Study Desk

On the ^(C1)twenty-fourth of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying,

"The LORD of armies says this: '^(C1)Now ask the priests for a ^(F1)ruling:

'If someone carries ^(C1)holy meat in the ^(F1)fold of his garment, and touches bread with ^(F2)this fold, or touches cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?'" And the priests answered, "No."

Then Haggai said, "^(C1)If one who is unclean from a ^(F1)corpse touches any of these things, will the latter become unclean?" And the priests answered, "It will become unclean."

Then Haggai responded and said, "'^(C1)So is this people. And so is this nation before Me,' declares the LORD, 'and so is every work of their hands; and what they offer there is unclean.

'But now, do ^(F1)(C1)consider from this day ^(F2)onward: before one ^(C2)stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD,

^(F1)from that time when one came to a grain heap of twenty measures, there would be only ten; and when one came to the wine vat to draw fifty ^(F2)measures, there would be only twenty.

'I struck you and every work of your hands with ^(C1)scorching wind, mildew, and hail; ^(F1)yet you did not come back to Me,' declares the LORD.

'Do ^(F1)(C1)consider from this day ^(F2)onward, from the ^(C2)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the LORD was ^(C3)founded, ^(F1)consider:

'Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not produced fruit. Yet from this day on I will ^(C1)bless you.'"