Old/New Testament
1 Subject: a message from the Lord.
To: Haggai the prophet, who delivered it to Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel), governor of Judah; and to Joshua (son of Josedech), the High Priest—for it was addressed to them.[a]
When: In late August of the second year of the reign of King Darius I.
2 “Why is everyone saying it is not the right time for rebuilding my Temple?” asks the Lord.
3-4 His reply to them is this: “Is it then the right time for you to live in luxurious homes, when the Temple lies in ruins? 5 Look at the result: 6 You plant much but harvest little. You have scarcely enough to eat or drink and not enough clothes to keep you warm. Your income disappears, as though you were putting it into pockets filled with holes!
7 “Think it over,” says the Lord Almighty. “Consider how you have acted and what has happened as a result! 8 Then go up into the mountains, bring down timber, and rebuild my Temple, and I will be pleased with it and appear there in my glory,” says the Lord.
9 “You hope for much but get so little. And when you bring it home, I blow it away—it doesn’t last at all. Why? Because my Temple lies in ruins, and you don’t care. Your only concern is your own fine homes. 10 That is why I am holding back the rains from heaven and giving you such scant crops. 11 In fact, I have called for a drought upon the land, yes, and in the highlands too—a drought to wither the grain and grapes and olives and all your other crops, a drought to starve both you and all your cattle and ruin everything you have worked so hard to get.”
12 Then Zerubbabel (son of Shealtiel), the governor of Judah, and Joshua (son of Josedech), the High Priest, and the few people remaining in the land obeyed Haggai’s message from the Lord their God; they began to worship him in earnest.
13 Then the Lord told them (again sending the message through Haggai, his messenger), “I am with you; I will bless you.” 14-15 And the Lord gave them a desire to rebuild his Temple; so they all gathered in early September of the second year of King Darius’s reign and volunteered their help.
2 In early October of the same year, the Lord sent them this message through Haggai:
2 “Ask this question of the governor and High Priest and everyone left in the land:
3 “‘Who among you can remember the Temple as it was before? How glorious it was! In comparison, it is nothing now, is it? 4 But take courage, O Zerubbabel and Joshua and all the people; take courage and work, for I am with you, says the Lord Almighty. 5 For I promised when you left Egypt that my Spirit would remain among you; so don’t be afraid.’
6 “For the Lord Almighty says, ‘In just a little while I will begin to shake the heavens and earth—and the oceans, too, and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and the Desire of All Nations[b] shall come to this Temple, and I will fill this place with my glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8-9 ‘The future splendor of this Temple will be greater than the splendor of the first one! For I have plenty of silver and gold to do it! And here I will give peace,’[c] says the Lord.”
10 In early December, in the second year of the reign of King Darius, this message came from the Lord through Haggai the prophet:
11 “Ask the priests this question about the law: 12 ‘If one of you is carrying a holy sacrifice in his robes and happens to brush against some bread or wine or meat, will it too become holy?’”
“No,” the priests replied. “Holiness does not pass to other things that way.”
13 Then Haggai asked, “But if someone touches a dead person, and so becomes ceremonially impure, and then brushes against something, does it become contaminated?”
And the priests answered, “Yes.”
14 Haggai then made his meaning clear. “You people,” he said (speaking for the Lord), “were contaminating your sacrifices by living with selfish attitudes and evil hearts—and not only your sacrifices, but everything else that you did as a ‘service’ to me. 15 And so everything you did went wrong. But all is different now because you have begun to build the Temple. 16-17 Before, when you expected a twenty-bushel crop, there were only ten. When you came to draw fifty gallons from the olive press, there were only twenty. I rewarded all your labor with rust and mildew and hail. Yet, even so, you refused to return to me, says the Lord.
18-19 “But now note this: From today, this 24th day of the month,[d] as the foundation of the Lord’s Temple is finished, and from this day onward, I will bless you. Notice, I am giving you this promise now before you have even begun to rebuild the Temple structure, and before you have harvested your grain, and before the grapes, the figs, the pomegranates, and olives have produced their next crops: From this day I will bless you.”
20 Another message came to Haggai from the Lord that same day:
21 “Tell Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, ‘I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, 22 to overthrow thrones, destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations. I will overthrow their armed might, and brothers and companions will kill each other. 23 But when that happens, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, and honor you like a signet ring upon my finger; for I have specially chosen you,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
17 One of the seven angels who had poured out the plagues came over and talked with me. “Come with me,” he said, “and I will show you what is going to happen to the Notorious Prostitute, who sits upon the many waters of the world. 2 The kings of the world have had immoral relations with her, and the people of the earth have been made drunk by the wine of her immorality.”
3 So the angel took me in spirit into the wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet animal that had seven heads and ten horns,[a] written all over with blasphemies against God. 4 The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing and beautiful jewelry made of gold and precious gems and pearls, and held in her hand a golden goblet full of obscenities:
5 A mysterious caption was written on her forehead: “Babylon the Great, Mother of Prostitutes and of Idol Worship Everywhere around the World.”
6 I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus she had killed. I stared at her in horror.
7 “Why are you so surprised?” the angel asked. “I’ll tell you who she is and what the animal she is riding represents. 8 He was alive but isn’t now. And yet, soon he will come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction;[b] and the people of earth, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life before the world began, will be dumbfounded at his reappearance after being dead.
9 “And now think hard: his seven heads represent a certain city[c] built on seven hills where this woman has her residence. 10 They also represent seven kings. Five have already fallen, the sixth now reigns, and the seventh is yet to come, but his reign will be brief. 11 The scarlet animal that died is the eighth king, having reigned before as one of the seven; after his second reign, he too, will go to his doom. 12 His ten horns are ten kings who have not yet risen to power; they will be appointed to their kingdoms for one brief moment, to reign with him. 13 They will all sign a treaty giving their power and strength to him. 14 Together they will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them; for he is Lord over all lords, and King of kings, and his people are the called and chosen and faithful ones.
15 “The oceans, lakes, and rivers that the woman is sitting on represent masses of people of every race and nation.
16 “The scarlet animal and his ten horns—which represent ten kings who will reign with him—all hate the woman, and will attack her and leave her naked and ravaged by fire. 17 For God will put a plan into their minds, a plan that will carry out his purposes: They will mutually agree to give their authority to the scarlet animal so that the words of God will be fulfilled. 18 And this woman you saw in your vision represents the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.