Haggai 2:14

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

So is this people: Haggai 1:4-11, Proverbs 15:8, Proverbs 21:4, Proverbs 21:27, Proverbs 28:9, Isaiah 1:11-15, Titus 1:15, Jude 1:23

and that: Ezra 3:2, Ezra 3:3

Reciprocal: Numbers 5:3 - defile not Joshua 7:12 - they were Ecclesiastes 5:6 - destroy Isaiah 52:11 - touch Malachi 3:9 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 10:11
From that land he went forth into Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah,

Genesis 10:22
The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

Genesis 15:18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land-from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates-

Genesis 25:18
Ishmael's descendants settled from Havilah to Shur, which is near the border of Egypt as you go toward Asshur. And they lived in hostility toward all their brothers.

Deuteronomy 1:7
Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the foothills, in the Negev, and along the seacoast to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates.

Deuteronomy 11:24
Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.

Daniel 10:4
On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,

Revelation 9:14
saying to the sixth angel with the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then answered Haggai, and said,.... To the priests, and before the people; and made an application of these things to them, which was the thing in view in putting the questions:

So [is] this people, and so [is] this nation before me, saith the Lord; not only those people that were present and at work at the temple, but those that were absent, even the whole body of the people; who, though they were pure in their own eyes, yet were not so before the Lord; who knew their hearts, and the spring of all their actions; what were their ends and views in all they did: as a garment carrying in it holy flesh could not sanctify other things touched by it that were common and profane, but left them as they were; so their ritual devotions, and externally holy actions, did not and could not sanctify their impure hearts, but left them as unclean as before; nor did they sanctify their common mercies, their bread, pottage, wine, and oil: and, on the other hand, as an impure person made everything impure he touched; so they, being impure in heart, all their actions, even their religious ones, were impure also, as follows:

and so [is] every work of their hands; and that which they offer there [is] unclean; pointing at the altar, which they had built, and offered sacrifice on ever since they came out of Babylon, though the temple was not yet built, Ezra 3:3 but all their outward religious services, and all the sacrifices they offered up, were in the Lord's account impure and abominable, as well as themselves; coming from an unsanctified heart, and offered up with unclean hands, and without repentance towards God, and faith in Christ; and living in other respects in disobedience to God, and especially while they neglected the building of the temple; satisfying themselves with offering sacrifices on the altar, when the house of God lay desolate; which is the principal thing respected, as appears by what follows.

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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Haggai 2:14. Then answered Haggai - So is this people — As an unclean man communicates his uncleanness to every thing he touches, so are ye unclean; and whatever ye have hitherto done is polluted in the sight of God. For your neglect of my temple has made you unclean, as if you had contracted legal pollution by touching a dead body.