Haggai 1
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 the hand of Haggai the prophet, to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying:
[I am], Haggai, a prophet. I received a message from Yahweh on August 29th, during the second year that Darius was the king [of Persia]. I told this message to Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, and to Jehozadak’s son Jeshua, the Supreme Priest.
2 Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: This people claims that the time has not yet arrived for building the house of the Lord.
Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of heaven, told [me] that the people were saying that it was not yet time for them to rebuild Yahweh’s temple.
3 But the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, saying:
Then Yahweh gave me this message [to tell to the people of Jerusalem]:
4 Is it time for you to dwell in paneled houses, while this house is deserted?
“It is not right [RHQ] for you to be living in luxurious houses while my temple is only ruins!
5 And now, thus says the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts upon your ways.
[I, ] Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of heaven, say this: Think about what is happening to you.
6 You sowed much and have brought in little. You consumed and have not been satisfied. You drank and have not been inebriated. You covered yourselves and have not been warmed. And whoever gathered wages, has put them in a bag with holes.
You have planted a lot [of seeds], but you are not getting many [crops] to harvest. You eat [food], but you never get enough. You drink [wine], but you are still thirsty. You wear clothes, but you do not stay warm. You earn money, [but things are very expensive], with the result that [it is as though] [MET] [your money disappears because] you are putting it in purses/pockets that have [big] holes in them.”
7 Thus says the Lord of hosts: Set your hearts upon your ways.
[So] this is what Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of heaven, says: “Think about what is happening to you.
8 Ascend to the mountain, bring wood and build the house, and it shall be acceptable to me, and I shall be glorified, says the Lord.
[Then] go up into the hills, [cut down trees, ] and bring timber [down here], and rebuild my temple. When you do that, I will be pleased, and I will be honored.
9 You have looked for more, and behold, it became less, and you brought it home, and I blew it away. What is the cause of this, says the Lord of hosts? It is because my house is desolate, yet you have hurried, each one to his own house.
You expected [to harvest] plenty [of crops], but there were few [crops to harvest]. And when you brought the crops home, I caused them to spoil [IDM] quickly. The reason [that happened is that] my temple is a ruins, while each of you are busy building your own [beautiful] houses.
10 Because of this, the heavens over you have been prohibited from giving dew, and the earth has been prohibited from giving her sprouts.
It is because of what you [are doing] that rain does not fall from the sky, and [as a result] there are no crops.
11 And I called a drought over the land, and over the mountains, and over the wheat, and over the wine, and over the oil, and whatever the soil would bring forth, and over men, and over beasts of burden, and over all the labor of hands.
I have caused a (drought/severe lack of rain) on the hills and on your fields. The result has been that your grain [has withered], and your grapevines [MTY] and olive trees [MTY] and all your [other] crops have dried up. [Because of that, ] you and your cattle [do not have enough food], and the hard work that you have done will be for nothing.”
12 And Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the remnant of the people heeded the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, just as the Lord their God sent him to them. And the people were fearful before the face of the Lord.
Then Zerubbabel and Jeshua and all the others of God’s people who were still alive obeyed the message that Yahweh our God had said, and they heeded the message that I had given them, because [they knew that] Yahweh our God had sent/appointed me. And the people revered Yahweh.
13 And Haggai, a messenger of the Lord among messengers of the Lord, spoke to the people, saying: the Lord says, “I am with you.”
Then [I], Haggai, who was Yahweh’s messenger, gave this message from Yahweh to the people: “I, Yahweh, declare that I am with you.”
14 And the Lord stirred the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the remainder of all the people. And they entered and performed work in the house of the Lord of hosts their God.
[So] Yahweh motivated Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the other people to want to rebuild the temple of our God, the Commander of the armies of angels. They gathered together and started to work to rebuild it.
15 On the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of king Darius, they began.
[They started work] on September 21st, during the second year that Darius was the king.
