God, the new Jerusalem.]
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