1 I n the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, in the second year of Darius king, came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying,

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the Word of the Lord came by Haggai the man of God, saying,

2 S peak now to Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remainder of the people, saying,

“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, ruler of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the head religious leader, and to the rest of the people. Say to them,

3 W ho is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Is not this in your sight as nothing in comparison to that?

‘Who is left among you who saw this house of God as it was before in its greatness? And how does it look to you now? Is it anything like it was?

4 Y et now be strong, alert, and courageous, O Zerubbabel, says the Lord; be strong, alert, and courageous, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, alert, and courageous, all you people of the land, says the Lord, and work! For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts.

But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jehozadak, head religious leader. And be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the Lord. ‘Do the work, for I am with you,’ says the Lord of All.

5 A ccording to the promise that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit stands and abides in the midst of you; fear not.

‘As I promised you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is with you. Do not be afraid.’

6 F or thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake and make tremble the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the dry land;

For the Lord of All says, ‘Once again, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

7 A nd I will shake all nations and the desire and the precious things of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor, says the Lord of hosts.

I will shake all the nations so that the riches of all nations will come in. And I will fill this house with greatness,’ says the Lord of All.

8 T he silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts.

‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of All.

9 T he latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place will I give peace and prosperity, says the Lord of hosts.

‘This house will be even greater than it was before,’ says the Lord of All. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of All.” The People Are Unclean

10 O n the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying,

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius, the Word of the Lord came to Haggai the man of God, saying,

11 T hus says the Lord of hosts: Ask now the priests to decide this question of law:

“The Lord of All says, ‘Ask the religious leaders to decide about this:

12 I f one carries in the skirt of his garment flesh that is holy, and with his skirt or the flaps of his garment he touches bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any kind of food, does what he touches become holy ? And the priests answered, No!

If a man carries holy meat in the fold of his clothing, and this fold touches bread or hot food, or wine, oil, or any other food, will it become holy?’” The religious leaders answered and said, “No.”

13 T hen said Haggai, If one who is unclean because he has come in contact with a dead body should touch any of these articles of food, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered, It shall be unclean.

Then Haggai said, “If a man is unclean because he touched a dead body and touches any of these, will it become unclean?” And the religious leaders answered and said, “It will become unclean.” The Lord Promises Good to Come to His People

14 T hen answered Haggai, So is this people and so is this nation before Me, says the Lord; and so is every work of their hands, and what they offer there is unclean.

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.

15 A nd now, I pray you, consider what will happen from this day onward. Since the time before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord, how have you fared?

Now think about this from this day on. Think about how things were before one stone was placed on another in the house of the Lord.

16 T hrough all that time when one has gone expecting to find a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when he has gone to the wine vat to draw out fifty bucketfuls from the press, there were only twenty.

When anyone came to a place where there were twenty baskets of grain, there would be only ten. When anyone came to a place to get fifty bottles of wine, there would be only twenty.

17 I smote you with blight and with mildew and with hail in all the labors of your hands; yet you returned not nor were converted to Me, says the Lord.

I destroyed you and everything you did with a strong-wind, disease, and hail. Yet you did not return to Me,’ says the Lord.

18 C onsider, I pray you, from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider this:

‘Think about this from this day on, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day when the base of the Lord’s house was laid, think about this:

19 I s the harvested grain any longer in the barn? As to the grapevine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree—they have not yet borne. From this day on I will bless you.

Is the seed still in the store-house? The vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not given any fruit. Yet from this day on I will bring good to you.’” The Lord’s Promise to Zerubbabel

20 A nd again the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,

The Word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, saying,

21 S peak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth;

“Tell Zerubbabel, ruler of Judah, ‘I am going to shake the heavens and the earth.

22 A nd I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them, and the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.

I will take the power away from kings and destroy the power of the nations. I will destroy war-wagons and their drivers. Horses and their horsemen will fall, every one by the sword of another.

23 I n that day, says the Lord of hosts, will I take you, O Zerubbabel, My servant, the son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and will make you My signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts.

On that day,’ says the Lord of All, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will make you like a ring for marking My name. For I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of All.”