Study Desk

In the ^(a)second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet ^(b)Haggai to ^(c)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^(d)governor of Judah, and to ^(e)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

"Thus says the Lord of ^[a]hosts, ‘This people says, "The time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt."'"

Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying,

"Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house ^(f)lies desolate?"

Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, "^[b]Consider your ways!

You have ^(g)sown much, but ^[c]harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is ^[d]not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes."

Thus says the Lord of hosts, "^[e]Consider your ways!

Go up to the ^[f]mountains, bring wood and ^(h)rebuild the ^[g]temple, that I may be ⁽ⁱ⁾pleased with it and be ^(j)glorified," says the Lord .

"^(k)You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I ^(l)blow it away. Why?" declares the Lord of hosts, "Because of My house which ^(m)lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.

Therefore, because of you the ⁽ⁿ⁾sky has withheld ^[h]its dew and the earth has withheld its produce.

I called for a ^(o)drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on ^(p)men, on cattle, and on ^(q)all the labor of ^[i]your hands."

Then ^(r)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and ^(s)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, ^(t)obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people ^[j](u)showed reverence for the Lord .

Then Haggai, the ^(v)messenger of the Lord , spoke ^[k]by the commission of the Lord to the people saying, "‘^(w)I am with you,' declares the Lord ."

So the Lord stirred up the spirit of ^(x)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^(y)governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the ^(z)remnant of the people; and they came and ^(aa)worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,

on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of Darius the king.

On the twenty-first of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came by ^(a)Haggai the prophet saying,

"Speak now to ^(b)Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ^(c)governor of Judah, and to ^(d)Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the ^(e)remnant of the people saying,

‘Who is ^(f)left among you who saw this ^[a]temple in its ^(g)former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not ^[b]seem to you like nothing ^[c]in comparison?

But now ^[d](h)take courage, Zerubbabel,' declares the Lord , ‘take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,' declares the Lord , ‘and work; for ⁽ⁱ⁾I am with you,' declares the Lord of hosts.

‘As for the ^[e](j)promise which I ^[f]made you when you came out of Egypt, ^[g]My ^(k)Spirit is abiding in your midst; ^(l)do not fear!'

For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘^(m)Once more ^[h]in a ⁽ⁿ⁾little while, I am going to ^(o)shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land.

I will shake ^(p)all the nations; and ^[i]they will come with the ^(q)wealth of all nations, and I will ^(r)fill this house with glory,' says the Lord of hosts.

‘The ^(s)silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the Lord of hosts.

‘The latter ^(t)glory of this house will be greater than the ^(u)former,' says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I will give ^(v)peace,' declares the Lord of hosts."

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

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘^(x)Ask now the priests for a ^[j]ruling:

If a man carries ^(y)holy meat in the ^[k]fold of his garment, and touches bread with ^[l]this fold, or cooked food, wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?'" And the priests answered, "No."

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

Then Haggai said, "‘^(aa)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 ^[n](ab)consider from this day ^[o]onward: before one ^(ac)stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord ,

^[p]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 ^[q]measures, there would be only twenty.

I smote you and every work of your hands with ^(ad)blasting wind, mildew and hail; ^[r]yet you did not come back to Me,' declares the Lord .

‘Do ^[s](ae)consider from this day ^[t]onward, from the ^(af)twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was ^(ag)founded, ^[u]consider:

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

Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the ^(ai)twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,

"Speak to ^(aj)Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, ‘I am going to ^(ak)shake the heavens and the earth.

I will ^(al)overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the ^(am)power of the kingdoms of the ^[v]nations; and I will ^(an)overthrow the chariots and their riders, and the ^(ao)horses and their riders will go down, ^(ap)everyone by the sword of another.'

‘On that day,' declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,' declares the Lord , ‘and I will make you like a ^[w](aq)signet ring, for ^(ar)I have chosen you,'" declares the Lord of hosts.