Study Desk

Then Haggai said, "‘So are these people, and so is this nation before Me,' says the Lord. ‘And so is everything they have made. What they give there is unclean.

So tell them, ‘The Lord of All says, "Return to Me, that I may return to you.

I gave My Words and My Laws to your fathers through My servants who spoke for Me. But they would not listen and so they were punished. Then they were sorry for their sins and said, ‘The Lord of All has punished us for our ways and our works, as He said He would.'"'"

So the man who was standing among the myrtle trees said, "These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to travel all over the earth to keep watch."

So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, "Make this known: ‘The Lord of All says, "I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.

So the Lord says, "I will return to Jerusalem with loving-pity. My house will be built in it and all Jerusalem will be built again," says the Lord of All.

So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, "What are these?" And he said, "These are the horns which have divided the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."

I said, "What are these coming to do?" And he said, "These are the horns which have sent the people of Judah everywhere, so that no man raised his head. But these workmen have come to make them afraid and to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah so the people would be sent everywhere."

So I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To see how long and how wide Jerusalem is."

Then I said, "Let them put a clean covering on his head." So they put a clean covering on his head and dressed him in clothes, while the angel of the Lord was standing by.

So the angel who was speaking with me said, "Do you not know what these are?" And I said, "No, my lord."

When the strong horses went out, they were in a hurry to look over all the earth." And he said, "Go, look over all the earth." So they went over the whole earth.

They made their hearts like hard stone, so that they could not hear the Law and the words which the Lord of All had sent by His Spirit through the men who spoke for Him in the past. So the Lord of All became very angry.

When I called, they would not listen. So when they called, I would not listen," says the Lord of All.

"With the wind of a storm I sent them everywhere among all the nations that they had not known. The land was laid waste behind them, so that no one could come or go. They turned the good land into an empty waste."

These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to one another. Judge with truth so there will be peace within your gates.

"The Lord of All says, ‘The times when you do not eat in the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become glad times of joy. They will become happy, special suppers for the people of Judah. So love truth and peace.'

‘So many people and powerful nations will come to look for the Lord of All in Jerusalem and to ask for the Lord's favor.'

Ashkelon will see it and be afraid. Gaza will suffer with much pain. So will Ekron, for her hope will be destroyed. Gaza will lose her king, and no one will live in Ashkelon.

The false gods say what is not true. Those who use their secret ways tell lies about the false dreams they have seen. Their comfort means nothing. So the people go from place to place like sheep and are troubled because they have no shepherd.