Haggai 1
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of Yahweh came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, 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 “Yahweh of hosts says this: These people say, 'It is not time for us to come or to build Yahweh's house.'”
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 Then the word of Yahweh 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 a time for you yourselves to live in your finished houses, while this house lies ruined?
“It is not right [RHQ] for you to be living in luxurious houses while my temple is only ruins!
5 So now Yahweh of hosts says this: Consider your ways!
[I, ] Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of heaven, say this: Think about what is happening to you.
6 You have sown much seed, but bring in little harvest; you eat but do not have enough; you drink but cannot get drunk. You wear clothes but cannot warm yourselves, and the wage earner earns money only to put it into a bag full of 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 Yahweh of hosts says this: “Consider your ways!
[So] this is what Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of heaven, says: “Think about what is happening to you.
8 Go up to the mountain, bring timber, and build my house; then I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified!—says Yahweh.”
[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 looked for much, but behold! you have brought little home, for I blew it away! Why?” declares Yahweh of hosts. “Because my house lies in ruins, while every one of you is working on 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 withhold the dew from you, and the earth withholds its produce.
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 I have summoned a drought upon the land and upon the mountains, upon the grain and upon the new wine, upon the oil and upon the harvest of the earth, upon men and upon beasts, and upon all the labor of your 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 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, along with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of Yahweh their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, because Yahweh their God had sent him and the people feared the face of Yahweh.
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 Then Haggai, the messenger of Yahweh, spoke Yahweh's message to the people and said, “I am with you!—this is Yahweh's declaration!”
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 So Yahweh stirred up the spirit of the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and the spirit of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people, so that they went and worked on the house of Yahweh 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 in the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
[They started work] on September 21st, during the second year that Darius was the king.
