Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
17 The Lord is righteous in all His ways
and gracious in all His acts.(A)
18 The Lord is near all who call out to Him,
all who call out to Him with integrity.(B)
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him;
He hears their cry for help and saves them.(C)
20 The Lord guards all those who love Him,
but He destroys all the wicked.(D)
21 My mouth will declare Yahweh’s praise;
let every living thing
praise His holy name forever and ever.(E)
Command to Rebuild the Temple
1 In the second year of King Darius,[a](A) on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai(B) the prophet to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,(C) the governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest:(D)
2 “The Lord of Hosts says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”(E)
3 The word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet: 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses,(F) while this house[b] lies in ruins?” 5 Now, the Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully(G) about[c] your ways:
6 You have planted much
but harvested little.
You eat
but never have enough to be satisfied.
You drink
but never have enough to become drunk.
You put on clothes
but never have enough to get warm.
The wage earner puts his wages
into a bag with a hole in it.”(H)
7 The Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about[d] your ways. 8 Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house. Then I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord. 9 “You expected much, but then it amounted to little. When you brought the harvest to your house, I ruined[e] it. Why?” This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts. “Because My house still lies in ruins, while each of you is busy with his own house.
10 So on your account,[f]
the skies have withheld the dew
and the land its crops.(I)
11 I have summoned a drought
on the fields and the hills,
on the grain, new wine, olive oil,
and whatever the ground yields,
on man and beast,
and on all that your hands produce.”
The People’s Response
12 Then Zerubbabel(J) son of Shealtiel, the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the entire remnant of the people(K) obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. So the people feared the Lord.(L)
13 Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, delivered the Lord’s message to the people, “I am with you”(M)—this is the Lord’s declaration.
14 The Lord stirred up the spirit(N) of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. They began work on the house of Yahweh of Hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of King Darius.
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
20 One(A) day[a] as He was teaching(B) the people in the temple complex and proclaiming the good news,(C) the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders,(D) came up 2 and said to Him: “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Who is it who gave You this authority?”
3 He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell Me, 4 was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”
5 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people(E) will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”(F)
7 So they answered that they did not know its origin.[b]
8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
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