Haggai 2:13

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹⁰On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Haggai the prophet, saying, ¹¹"This is what the LORD of Hosts says: 'Ask the priests for a ruling. ¹²If a man carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does that item become holy?'" "No," replied the priests. ¹³So Haggai asked, "If one who is defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?" "Yes, it becomes defiled," the priests answered.¹⁴Then Haggai replied: "So is this people, and so is this nation before Me, declares the LORD, and so is every work of their hands; and whatever they offer there is defiled. ¹⁵Now consider carefully from this day forward: Before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the LORD, ¹⁶from that time when one came expecting a heap of twenty ephahs of grain, there were but ten. When one came to the winepress to draw out fifty baths, there were but twenty. ¹⁷I struck you-all the work of your hands-with blight, mildew, and hail, but you did not turn to Me, declares the LORD. ¹⁸Consider carefully from this day forward-from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, the day the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid-consider carefully: ¹⁹Is there still seed in the barn? The vine, the fig, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yet yielded fruit. But from this day on, I will bless you."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Numbers 5:2, Numbers 5:3, Numbers 9:6-10, Numbers 19:11-22

Reciprocal: Leviticus 5:2 - touch Leviticus 12:4 - General Leviticus 22:6 - General Numbers 19:22 - whatsoever Joshua 7:12 - they were Isaiah 52:11 - touch Titus 1:15 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 10:6
The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

Isaiah 11:11
On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said Haggai,.... To the priests; having nothing to object to their answer; but being satisfied with it, he puts another question:

if [one that is] unclean by a dead body; by the touch of it,

Numbers 19:11:

touch any of these, shall it be unclean? that is, if such an impure person, who was so in a ceremonial sense, should touch any of the above things, bread, pottage, wine, or oil, or any meat, would not they become unclean thereby, and so not fit for use?

and the priests answered and said, it shall be unclean; which was rightly answered; for whatsoever such an unclean person touched was unclean, according to the law, Leviticus 19:22. Pollution is more easily and more extensively conveyed than holiness.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ask now the priests concerning the law - The priests answer rightly, that, by the law, insulated unholiness spread further than insulated holiness. The flesh of the sacrifice hallowed whatever it should touch, but not further; but the human being, who was defiled by touching a dead body, defiled all he might touch Numbers 19:22. Haggai does not apply the first part; namely, that the worship on the altar which they reared, while they neglected the building of the temple, did not hallow. The possession of a truly tiring does not counterbalance disobedience. Contrariwise, one defilement defiled the whole man and all which he touched, according to that James 2:10, “whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

In the application, the two melt into one, for the holy thing, namely, the altar which they raised out of fear on their return, so far from hallowing the land or people by the sacrifices offered thereon, was itself defiled. “This people” and “this nation” (not “My people”) since they in act disowned Him. “Whatever they offer there,” i. e., on that altar, instead of the temple which God commanded, is unclean, offending Him who gave all.