Haggai 2

1 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Lord sent a message through the prophet Haggai.

In the seventh month, on the twenty-first [day] of the month, the Lord spoke by Aggaeus the prophet, saying,

2 Say to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all the remaining people,

Speak now to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, and to Jesus the son of Josedec, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, saying,

3 Is there anyone left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it seem like nothing to you?

Who [is there] of you that saw this house in her former glory? and how do ye now look upon it, as it were nothing before your eyes?

4 So then be strong, Zerubbabel! Be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, high priest! Be strong, all you people who remain in the land! Work, for I am with you, says the Lord Almighty.

Yet now be strong, O Zorobabel, saith the Lord; and strengthen thyself, O Jesus the high priest, the son of Josedec; and let all the people of the land strengthen themselves, saith the Lord, and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord Almighty;

5 Just as I promised you when you left Egypt, my Spirit continues to be among you. Don't be afraid!

and my Spirit remains in the midst of you; be of good courage.

6 This is what the Lord Almighty says: Soon I will shake the heavens and the earth once more, and the sea and the dry land.

For thus saith the Lord Almighty; Yet once I will shake the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land];

7 I will shake all the nations, and the one desired by all of the nations will come and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty.

and I will shake all nations, and the choice [portions] of all the nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord Almighty.

8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty.

Mine is the silver, and mine the gold, saith the Lord Almighty.

9 The glory of this second house will be greater than the first, says the Lord Almighty, and I will bring peace in this place. So declares the Lord Almighty.

For the glory of this house shall be great, the latter more than the former, saith the Lord Almighty: and in this place will I give peace, saith the Lord Almighty, even peace of soul for a possession to every one that builds, to raise up this temple.

10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of the reign of king Darius, the Lord sent a message through the prophet Haggai.

On the four and twentieth [day] of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Aggaeus the prophet, saying,

11 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: Ask the priests about the law.

Thus saith the Lord Almighty; Inquire now of the priest [concerning] the law, saying,

12 If someone carries some meat from a holy sacrifice in a fold of their clothes and that fold touches some bread or stew or wine or olive oil or any other kind of food, does that food become holy?” And the priests answered, “No.”

If a man should take holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and the skirt of his garment should touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No.

13 Then Haggai asked, “If someone becomes unclean by touching a dead body and then touches any of these foods, do they become unclean?” The priests answered, “Yes, it does become unclean.”

And Aggaeus said, If a defiled person who is unclean by reason of a dead body, touch any of these, shall it be defiled? And the priests answered and said, It shall be defiled.

14 Then Haggai responded, “This is how it is with these people, and with the nation before me, says the Lord. All that they do, every offering they bring, is unclean.”

And Aggaeus answered and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so are all the works of their hands: and whosoever shall approach them, shall be defiled [because of their early burdens: they shall be pained because of their toils; and ye have hated him that reproved in the gates].

15 Now think about what you're doing from this day on. Before a stone was laid on another stone in the house of the Lord,

And now consider, I pray you, from this day and beforetime, before they laid a stone on a stone in the temple of the Lord, what manner of men ye were.

16 how was it for you? You expected a store of grain with twenty measures but only found ten. You thought you could empty out fifty measures from the winepress but there was only twenty.

When ye cast into the corn-bin twenty measures of barley, and there were [only] ten measures of barley: and ye went to the vat to draw out fifty measures, and there were [but] twenty.

17 I struck with blight and mildew and hail everything you were working so hard for, but even so you refused to come back to me, says the Lord.

I smote you with barrenness, and with blasting, and all the works of your hands with hail; yet ye returned not to me, saith the Lord.

18 Think about what you're doing from this day on, today the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month when a foundation was laid for the house of the Lord. Think about it:

Set your hearts now [to think] from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth [day] of the ninth month, even from the day when the foundation of the temple of the Lord was laid;

19 the seed is still in the barn. The vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate tree, and the olive tree have not yet given fruit. But from this day on I will bless you.

consider in your hearts, whether [this] shall be known on the corn-floor, and whether yet the vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-trees that bear no fruit [are with you]: from this day will I bless [you].

20 The Lord sent another message through the prophet Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month:

And the word of the Lord came the second time to Aggaeus the prophet, on the four and twentieth [day] of the month, saying,

21 Tell Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.

Speak to Zorobabel the son of Salathiel, of the tribe of Juda, saying, I shake the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry [land];

22 I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the nations' kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and their riders. The horses and riders will fall, and the men will kill each other by the sword.

and I will overthrow the thrones of kings, and I will destroy the power of the kings of the nations; and I will overthrow chariots and riders; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword striving against his brother.

23 On that day, says the Lord, I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant, and make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you. So declares the Lord Almighty.

In that day, saith the Lord Almighty, I will take thee, O Zorobabel, the son of Salathiel, my servant, saith the Lord, and will make thee as a seal: for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord Almighty.